GNPS - Single-polyp metabolomics reveals biochemical structuring of the coral holobiont at multiple scales

Here, we developed and verified a method to detect high-quality metabolomics data from an individual coral polyp and applied this method to study the spatial patterning of biochemicals across multiple spatial (~1 mm - ~100 m) and organizational scales (polyp to population). The data show a strong colony signature, a weak signature of specific branches within colonies, and a strong signature at the polyp-level related to the distance from the base of a branch that was primarily driven by sulfur-containing lipids associated with the coral host. This work yields insight into the spatial structuring of biochemicals in the coral holobiont, which is critical for the design, analysis, and interpretation of studies on coral reef biochemistry.