Abstract
Potential sources of mortality of marine invertebrate larvae are numerous and include predation and diseases caused by marine microorganisms. Extracts from the eggs of 11 coral species were evaluated for their ability to deter surface attachment and inhibit the growth of two marine tolerant laboratory bacteria and 92 bacterial strains isolated from seawater and the surface of coral colonies on the Great Barrier Reef (GBR). Extracts of the eggs of Montipora digitata inhibited the growth of the two laboratory bacteria, Vibrio harveyii and Bacillus subtilis, and one bacterial isolate from the mucus of the coral Favia pallida in disc diffusion and liquid culture assays. No other microbial strains (n=91) from the surface of corals and the reef environment were inhibited by M. digitata extracts. No antibacterial activity was found in the egg extracts of the remaining ten coral species and none of the extracts inhibited surface attachment of various bacteria. Extrapolation of estimated surface concentrations of the biologically active extract of M. digitata suggests that the level of the growth inhibitory compounds may be sufficient to deter microbial growth in situ.
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Acknowledgements
This project was funded by an ARC Small Grant (UNSW) to CPM, R de N and AHB and a Project Aware Foundation Grant to CPM. We thank the staff at Orpheus Island Research Station for their assistance and support. M and D Pratchett provided invaluable assistance in the field. This is contribution number 270 of the Coral Ecology Group at James Cook University and 117 of the Centre for Coral Reef Biodiversity.
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Marquis, C.P., Baird, A.H., de Nys, R. et al. An evaluation of the antimicrobial properties of the eggs of 11 species of scleractinian corals. Coral Reefs 24, 248–253 (2005). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00338-005-0473-7
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00338-005-0473-7