Post by Laura Macrina

🪸 Our new paper is out in Symbiosis Springer Nature and is available open access at https://lnkd.in/dgZSBZeH In a recent study, we showed that the Red Sea organ-pipe corals traditionally assigned to Tubipora musica actually comprise two endemic species: https://lnkd.in/dgejmqEb Here, we move beyond species discovery to investigate the bacterial and Symbiodiniaceae communities associated with these newly recognised taxa. By characterising these assemblages across multiple reefs and depth ranges in the central Saudi Arabian Red Sea, we provide the first assessment of the microbiome associated with Red Sea Tubipora species. These findings establish an important baseline for future studies on octocoral-associated symbioses and provide new insights into the biology of one of the most distinctive reef-building octocorals. Big thanks to all my co-authors for their support on this project Matteo Monti Tullia Isotta Terraneo Chakkiath Paul Antony Carolina Bocanegra Federica Barreca Marco Casartelli Raquel Peixoto Francesca Benzoni Habitat and Benthic Biodiversity Lab KAUST (King Abdullah University of Science and Technology) #CoralReefs #Microbiome #Symbiodiniaceae #Octocorals #Tubipora #RedSea #OpenAccess