We present evidence that a clade of bacteria in the Oceanospirillaceae is widely distributed in Porites spp. and other hermatypic corals. Bacteria 16S rDNA clone libraries were prepared from community genomic DNA extracted from Porites compressa and Porites lobata surface mucus and adjacent seawater collected along a line transect off Maui. Phylogenetic affiliations of operational taxonomic units (OTUs) defined at the 97% level of nucleotide identity varied within and between the respective Porites spp. along the transect and differed from those in the seawater. One OTU (C7-A01), however, occurred in all mucus samples from both Porites species. C7-A01c affiliates with a clade of uncultivated Oceanospirillum-like bacteria; the nearest neighbors of this OTU have been reported only in the surface mucus layer of Porites spp. and other stony corals, in reef-dwelling invertebrates, and the corallivorous six-banded angelfish, Pomacanthus sexstriatus. 1. Introduction The best known interaction between hermatypic corals and other organisms is that between Symbiodinium zooxanthellae and the coral host [1–3]. However, specific interactions may also exist between prokaryotes and hermatypic corals [4–10]. It is important to determine if such associations do exist, given how sensitive some corals are to environmental stressors and that microbes may be involved in a response [11]. In this context, the phylogenetic structure of the microbial flora in a healthy coral should be defined before predicting its role or function in diseased or otherwise stressed corals. Through 16S rDNA clone libraries, we investigated the phylogeny of microbial communities in mucus from apparently healthy Porites compressa and P. lobata corals along a line transect over a reef off the coast of Maui, Hawai‘i. Through this sampling design, we aimed to determine if there is evidence that particular Bacteria species occur consistently in either or both Porites species and contemporaneously collected adjacent seawater and if any in turn affiliate phylogenetically with those reported in corals or other organisms elsewhere. Evidence for such associations should set the scene for cultivation attempts directed at these Bacteria, and, as with other animal-microbe interactions, elucidation of the mechanisms involved in establishing and maintaining the association [12]. 2. Materials and Methods 2.1. Site Selection A 150？m line-transect was established on the West Maui patch reef at 20° 48.399′N, 156° 36.064′W. Wave activity here is dampened by an outer barrier reef. Commercial and residential
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