Your aquariums had different microbiomes. Here is how they differed.

[EMeyer]

Hi everyone,

Busy times, but I finally had a chance to finish my writeup of the differences between your aquariums' microbiomes. Read more here

Here is an excerpt from the summary of the article:

Quote

This comparison of microbial communities in saltwater aquariums revealed that while there is a consensus community found in half of the aquariums we tested, not every tank is the same. Interestingly, the deviations from the consensus that we saw in this survey fell into a few clear patterns. Some tanks  (group b) harbored communities that were comparable to the consensus in diversity and evenness, but were composed of different, unexpected microbial families. The microbial communities in other tanks (groups c & d) included primarily the same families as the consensus community, but these were much less even than the consensus, with a few families dominating each community.

If every aquarium had an identical microbial community, there would be no use in measuring these communities in different tanks. On the other hand, if each community was completely different without any similarities, it would be very difficult to study the causes of this variation, or its effects on aquarium conditions.

In fact, we find that most tanks share a core set of families at similar levels, while a few tanks deviate from this consensus in systematic ways. This pattern suggests that these communities have been affected by systematic differences in the setup or maintenance of these aquariums.

As we continue to gather data from additional tanks, I hope to identify the factors that drive these communities in one direction or another, so that aquarists can not only test their aquarium’s microbiome but also adjust it.

 

In the public description I don't identify the owners of the tanks or the sample IDs. Here, I want to give you all a key so you can find your sample in this description. In this figure, each symbol is one of your tanks. They are labeled with the last two digits of the sample ID. They are color coded by owner, but I haven't disclosed owners here publicly in case anyone wants to keep their tanks anonymous. Let me know if you need a reminder which tank is yours (or check your report, which includes your sample ID)

Edited October 24, 2019 by EMeyer

[CrazyInside]

Interesting read thank you. Would be cool to see pictures of the tanks corresponding with the colors in the chart. Definitely interested to see group D and C’s tanks 

[SuncrestReef]

Very cool.  Thanks!

I'll show this to my wife since she's the PhD biologist in the family.  I'm just the IT guy.  🤓🤣

[albertareef]

2 hours ago, SuncrestReef said:

she's the PhD biologist in the family.

How did I not know this?  Always good to know where the science geeks are lurking 😁

[EMeyer]

4 hours ago, SuncrestReef said:

Very cool.  Thanks!

I'll show this to my wife since she's the PhD biologist in the family.  I'm just the IT guy.  🤓🤣

Then I will appreciate both of your feedback!

Science communication is a funny challenge. There are multiple audiences one wants to reach, including both the professional scientists and reefers. After writing for academics for so long its an entertaining challenge learning to write for new ones. 

[pdxmonkeyboy]

15 hours ago, EMeyer said:

Then I will appreciate both of your feedback!

Science communication is a funny challenge. There are multiple audiences one wants to reach, including both the professional scientists and reefers. After writing for academics for so long its an entertaining challenge learning to write for new ones. 

When you dumb it down for the public to absorb there is nothing left.  I can provide some help....

"there is like tiny bugs, like, that you can't see, but like they are there, and its ummm, they are good to have".

 

[EMeyer]

Haha yeah, that is kind of my fear. Its hard to keep the content without keeping enough detail... and its details about DNA stuff, so I tend to nerd out. 

[reefnjunkie]

Is it possible to eliminate certain or specific bacteria within the tank if identified? 

I have to believe ( or am hoping) that once you sequence my water that there will be something so out of balance and never before seen by scientists which explains the unrelentingly attack on my acros that decimated years of collecting and growing.

 

hows that for melodramatic 

 

in all seriousness, if there is some bacteria detected is there a path of removing specific strains

 

I hope that’s worded correctly  

 

Edited October 25, 2019 by reefnjunkie

[EMeyer]

I am especially interested in your sample too, for that reason. It sounds like an important test case. And I've long suspected the various tissue lysis diseases in captivity are caused by bacterial infections like the white syndromes in nature (and the lab). 

What can we do about it? I think the answer has two parts. 

1. On day 1? Honestly, nothing specific. I'm not aware of any medications with known active ingredients that are marketed for bacterial diseases of corals. This may sound pessimistic, but I'm not saying theres nothing to be done. Just nothing specific.

But by analogy... if I ran an ICP test and found high levels of some uncommon contaminant (e.g. Sulfur). I'd likewise lack any specific remedies (sulfur specific resins?). But at least I'd know there was a water chemistry issue, and could take general actions aiming to correct water chemistry. (e.g. large  water changes). 

On day 1 after identifying a bacterial cause, I think you'd be in a similar situation. No silver bullets, but at least a rational basis for large general actions to correct the problem. Sterilization of equipment, starting a new tank, then retesting for the presence of the (now known) bacterial pathogen before stocking corals. Thats not a trivial undertaking but it would provide a route to establishing a new tank free of the old bacterial problem. Thats better than just starting over and hoping for the best, I think.

2. Longer term (more than 1 day) ... there are huge numbers of antimicrobial medications available in the world of human and veterinary medicine. Some are very specific against known groups. For example, I am currently testing a compound that specifically inhibits Vibrios, based on lots of solid peer reviewed studies (just not studies about corals). The literature is full of similar examples. 

I think what has hindered the development of treatments for coral diseases has been lack of diagnosis. We describe things in terms of the speed of tissue loss or the appearance of the melted tissue, which makes it hard to develop hypotheses about treatments. 

Identifying a potential pathogen can immediately narrow the range of treatments to be tested. Just knowing theres a bacterial pathogen suggests antibiotic treatments, and the known differences in specificity among different antibiotics can further narrow this. Other compounds are so specific they aren't even described as general antibiotics, since they only affect particular families or genera. 

It won't take long after your data come in before we (the community) can test specific, evidence-based treatments targeting specific groups. I can't predict the future, but I think we're going to do a better job when we're able to base these treatments on microbial IDs and published data rather than herbal remedies

 

 

[pdxmonkeyboy]

If you ever go to market with some kind of coral treatment you should call it "wallet saver"

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