Symbiotic causal network of seagrass-bacteria-algae-diatoms interactions
Abstract
Seagrass meadows contribute to the conservation of marine ecosystems, reduction in global warming impacts and pathogen controls. However, the decline in seagrass habitats due to environmental loads has become an urgent global issue. One way to address this issue is to better understand healthy seagrass habitats. Here, we estimate the structural characteristics of symbiotic and metabolic systems in sediments from eight coastal regions of Japan, with each region containing both seagrass-covered areas and adjacent unvegetated areas. Notably, seagrasses commonly maintain a balanced symbiotic relationship characterized by a positive association with cable bacteria (Desulfobulbaceae), nitrogen-cycling bacteria (Hyphomonadaceae), and coral algae (Corallinophycidae) and a negative association with diatoms (Diatomea). Furthermore, seagrass growth conditions influence metabolic pathways by activating nitrogen-related metabolism while attenuating methanogenesis. Our findings highlight the crucial roles of marine plants and their symbiotic systems in ensuring environmental conservation within the context of blue carbon storage across environmental gradients.
Cite
@article{arxiv.2511.13799,
title = {Symbiotic causal network of seagrass-bacteria-algae-diatoms interactions},
author = {Hirokuni Miyamoto and Kenta Suzuki and Shigeharu Moriya and Makiko Matsuura and Naoko Tsuji and Teruno Nakaguma and Chitose Ishii and Takayuki Nagatsuka and Takashi Satoh and Wataru Suda and Tamotsu Kato and Chie Shindo and Atsushi Kurotani and Hiroaki Kodama and Hiroshi Masuya and Satoshi Wada and Nobuhiro Kawachi and Hisashi Miyamoto and Yukinari Tsuruda and Yohei Shimasaki and Shouzo Ogizo and Nobuo Suzuki and Tomoharu Yuge and Toshio Takahashi and Tomohito Ojima and Toshio Furota and Akio Sakamoto and Keiichi Takimoto and Kozo Kugimiya and Takehiro Tanaka and Takashi Kimura and Yuuji Oshima and Jun Kikuchi and Hiroshi Ohno},
journal= {arXiv preprint arXiv:2511.13799},
year = {2025}
}
Comments
11 pages, 6 main figures, and supplementary information (21 figures and 7 tables)