Bettarel Yvan auteur aut IRD Boudin E. auteur aut IRD Halary S. auteur aut IRD Auguet J.C. auteur aut IRD Péronnin J. auteur aut IRD Bouvier T. auteur aut IRD Rochelle-Newall Emma auteur aut IRD Van Ngoc Bui auteur aut IRD Desnues C. auteur aut IRD text journalArticle eng text/pdf reformatted digital access Off the coast of Vietnam, two recent events seem to have contributed to the death of coral reefs: the rapid invasion of a small marine snail called Drupella, and the emergence of a disease that spreads over corals. We decided to investigate whether there is a link between the corals, the snails, and the disease. We analyzed the mucus covering the surface of corals, both in healthy corals and those infested by Drupella snails. Mucus produced by corals is usually full of helpful microbes, protecting the corals from harmful microbes that can make them ill or kill them. Our analyses showed that, when Drupella eats corals, the snail also removes one of the corals' primary defenses by eliminating most of the tiny protectors in their mucus. This allows harmful microbes to cause additional damage to the corals. specialized VIET NAM 034 036 9 573856 [8 ] 2021 2296-6846 https://www.documentation.ird.fr/hor/fdi:010085848 10.3389/frym.2021.573856 2296-6846 [F B010085848] https://www.documentation.ird.fr/hor/fdi:010085848 https://horizon.documentation.ird.fr/exl-doc/pleins_textes/2022-11/010085848.pdf IRD - Base Horizon / Pleins textes 2022-09-19 2025-02-24 fdi:010085848 fre