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1. Alphaflexivirus Genomes in Stony Coral Tissue Loss Disease- Affected, Disease-Exposed, and Disease-Unexposed Coral Colonies in the U.S. Virgin Islands

   https://doi.org/10.1128/mra.01199-21  

   Veglia, A. J.; Beavers, K.; Van Buren, E. W.; Meiling, S. S.; Muller, E. M.; Smith, T. B.; Holstein, D. M.; Apprill, A.; Brandt, M. E.; Mydlarz, L. D.; et al (February 2022, Microbiology resource announcements)

   Stony coral tissue loss disease (SCTLD) is decimating Caribbean corals. Here, through the metatranscriptomic assembly and annotation of two alphaflexivirus-like strains, we provide genomic evidence of filamentous viruses in SCTLD-affected, -exposed, and -unexposed coral colonies. These data will assist in clarifying the roles of viruses in SCTLD. 

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2. Alphaflexivirus Genomes in Stony Coral Tissue Loss Disease-Affected, Disease-Exposed, and Disease-Unexposed Coral Colonies in the U.S. Virgin Islands

   https://doi.org/10.1128/mra.01199-21  

   Veglia, A. J.; Beavers, K.; Van Buren, E.; Meiling, S. S.; Muller, E. M.; Smith, T. B.; Holstein, D. M.; Apprill, A.; Brandt, M. E.; Mydlarz, L. D.; et al (February 2022, Microbiology resource announcements)

   Stony coral tissue loss disease (SCTLD) is decimating Caribbean corals. Here, through the metatranscriptomic assembly and annotation of two alphaflexivirus-like strains, we provide genomic evidence of filamentous viruses in SCTLD-affected, -exposed, and -unexposed coral colonies. These data will assist in clarifying the roles of viruses in SCTLD. 

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3. Alphaflexivirus Genomes in Stony Coral Tissue Loss Disease-Affected, Disease-Exposed, and Disease-Unexposed Coral Colonies in the U.S. Virgin Islands

   https://doi.org/10.1128/mra.01199-21  

   Veglia, A. J.; Beavers, K.; Van Buren, E. W.; Meiling, S. S.; Muller, E. M.; Smith, T. B.; Holstein, D. M.; Apprill, A.; Brandt, M. E.; Mydlarz, L. D.; et al (February 2022, Microbiology Resource Announcements)

   Matthijnssens, Jelle (Ed.)

   ABSTRACT Stony coral tissue loss disease (SCTLD) is decimating Caribbean corals. Here, through the metatranscriptomic assembly and annotation of two alphaflexivirus-like strains, we provide genomic evidence of filamentous viruses in SCTLD-affected, -exposed, and -unexposed coral colonies. These data will assist in clarifying the roles of viruses in SCTLD. 

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4. Stony coral tissue loss disease induces transcriptional signatures of in situ degradation of dysfunctional Symbiodiniaceae

   https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-023-38612-4  

   Beavers, Kelsey M.; Van Buren, Emily W.; Rossin, Ashley M.; Emery, Madison A.; Veglia, Alex J.; Karrick, Carly E.; MacKnight, Nicholas J.; Dimos, Bradford A.; Meiling, Sonora S.; Smith, Tyler B.; et al (December 2023, Nature Communications)

   Abstract Stony coral tissue loss disease (SCTLD), one of the most pervasive and virulent coral diseases on record, affects over 22 species of reef-building coral and is decimating reefs throughout the Caribbean. To understand how different coral species and their algal symbionts (family Symbiodiniaceae) respond to this disease, we examine the gene expression profiles of colonies of five species of coral from a SCTLD transmission experiment. The included species vary in their purported susceptibilities to SCTLD, and we use this to inform gene expression analyses of both the coral animal and their Symbiodiniaceae. We identify orthologous coral genes exhibiting lineage-specific differences in expression that correlate to disease susceptibility, as well as genes that are differentially expressed in all coral species in response to SCTLD infection. We find that SCTLD infection induces increased expression of rab7 , an established marker of in situ degradation of dysfunctional Symbiodiniaceae, in all coral species accompanied by genus-level shifts in Symbiodiniaceae photosystem and metabolism gene expression. Overall, our results indicate that SCTLD infection induces symbiophagy across coral species and that the severity of disease is influenced by Symbiodiniaceae identity. 

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5. Similarities and Differences Between Two Deadly Caribbean Coral Diseases: White Plague and Stony Coral Tissue Loss Disease

   https://doi.org/10.3389/fmars.2021.709544  

   Cróquer, Aldo; Weil, Ernesto; Rogers, Caroline S. (October 2021, Frontiers in Marine Science)

   null (Ed.)

   For several decades, white plagues (WPDs: WPD-I, II and III) and more recently, stony coral tissue loss disease (SCTLD) have significantly impacted Caribbean corals. These diseases are often difficult to separate in the field as they produce similar gross signs. Here we aimed to compare what we know about WPD and SCTLD in terms of: (1) pathology, (2) etiology, and (3) epizootiology. We reviewed over 114 peer-reviewed publications from 1973 to 2021. Overall, WPD and SCTLD resemble each other macroscopically, mainly due to the rapid tissue loss they produce in their hosts, however, SCTLD has a more concise case definition. Multiple-coalescent lesions are often observed in colonies with SCTLD and rarely in WPD. A unique diagnostic sign of SCTLD is the presence of bleached circular areas when SCTLD lesions are first appearing in the colony. The paucity of histopathologic archives for WPDs for multiple species across geographies makes it impossible to tell if WPD is the same as SCTLD. Both diseases alter the coral microbiome. WPD is controversially regarded as a bacterial infection and more recently a viral infection, whereas for SCTLD the etiology has not been identified, but the putative pathogen, likely to be a virus, has not been confirmed yet. Most striking differences between WPD and SCTLD have been related to duration and phases of epizootic events and mortality rates. While both diseases may become highly prevalent on reefs, SCTLD seems to be more persistent even throughout years. Both transmit directly (contact) and horizontally (waterborne), but organism-mediated transmission is only proven for WPD-II. Given the differences and similarities between these diseases, more detailed information is needed for a better comparison. Specifically, it is important to focus on: (1) tagging colonies to look at disease progression and tissue mortality rates, (2) tracking the fate of the epizootic event by looking at initial coral species affected, the features of lesions and how they spread over colonies and to a wider range of hosts, (3) persistence across years, and (4) repetitive sampling to look at changes in the microbiome as the disease progresses. Our review shows that WPDs and SCTLD are the major causes of coral tissue loss recorded in the Caribbean. 

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