Metagenomic Characterization of Microbiome Taxa Associated with Coral Reef Communities in North Area of Tabuk Region Saudia Arabia
Authors: Ghobashy Madeha Othman , Alotaibi Amenah Saud , Alharbi Basmah Massoud , Alsheri Diknah Mohamed , Gabban Hanaa Ahmed , Albalawi Doha Abdallah , Alenazi Asma Massad , Alatawy Marfat , Alatawi Fuad , Algamal Abdelazeem Mohamed , Mir Rashid , Mahrous Yussri Mohamed 
Published: January 2025

The coral microbiome is highly related to the overall health and the survival and proliferation of coral reefs. As the Red Sea&#039;s unique physiochemical characteristics, such a significant north-south temperature and salinity gradient, make it a very intriguing research system. However, the Red Sea is rather isolated, with a very diversified ecosystem rich in coral communities, its makeup of the coral-associated microbiome remains little understood. Therefore, comprehending the makeup and dispersion of the endogenous microbiome associated with coral is crucial for understanding how the coral microbiome coexists and interacts, as well as its contribution to temperature tolerance and resistance against possible pathogens. Here we investigate, metgenomic sequencing targeting the 16S rRNA was performed using DNAs from the sediment samples to identify the coral microbi-ome and to understand the dynamics of microbial taxa and genes in the surface mucous layer (SML) microbiome of the coral communities in three distinct areas close to and far from coral communi-ties in the Red Sea. These findings highlighted the genomic array of the microbiome in three areas around and beneath the coral communities, an revealed distinct bacterial communities in each group, where Pseudoalteromonas agarivorans (30%), Vibrio owensii (11%), and Pseudoalteromonas sp. Xi13 (10%) were the most predominant species in samples closer to coral (a coral-associated mi-crobiome), with the domination of Pseudoalteromonas_agarivorans and Vibrio_owensii in Alshreah samples distant from coral, while Pseudoalteromonas_sp._Xi13 was more abundant in closer sam-ples.Moreover, Proteobacteria such as Pseudoalteromonas, Pseudomonas and Cyanobacteria were the most prevalent phyla of coral microbiome. Further in Saweehal showed highest diversity far from corals 52.8% and in Alshreah close (7.35%), than at Marwan ( 1.75%). The microbial community was less diversified in the samples from Alshreah Far (5.99%) and Marwan Far (1.75%), which had comparatively lower values for all indices. Also, Vibrio species were the most prevalent microor-ganisms in the coral mucus, and the prevalence of these bacteria is significantly higher than those found in the surrounding saltwater. These findings reveal that there is a notable difference in mi-crobial diversity across the various settings and locales, revealing that geographic variables and coral closeness affect the diversity of microbial communities. There were significant differences in microbial community composition regarding the proximity to coral. Besides, there were strong pos-itive correlations between genera Pseudoalteromonas and Vibrio in close-to-coral environments, suggesting that these bacteria may play a synergistic role in immuring coral, rising its tolerance to-wards environmental stress and overall coral health.