The increasing trend in sea surface temperature promotes the spread of Vibrio species, which are known to cause diseases in a wide range of marine organisms. Among these pathogens, Vibrio mediterranei has emerged as a significant threat, leading to bleaching in the coral species Oculina patagonica. Bacteriophages, or phages, are viruses that infect bacteria, thereby regulating microbial communities and playing a crucial role in the coral’s defense against pathogens. However, our understanding of phages that infect V. mediterranei is limited. In this study, we identified two phage species capable of infecting V. mediterranei, utilizing a combination of cultivation and metagenomic approaches. These phages are low-abundance specialists within the coral mucus layer that exhibit rapid proliferation in the presence of their hosts, suggesting a potential role in coral defense. Additionally, one of these phages possesses a conserved domain of a leucine-rich repeat protein, similar to those harbored in the coral genome, that plays a key role in pathogen recognition, hinting at potential coral-phage coevolution. Furthermore, our research suggests that lytic Vibrio infections could trigger prophage induction, which may disseminate genetic elements, including virulence factors, in the coral mucus layer. Overall, our findings underscore the importance of historical coral-phage interactions as a form of coral immunity against invasive Vibrio pathogens.

中文翻译：

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珊瑚粘液是针对弧菌病原体的噬菌体的储存库

海面温度的上升趋势促进了弧菌的传播，已知弧菌会引起多种海洋生物的疾病。在这些病原体中，地中海弧菌已成为重大威胁，导致珊瑚 Oculina patagonica 出现白化。噬菌体或噬菌体是感染细菌的病毒，从而调节微生物群落，并在珊瑚防御病原体方面发挥着至关重要的作用。然而，我们对感染地中海弧菌的噬菌体的了解是有限的。在这项研究中，我们利用培养和宏基因组方法相结合，鉴定了两种能够感染地中海弧菌的噬菌体物种。这些噬菌体是珊瑚粘液层内的低丰度专家，在宿主存在时表现出快速增殖，这表明它们在珊瑚防御中具有潜在作用。此外，其中一种噬菌体拥有富含亮氨酸的重复蛋白的保守结构域，类似于珊瑚基因组中的保守结构域，它在病原体识别中发挥着关键作用，暗示着潜在的珊瑚噬菌体共同进化。此外，我们的研究表明，裂解性弧菌感染可能会触发原噬菌体诱导，这可能会在珊瑚粘液层中传播遗传元素，包括毒力因子。总体而言，我们的研究结果强调了历史上珊瑚-噬菌体相互作用作为珊瑚针对入侵性弧菌病原体的免疫形式的重要性。