Table 1.
Examples of proposed BMC (beneficial microorganisms for corals) characteristics and potential beneficial mechanisms.
| Proposed Beneficial Characteristic (BMC characteristics) | Beneficial mechanism | Examples of references describing the beneficial mechanism |
|---|---|---|
| Photosynthesis | Input of organic compounds to the holobiont | Verbruggen and Tribollet, 2011; Burriesci et al., 2012; Davy et al., 2012; Tremblay et al., 2012 |
| Nitrogen fixation | Input of fixed nitrogen to the holobiont | Olson et al., 2009; Lema et al., 2012; Santos et al., 2014; Bednarz et al., 2015; Cardini et al., 2015 |
| Fixed nitrogen and carbon cycling and regulation | Control of organic compound distribution | Kimes et al., 2010 |
| Production of dimethylsulfoniopropionate (DMSP) | Bacterial populations control on the coral surface | Barott and Rohwer, 2012 |
| Degradation of dimethylsulfoniopropionate (DMSP) | Increase carbon and sulfur availability; production of sulfur-based antimicrobial compounds such as tropodithietic acid (TDA) | Kirkwood et al., 2010; Raina et al., 2016 |
| Production of mediated signals to larval settlement facilitation | Contribute to larval settlement modulation or regulation | Webster et al., 2004; Heyward and Negri, 2010; Ritson-Williams et al., 2010; Shikuma et al., 2014 |
| Production of antibiotics and competition with pathogens | Biological control of pathogens | Ritchie, 2006; Gochfeld and Aeby, 2008; Kirkwood et al., 2010; Alagely et al., 2011; Kvennefors et al., 2012 |
| Production of quorum sensing (QS) signal molecules, such as N-acylhomoserine lactones (AHLs) | Allow microbial interactions within the holobiont; can act on bacterial colonization control, bioluminescence, pathogenesis control and extracellular enzyme production | Henke and Bassler, 2004; Ng and Bassler, 2009; Tait et al., 2010; Sharp and Ritchie, 2012; Certner and Vollmer, 2015; Meyer et al., 2015 |
| Mechanisms influencing the protection of skeletogenic cells | Enhance the survival of skeletogenic cell types | Domart-Coulon et al., 2004 |
| Production of mycosporine-like amino acids (MAA) | Protection of coral tissue against ultraviolet radiation | Dunlap and Shick, 1998 |