Meta-transcriptomics to determine if and how viruses are involved in SCTLD infection status and/or disease susceptibility

This is a continuation project that focused on identifying the potential viruses observed to be associated with microalgae within Florida corals and determining if they are associated with disease. Using a multi-factor approach, the researchers have begun to map out the viral community present across all health states. They found that opportunistic infections of resident virus lineages do seem to increase in SCTLD-affected coral tissues, however, they hypothesize that while filamentous viruses are diverse and differentially abundant in diseased samples, they are likely not the sole pathogenic agent of SCTLD. Coral species, health state, and symbiont lineage all influence the viral consortia. They propose that increased activity by diverse viruses, resulting from an unknown trigger, contribute to SCTLD etiology as a secondary infection.