Christina Kellogg
Applying molecular techniques and microbiology methods to study marine microbes, particularly the microbial ecology of tropical and deep-sea corals.
Biography
Dr. Kellogg joined the U.S. Geological Survey as a Mendenhall Fellow, characterizing the microbial communities in aerosolized African desert dust, beach sediments, seagrass beds and coral reefs. Currently, she leads the coral microbial ecology laboratory at the U.S. Geological Survey, studying the microbiomes and environments of tropical and cold-water corals.
Microbial diversity, microbial ecology, long-distance transport of microbes, biogeography, bioprospecting, symbiosis
Science and Products
USGS Role in DEEP SEARCH: Deep Sea Exploration to Advance Research on Coral, Canyon, and Cold-seep Habitats
USGS scientists are collaborating with multiple agencies to provide the esssential foundation for understanding these deep-sea environments.
DISCOVRE: Diversity, Systematics and Connectivity of Vulnerable Reef Ecosystems
DISCOVRE (DIversity, Systematics and COnnectivity of Vulnerable Reef Ecosystems) is an integrated, multidisciplinary, international effort investigating the unique and fragile deep-sea coral environments from the microscopic level to the ecosystem level.
Microbial Processes on Reefs
The microbial community on coral reefs is generally underappreciated given the ubiquity, abundance, complexity, and formative role these prokaryotes serve in the metabolic and chemical processes on reefs. We use microbiological and metagenomic techniques to decipher the roles the microbial community are playing in processes such as coral disease, submarine groundwater discharge, calcification...
Lophelia Metagenome Extraction Protocol
Lophelia Metagenome Extraction Protocol
Coral Microbial Ecology
The coral microbial ecology group has an active research program identifying and characterizing the microbial associates of both tropical and cold-water (deep-sea) corals and their surrounding habitat. Current projects focus on coral disease dynamics, bacterial diversity, and using metagenomics to elucidate the functional roles of coral microbes.
DISCOVRE - Diversity, Systematics and Connectivity of Vulnerable Reef Ecosystems Project
This project uses amplicon sequencing, and functional microarrays to examine the microbiomes of several deep-sea coral species, with priority given to species that are also of interest to the population genetics group: Desmophyllum dianthus, Lophelia pertusa, Enallopsammia sp., and Acanthogorgia sp. The project also uses metagenomics to survey benthic habitats including coral mounds, cold...
Coral Reef Ecosystem Studies (CREST)
The specific objectives of this project are to identify and describe the processes that are important in determining rates of coral-reef construction. How quickly the skeletons of calcifying organisms accumulate to form massive barrier-reef structure is determined by processes of both construction (how fast organisms grow and reproduce) and destruction (how fast reefs break down by mechanical...
Black-band disease in the Florida Keys
Photos of corals affected by black-band disease in the Florida Keys.
Coral Disease
We investigated coral disease processes and causes by characterizing microbial communities in diseased and healthy representatives of selected coral species both temporally and spatially by employing microarray technology. We tested the diagnostic potential of coral fluorescence for identifying disease-induced physiological stress.
Cold-water coral microbiomes (Paramuricea placomus) from Baltimore Canyon: raw and processed data
The files in this data release are the raw and processed DNA sequence files referenced in the submitted journal article by Kellogg et. al. titled "Bacterial Community Diversity of the Deep-Sea Octocoral Paramuricea placomus." They represent a 16S rRNA gene amplicon survey of the coral's microbiome completed using Roche 454 pyrosequencing with titanium reagents.
Cold-water coral microbiomes (Anthothela spp.) from Baltimore and Norfolk Canyons: raw and processed data
The files in this data release are the raw and processed DNA sequence files referenced in the submitted journal article by Lawler et. al. titled coral-associated bacterial diversity is conserved at the host-genus level in deep-sea Anthothela spp." They represent a 16S rRNA gene amplicon survey of the coral's microbiome completed using Roche 454 pyrosequencing with titanium reagents.
Cold-water coral microbiomes (Astrangia poculata) from Narragansett Bay: sequence data
The files provided in this data release are the DNA sequence files referenced in Goldsmith and others (2019), which represent a 16S ribosomal ribonucleic acid (rRNA) gene amplicon survey of Astrangia poculata microbiomes completed using Sanger dideoxy sequencing. The coral samples were collected from Narragansett Bay at Fort Wetherill State Park, Jamestown, Rhode Island in 2015 and
Cold-water coral microbiomes (Primnoa spp.) from Gulf of Alaska, Baltimore Canyon, and Norfolk Canyon: raw data
The files in this data release are the raw DNA sequence files referenced in the journal article by Goldsmith and others (2018) entitled "Comparison of microbiomes of cold-water corals Primnoa pacifica and Primnoa resedaeformis, with possible link between microbiome composition and host genotype". They represent a 16S ribosomal ribonucleic acid (rRNA) gene amplicon survey of the cor
Florida Keys Corals: A Photographic Record of Changes from 1959 to 2015
This data release contains time-series photographs taken of corals and coral habitats in the Florida Keys between 1959 and 2015 at Carysfort Reef and Grecian Rocks (a total of six sites). The original intent was to show coral reef recovery after Hurricane Donna devastated the area in 1960. Corals, especially elkhorn and staghorn coral, grew prolifically after the storm until the late 1970
Cold-water coral microbiomes (Lophelia pertusa) from Gulf of Mexico and Atlantic Ocean: raw data
The files in this data release are the raw deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA) sequence files referenced in the submitted journal article by Christina A. Kellogg, Dawn B. Goldsmith and Michael A. Gray entitled "Biogeographic comparison of Lophelia-associated bacterial communities in the western Atlantic reveals conserved core microbiome". They represent a 16S ribosomal ribonucleic acid %2
Unexpected diversity of Endozoicomonas in deep-sea corals
ABSTRACT: The deep ocean hosts a large diversity of azooxanthellate cold-water corals whose associated microbiomes remain to be described. While the bacterial genus Endozoicomonas has been widely identified as a dominant associate of tropical and temperate corals, it has rarely been detected in deep-sea corals. Determining microbial...
Kellogg, Christina A.; Pratte, Zoe A. Comparison of preservation and extraction methods on five taxonomically disparate coral microbiomes
All animals are host to a multitude of microorganisms that are essential to the animal’s health. Host-associated microbes have been shown to defend against potential pathogens, provide essential nutrients, interact with the host’s immune system, and even regulate mood. However, it can be difficult to preserve and obtain nucleic acids from some...
Pratte, Zoe A.; Kellogg, Christina A. Identifying mangrove-coral habitats in the Florida Keys
Coral reefs are degrading due to many synergistic stressors. Recently there have been a number of global reports of corals occupying mangrove habitats that provide a supportive environment or refugium for corals, sheltering them by reducing stressors such as oxidative light stress and low pH. This study used satellite imagery and manual ground-...
Kellogg, Christina A.; Moyer, Ryan P.; Jacobsen, Mary; Yates, Kimberly K. Assessing the water quality impacts of two Category-5 hurricanes on St. Thomas, Virgin Islands
Managing waterborne and water-related diseases is one of the most critical factors in the aftermath of hurricane-induced natural disasters. The goal of the study was to identify water-quality impairments in order to set the priorities for post-hurricane relief and to guide future decisions on disaster preparation and relief administration. Field...
Jiang, Sunny; Han, Muyue; Chandrasekaran, Srikiran; Fang, Yingcong; Kellogg, Christina A. Physicochemical controls on zones of higher coral stress where Black Band Disease occurs at Mākua Reef, Kauaʻi, Hawaiʻi
Pervasive and sustained coral diseases contribute to the systemic degradation of reef ecosystems, however, to date an understanding of the physicochemical controls on a coral disease event is still largely lacking. Water circulation and residence times and submarine groundwater discharge all determine the degree to which reef organisms are exposed...
Oberle, Ferdinand; Storlazzi, Curt D.; Cheriton, Olivia; Takesue, Renee K.; Hoover, Daniel J.; Logan, Joshua B.; Runyon, Christina M.; Kellogg, Christina A.; Johnson, Cordell; Swarzenski, Peter W. Microbiomes of stony and soft deep-sea corals share rare core bacteria
Background: Numerous studies have shown that bacteria form stable associations with host corals and have focused on identifying conserved “core microbiomes” of bacterial associates inferred to be serving key roles in the coral holobiont. Because studies tend to focus on only stony corals (order Scleractinia) or soft corals (order Alcyonacea), it...
Kellogg, Christina A. Microbial associations of four species of algal symbiont-bearing Foraminifers from the Florida Reef Tract, USA
While microbiome research is a rapidly expanding field of study, relatively little is known of the microbiomes associated with Foraminifera. This preliminary study investigated microbes associated with four species of Foraminifera, representing two taxonomic orders, which host three kinds of algal endosymbionts. A major objective was to explore...
Martin, Makenna M.; Kellogg, Christina A.; Hallock, Pamela Stability of temperate coral Astrangia poculata microbiome is reflected across different sequencing methodologies
The microbiome of the temperate coral Astrangia poculata was first described in 2017 using next-generation Illumina sequencing to examine the coral’s bacterial and archaeal associates across seasons and among hosts of differing symbiotic status. To assess the impact of methodology on the detectable diversity of the coral’s microbiome, we...
Goldsmith, Dawn B.; Pratte, Zoe A.; Kellogg, Christina A.; Snader, Sara E.; Sharp, Koty H. Comparison of microbiomes of cold-water corals Primnoa pacifica and Primnoa resedaeformis, with possible link between microbiome composition and host genotype
Cold-water corals provide critical habitats for a multitude of marine species, but are understudied relative to tropical corals. Primnoa pacifica is a cold-water coral prevalent throughout Alaskan waters, while another species in the genus, Primnoa resedaeformis, is widely distributed in the Atlantic Ocean. This study examined the...
Goldsmith, Dawn B.; Kellogg, Christina A.; Morrison, Cheryl L.; Gray, Michael A.; Stone, Robert P.; Waller, Rhian G.; Brooke, Sandra D.; Ross, Steve W.
Deepwater Program: Lophelia II, continuing ecological research on deep-sea corals and deep-reef habitats in the Gulf of Mexico
The deep sea is a rich environment composed of diverse habitat types. While deep-sea coral habitats have been discovered within each ocean basin, knowledge about the ecology of these habitats and associated inhabitants continues to grow. This report presents information and results from the Lophelia II project that examined deep-sea coral habitats...
Demopoulos, Amanda W.J.; Ross, Steve W.; Kellogg, Christina A.; Morrison, Cheryl L.; Nizinski, Martha S.; Prouty, Nancy G.; Bourque, Jill R.; Galkiewicz, Julie P.; Gray, Michael A.; Springmann, Marcus J.; Coykendall, D. Katharine; Miller, Andrew; Rhode, Mike; Quattrini, Andrea; Ames, Cheryl L.; Brooke, Sandra D.; McClain-Counts, Jennifer P.; Roark, E. Brendan; Buster, Noreen A.; Phillips, Ryan M.; Frometa, Janessy Canyons microbiology studies
Off the eastern coast of the United States, several deep canyons cut through the continental shelf, acting like funnels to move sediment from the shelf out to the deep seafloor. Exposed rock outcrops and ledges along the walls of these canyons provide important habitat for deepsea corals and sponges. Although a few scientific expeditions have...
Kellogg, Christina A.; Lawler, Stephanie N.
USGS microbiome research
Microbiomes are the communities of microorganisms (for example, bacteria, viruses, and fungi) that live on, in, and around people, plants, animals, soil, water, and the atmosphere. Microbiomes are active in the functioning of diverse ecosystems, for instance, by influencing water quality, nutrient acquisition and stress tolerance in plants, and...
Kellogg, Christina A.; Hopkins, M. Camille
Dr. Christina Kellogg will be the invited speaker in University of Miami Biology Departmental Seminar Series
Dr. Christina Kellogg of the St. Petersburg Coastal and Marine Science Center was invited by the University of Miami Biology Department to present a virtual seminar on, “Coral Microbial Ecology: From snorkeling to submersibles.”
Dr. Christina Kellogg will participate in a congressional briefing on microbiome research and infrastructure to facilitate data sharing.
Dr. Christina Kellogg of the St. Petersburg Coastal and Marine Science Center will participate in a virtual congressional webinar, "Microbiome Stakeholder Briefing #3: National Microbiome Data Collaborative," on Monday, November 15 at 12 pm (ET).
SPCMSC Scientist Publishes New Paper Identifying Unexpected Microbiomes in Deep-Sea Corals
SPCMSC Research Microbiologist Christina Kellogg and colleague Zoe Pratte publish a new paper, “Unexpected diversity of Endozoicomonas in deep-sea corals” in the journal Marine Ecology Progress Series. This is the first report of coral microbiomes dominated by Endozoicomonas (a common bacterial symbiont in tropical and temperate corals, but rare in deep cold-water corals).
SPCMSC Scientist Publishes New Paper on Coral Microbiome Methods
SPCMSC Research Microbiologist Christina Kellogg and colleague Zoe Pratte publish a new paper, “Comparison of preservation and extraction methods on five taxonomically disparate coral microbiomes” in the journal Frontiers in Marine Science.
USGS Scientist elected as Fellow to American Academy of Microbiology
Dr. Christina Kellogg (SPCMSC) was elected to the American Academy of Microbiology (AAM). Fellows of the AAM, an honorific leadership group within the American Society for Microbiology, are elected annually from a pool of nominated candidates through a highly selective, peer-review process, based on their records of scientific achievement and original contributions that have advanced...
USGS Researchers Conduct Collaborative Experiment to Identify Causative Agent of Stony Coral Tissue Loss Disease (SCTLD)
SPCMSC Research scientists Christina Kellogg and James Evans are working with Valerie Paul, director of the Smithsonian Marine Station in Ft. Pierce, Florida, to conduct an experiment to determine if SCTLD is caused by a pathogenic microbe and if so, which kind.
SPCMSC Researcher is first international guest interviewed on Australian ocean podcast series
Dr. Christina Kellogg (SPCMSC Research Microbiologist) was interviewed about her deep-sea research for a new episode of the podcast The Deep Blue: On My Doorstep. Kellogg’s episode kicks off the second series of this new podcast that debuted during Australia’s National Science Week in August 2020.
First study to assess mangrove-coral habitat in the Florida Keys National Marine Sanctuary published
The results of the study titled “Identifying Mangrove-Coral Habitats in the Florida Keys” will be published in the open-access journal PeerJ.
SPCMSC award-winner convenes online coral disease session as part of ASM Microbe Online
Christina Kellogg (SPCMSC Research Microbiologist), in her capacity as the 2020 American Society for Microbiology (ASM) Service Award Winner, organized and will moderate a session titled “On the Front Lines of Coral Disease” on July 28, 2020 (2:00-3:00pm Eastern Time). Christina's session is part of the Summer of Science programming for ASM Microbe Online.
International science outreach: Invited deep-sea presentation to UK
SPCMSC Research Microbiologist Christina Kellogg has been invited to give a presentation about the Microbial Ecology of Deep-Sea Corals to the University of the Third Age (U3A) Science & Technology group in Devon, United Kingdom, as part of their seminar series on July 22, 2020.
USGS scientists showcase coral disease research capabilities to Florida Disease Advisory Committee
USGS scientists from multiple centers will give 5-minute lightening presentations followed by question and answer sessions during a regularly scheduled Florida Disease Advisory Committee (DAC) call on July 1, 2020.
Florida mangrove-coral study will be presented at Mote Marine Laboratory’s Protect Our Reefs project meeting and on bioRxiv
Christina Kellogg (SPCMSC Research Microbiologist) will present results of the study “Identifying Mangrove-Coral Habitats in the Florida Keys” at Mote Marine Laboratory’s virtual Protect Our Reefs (POR) project meeting. This project meeting is to showcase the results of POR-funded projects from the previous year. The manuscript describing the study is available on the preprint server bioRxiv...