Microbial Properties of Montipora Coral Mucus
Date
2017
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College of Natural and Health Sciences, The University of Tampa
Abstract
Mucus produced by corals has a varied understanding with many
gaps. Although there are many hypotheses regarding the function
and purpose of the mucus itself, and the many microbial communities
that inhabit it, there are still many inquiries about it. The purpose of
this experiment was to determine whether coral mucus possessed
diverse microbes and whether the mucus held any antibacterial
properties against gram positive or gram negative bacteria compared
to seawater. Mucus was collected from Montipora species and plated
on marine agar. Individual bacterial colonies were isolated and
gram stained. Our results showed that the mucus does not show
antibacterial activity but contains as much as five times the amount
of bacteria in comparison to seawater. Additionally, the coral mucus
contained exclusively gram negative bacteria whereas the seawater
contained both gram negative and gram positive bacteria. These
results suggest that coral mucus is a hospitable site for growth of
gram negative bacteria.
Description
Recommended Citation: Zimmerman, Jayde A., and Cody J. Cox. “Microbial Properties of Montipora Coral Mucus.” Acta Spartae, 2017. https://doi.org/10.48497/01TG-Z960.
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Keywords
Montipora, Microbial, Research Subject Categories::NATURAL SCIENCES, Research Subject Categories::NATURAL SCIENCES::Biology, Department of Biology
Citation
Zimmerman, Jayde A., and Cody J. Cox. “Microbial Properties of Montipora Coral Mucus.” Acta Spartae, 2017. https://doi.org/10.48497/01TG-Z960.