Aquarium conditions effects on Delisea pulchra's surface-associated microbiota. algae metagenome

Delisea pulchra is a temperate red macroalga that suffers from a bleaching disease that is more frequent during summer, when seawater temperatures are elevated and the alga’s chemical defense is weakened. A bacterial cause for the disease is implied by previous studies showing that some isolated strains can cause bleaching in vitro and that host-associated microbial community are distinct between disease and healthy individuals. The present study aimed to develop an experimental setup to study the bleaching disease in a controllable aquarium environment and to test the effect that the aquarium conditions could have on the algal-associated microbial community.