2017 Fiscal Year Final Research Report
Basic biology of the black band disease in corals
| Project/Area Number |
15H02843
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| Research Category |
Grant-in-Aid for Scientific Research (B)
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| Allocation Type | Single-year Grants |
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| Section | 一般 |
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| Research Field |
Modeling and technologies for environmental conservation and remediation
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| Research Institution | University of the Ryukyus |
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Principal Investigator |
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| Co-Investigator(Kenkyū-buntansha) |
山城 秀之 琉球大学, 熱帯生物圏研究センター, 教授 (80341676)
須田 彰一郎 琉球大学, 理学部, 教授 (00359986)
日高 道雄 琉球大学, 理学部, 教授 (00128498)
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| Project Period (FY) |
2015-04-01 – 2018-03-31
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| Keywords | 造礁サンゴ / サンゴ / ブラックバンド病 / シアノバクテリア / 感染症 / 環境変動 / 病変 / 細菌 |
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| Outline of Final Research Achievements |
Black band disease (BBD) can be defined as a polymicrobial disease of corals whose direct cause is not clear yet. Aiming to find out practical methods to mitigate the disease, we have investigated BBD to understand its basic biology. BBD-infected corals were found in Okinoerabu-jima, Miyako-jima, and Okinawa-jima; they were mostly encrusting Montipora corals. In Okinawan BBD corals, a filamentous cyanobacterium Roseofilum reptotaenium was identified as a dominant cyanobacterial species. The BBD-infected colonies produced fluorescent micro-particles in the tissues that were recognized as fluorescent bands or rings on corals, a novel observation that can be applied for diagnosis of BBD. Among various treatments tested, a continuous dark condition was found to be the most effective to cure the disease; the BBD symptom completely disappeared with a 9 days dark-treatment. As a possible mechanism for the BBD infection, D-amino acid metabolism was explored with model systems.
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| Free Research Field |
環境生理学
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