ORCID Profile
0000-0003-4607-0744
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Research Topics
In Research Link Australia (RLA), "Research Topics" refer to ANZSRC FOR and SEO codes. These topics are either sourced from ANZSRC FOR and SEO codes listed in researchers' related grants or generated by a large language model (LLM) based on their publications.
Top 5 Research Topics
ANZSRC Field of Research (FoR)
Microbiology | Microbial Ecology | Biochemistry and Cell Biology | Genomics | Conservation And Biodiversity | Global Change Biology | Virology | Analytical chemistry | Basic pharmacology | Ecology | Genetics | Plant Biology | Environmental Management And Rehabilitation | Animal Cell and Molecular Biology | Environmental Biotechnology | Invertebrate Biology | Analytical biochemistry | Animal Systematics, Taxonomy And Phylogeny | Conservation and Biodiversity | Marine And Estuarine Ecology (Incl. Marine Ichthyology) | Enzymes | Environmental Marine Biotechnology | Analytical spectrometry | Environmental Science and Management | Physiology Not Elsewhere Classified | Environment And Resource Economics | Global Change Biology | Cellular Interactions (incl. Adhesion, Matrix, Cell Wall) | Infectious Agents | Evolutionary Impacts of Climate Change | Plant Cell and Molecular Biology | Host-Parasite Interactions | Ecological Impacts of Climate Change | Ecosystem Function | Other Biological Sciences | Population And Ecological Genetics | Genetic Development (Incl. Sex Determination) | Molecular Evolution | Diagnostic Applications | Genetic Technologies: Transformation, Site-Directed Mutagenesis, Etc. | Biological Adaptation
ANZSRC Socio-Economic Objective (SEO)
Ecosystem Adaptation to Climate Change | Biological sciences | Marine Flora, Fauna and Biodiversity | Global climate change adaptation measures | Effects of Climate Change and Variability on Australia (excl. Social Impacts) | Coastal and Estuarine Flora, Fauna and Biodiversity | Integrated (ecosystem) assessment and management | Living resources (incl. impacts of fishing on non-target species) | Control of Pests, Diseases and Exotic Species not elsewhere classified | Integrated (ecosystem) assessment and management | Prevention—biologicals (e.g. vaccines) | Treatments (e.g. chemicals, antibiotics) | Climate Change Mitigation Strategies | Environmentally Sustainable Plant Production not elsewhere classified | Climate Change Adaptation Measures | Living resources (flora and fauna) | Management of Water Consumption by Plant Production | Living resources (flora and fauna) | Expanding Knowledge in the Biological Sciences | Regional planning |
Related Links
Publications
Coral holobiont research needs spatial analyses at the microbial scale
Publisher: Wiley
Date: 21-11-2022
Microbiome characterization of defensive tissues in the model anemone Exaiptasia diaphana
Publisher: Springer Science and Business Media LLC
Date: 21-05-2021
DOI: 10.1186/S12866-021-02211-4
Abstract: Coral reefs are among the most erse and productive ecosystems on Earth. This success relies on the coral’s association with a wide range of microorganisms, including dinoflagellates of the family Symbiodiniaceae that provide coral hosts with most of their organic carbon requirements. While bacterial associates have long been overlooked, research on these microorganisms is gaining traction, and deciphering bacterial identity and function is greatly enhancing our understanding of cnidarian biology. Here, we investigated bacterial communities in defensive tissues (acontia) of the coral model, the sea anemone Exaiptasia diaphana . Acontia are internal filaments that are ejected upon detection of an external threat and release toxins to repel predators. Using culturing techniques and 16S rRNA gene metabarcoding we identified bacterial communities associated with acontia of four Great Barrier Reef-sourced E. diaphana genotypes. We show that bacterial communities are similar across genotypes, and dominated by Alteromonadaceae , Vibrionaceae , Rhodobacteraceae , and Saprospiraceae . By analyzing abundant licon sequence variants (ASVs) from metabarcoding data from acontia and comparing these to data from whole anemones, we identified five potentially important bacterial genera of the acontia microbiome: Vibrio, Sulfitobacter, Marivita, Alteromonas, and Lewinella . The role of these bacteria within the acontia remains uninvestigated but could entail assistance in defense processes such as toxin production. This study provides insight into potential bacterial involvement in cnidarian defense tissues and highlights the need to study bacterial communities in in idual compartments within a holobiont.
New interventions are needed to save coral reefs
Publisher: Springer Science and Business Media LLC
Date: 21-09-2017
Inter-polyp genetic and physiological characterisation of Symbiodinium in an Acropora valida colony
Publisher: Springer Science and Business Media LLC
Date: 13-09-2007
Endozoicomonas-chlamydiae interactions in cell-associated microbial aggregates of the coralPocillopora acuta
Publisher: Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory
Date: 29-11-2022
DOI: 10.1101/2022.11.28.517745
Abstract: Corals are associated with a variety of bacteria, which occur in the surface mucus layer, gastrovascular cavity, skeleton, and tissues. Some tissue-associated bacteria form clusters, termed cell-associated microbial aggregates (CAMAs), which are poorly studied. Here, we provide a comprehensive characterization of CAMAs in the coral Pocillopora acuta . Combining imaging techniques, laser capture microdissection, and licon and metagenome sequencing we show that CAMAs: (i) are located in the tentacle tips and may be intracellular (ii) contain Endozoicomonas, Kistimonas (both Gammaproteobacteria), and Simkania (Chlamydiota) bacteria (iii) Endozoicomonas may provide vitamins to its host and use secretion systems and/or pili for colonization and aggregation (iv) Endozoicomonas and Simkania occur in distinct, but adjacent, CAMAs (v) Simkania may rely on acetate and heme provided by neighboring Endozoicomonas . Our study provides detailed insight into coral endosymbionts, which will guide the assessment of their suitability for probiotic approaches to mitigate coral bleaching.
Variation in antioxidant gene expression in the scleractinian coral Acropora millepora under laboratory thermal stress
Publisher: Inter-Research Science Center
Date: 19-10-2009
DOI: 10.3354/MEPS08194
Expression of Putative Immune Response Genes during Early Ontogeny in the Coral Acropora millepora
Publisher: Public Library of Science (PLoS)
Date: 06-07-2012
The roles of age, parentage and environment on bacterial and algal endosymbiont communities in Acropora corals
Publisher: Wiley
Date: 08-2019
DOI: 10.1111/MEC.15187
Abstract: The bacterial and microalgal endosymbiont (Symbiodiniaceae spp.) communities associated with corals have important roles in their health and resilience, yet little is known about the factors driving their succession during early coral life stages. Using 16S rRNA gene and ITS2 metabarcoding, we compared these communities in four Acropora coral species and their hybrids obtained from two laboratory crosses (Acropora tenuis × Acropora loripes and Acropora sarmentosa × Acropora florida) across the parental, recruit (7 months old) and juvenile (2 years old) life stages. We tested whether microbiomes differed between (a) life stages, (b) hybrids and purebreds, and (c) treatment conditions (ambient/elevated temperature and pCO
Colocalization and potential interactions of Endozoicomonas and chlamydiae in microbial aggregates of the coral Pocillopora acuta
Publisher: American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS)
Date: 19-05-2023
Abstract: Corals are associated with a variety of bacteria, which occur in the surface mucus layer, gastrovascular cavity, skeleton, and tissues. Some tissue-associated bacteria form clusters, termed cell-associated microbial aggregates (CAMAs), which are poorly studied. Here, we provide a comprehensive characterization of CAMAs in the coral Pocillopora acuta . Combining imaging techniques, laser capture microdissection, and licon and metagenome sequencing, we show that (i) CAMAs are located in the tentacle tips and may be intracellular (ii) CAMAs contain Endozoicomonas (Gammaproteobacteria) and Simkania (Chlamydiota) bacteria (iii) Endozoicomonas may provide vitamins to its host and use secretion systems and/or pili for colonization and aggregation (iv) Endozoicomonas and Simkania occur in distinct, but adjacent, CAMAs and (v) Simkania may receive acetate and heme from neighboring Endozoicomonas . Our study provides detailed insight into coral endosymbionts, thereby improving our understanding of coral physiology and health and providing important knowledge for coral reef conservation in the climate change era.
Morphological stasis masks ecologically divergent coral species on tropical reefs
Publisher: Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory
Date: 05-09-2020
DOI: 10.1101/2020.09.04.260208
Abstract: Coral reefs are the epitome of species ersity, yet the number of described scleractinian coral species, the framework-builders of coral reefs, remains moderate by comparison. DNA sequencing studies are rapidly challenging this notion by exposing a wealth of undescribed ersity, but the evolutionary and ecological significance of this ersity remains largely unclear. Here, we present an annotated genome for one of the most ubiquitous corals in the Indo-Pacific ( Pachyseris speciosa ), and uncover through a comprehensive genomic and phenotypic assessment that it comprises morphologically indistinguishable, but ecologically ergent cryptic lineages. Demographic modelling based on whole-genome resequencing disproved that morphological crypsis was due to recent ergence, and instead indicated ancient morphological stasis. Although the lineages occur sympatrically across shallow and mesophotic habitats, extensive genotyping using a rapid diagnostic assay revealed differentiation of their ecological distributions. Leveraging “common garden” conditions facilitated by the overlapping distributions, we assessed physiological and quantitative skeletal traits and demonstrated concurrent phenotypic differentiation. Lastly, spawning observations of genotyped colonies highlighted the potential role of temporal reproductive isolation in the limited admixture, with consistent genomic signatures in genes related to morphogenesis and reproduction. Overall, our findings demonstrate how ecologically and phenotypically ergent coral species can evolve despite morphological stasis, and provide new leads into the potential mechanisms facilitating such ergence in sympatry. More broadly, they indicate that our current taxonomic framework for reef-building corals may be scratching the surface of the ecologically relevant ersity on coral reefs, consequently limiting our ability to protect or restore this ersity effectively.
Transcriptomic variation in a coral reveals pathways of clonal organisation
Publisher: Elsevier BV
Date: 06-2009
DOI: 10.1016/J.MARGEN.2009.07.004
Abstract: A microarray study was undertaken to examine the potential for clonal gene expression variation in a branching reef building coral, Acropora millepora. The role of small-scale gradients in light and water flow was examined by comparing gene expression levels between branch elevation (tip and base) and position (centre and edge) of replicate coral colonies (n=3). Analyses of variance revealed that almost 60% of variation in gene expression was present between colonies and 34 genes were considered differentially expressed between colonies (minimum P=6.5×10(-4)). These genes are associated with energy metabolism, protein biosynthesis and cell-cell recognition representing either genotypic variation in gene expression or the effects of specific environmental conditions that affect patterns of energy acquisition, growth and pathogen encounters. Less variation was present between central and peripheral branches (7%) and only a single gene was deemed differentially expressed (P=1.493×10(-3)). The function of this gene, a phosphatidylserine decarboxylase, suggests different growth patterns between branch positions within colonies and is consistent with the usual higher growth rates on the perimeter of corymbose-like branching coral colonies such as A. millepora. Four genes were differentially expressed between the tip and base of branches (P=3.239×10(-4)) and were associated with lysosome lipase activity and fluorescence, suggesting that branch tips may encounter higher pathogen loads or levels of mechanical stress and require greater levels of photo-protection associated with higher water flow and light levels. This study therefore confirms transcriptomic variation in response to small-scale environmental gradients consistent with differential resource allocation in clonal coral colonies.
Temperature and Symbiodinium physiology affect the establishment and development of symbiosis in corals
Publisher: Inter-Research Science Center
Date: 25-01-2018
DOI: 10.3354/MEPS12441
Temporal patterns in innate immunity parameters in reef‐building corals and linkages with local climatic conditions
Publisher: Wiley
Date: 11-2016
DOI: 10.1002/ECS2.1505
Antibiotics reduce bacterial load in Exaiptasia diaphana, but biofilms hinder its development as a gnotobiotic coral model
Publisher: Microbiology Society
Date: 24-01-2022
Abstract: Coral reefs are declining due to anthropogenic disturbances, including climate change. Therefore, improving our understanding of coral ecosystems is vital, and the influence of bacteria on coral health has attracted particular interest. However, a gnotobiotic coral model that could enhance studies of coral–bacteria interactions is absent. To address this gap, we tested the ability of treatment with seven antibiotics for 3 weeks to deplete bacteria in Exaiptasia diaphana , a sea anemone widely used as a coral model. Digital droplet PCR (ddPCR) targeting anemone Ef1-α and bacterial 16S rRNA genes was used to quantify bacterial load, which was found to decrease six-fold. However, metabarcoding of bacterial 16S rRNA genes showed that alpha and beta ersity of the anemone-associated bacterial communities increased significantly. Therefore, gnotobiotic E. diaphana with simplified, uniform bacterial communities were not generated, with biofilm formation in the culture vessels most likely impeding efforts to eliminate bacteria. Despite this outcome, our work will inform future efforts to create a much needed gnotobiotic coral model.
Adaptation to reef habitats through selection on the coral animal and its associated microbiome
Publisher: Wiley
Date: 30-06-2018
DOI: 10.1111/MEC.14763
Abstract: Spatially adjacent habitats on coral reefs can represent highly distinct environments, often harbouring different coral communities. Yet, certain coral species thrive across ergent environments. It is unknown whether the forces of selection are sufficiently strong to overcome the counteracting effects of the typically high gene flow over short distances, and for local adaptation to occur. We screened the coral genome (using restriction site-associated sequencing) and characterized both the dinoflagellate photosymbiont- and tissue-associated prokaryote microbiomes (using metabarcoding) of a reef flat and slope population of the reef-building coral, Pocillopora damicornis, at two locations on Heron Island in the southern Great Barrier Reef. Reef flat and slope populations were separated by <100 m horizontally and ~5 m vertically, and the two study locations were separated by ~1 km. For the coral host, genetic ergence between habitats was much greater than between locations, suggesting limited gene flow between the flat and slope populations. Consistent with environmental selection, outlier loci primarily belonged to the conserved, minimal cellular stress response, likely reflecting adaptation to the different temperature and irradiance regimes on the reef flat and slope. The prokaryote community differed across both habitat and, to a lesser extent, location, whereas the dinoflagellate photosymbionts differed by habitat but not location. The observed intraspecific ersity associated with ergent habitats supports that environmental adaptation involves multiple members of the coral holobiont. Adaptive alleles or microbial associations present in coral populations from the environmentally variable reef flat may provide a source of adaptive variation for assisted evolution approaches, through assisted gene flow, artificial cross-breeding or probiotic inoculations, with the aim to increase climate resilience in the slope populations.
Heat-evolved microalgal symbionts increase coral bleaching tolerance
Publisher: American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS)
Date: 15-05-2020
Abstract: Coral bleaching tolerance can be enhanced through directed evolution of their microalgal symbionts.
Antimicrobial and stress responses to increased temperature and bacterial pathogen challenge in the holobiont of a reef-building coral
Publisher: Wiley
Date: 02-2018
DOI: 10.1111/MEC.14489
Abstract: Global increases in coral disease prevalence have been linked to ocean warming through changes in coral-associated bacterial communities, pathogen virulence and immune system function. However, the interactive effects of temperature and pathogens on the coral holobiont are poorly understood. Here, we assessed three compartments of the holobiont (host, Symbiodinium and bacterial community) of the coral Montipora aequituberculata challenged with the pathogen Vibrio coralliilyticus and the commensal bacterium Oceanospirillales sp. under ambient (27°C) and elevated (29.5 and 32°C) seawater temperatures. Few visual signs of bleaching and disease development were apparent in any of the treatments, but responses were detected in the holobiont compartments. V. coralliilyticus acted synergistically and negatively impacted the photochemical efficiency of Symbiodinium at 32°C, while Oceanospirillales had no significant effect on photosynthetic efficiency. The coral, however, exhibited a minor response to the bacterial challenges, with the response towards V. coralliilyticus being significantly more pronounced, and involving the prophenoloxidase-activating system and multiple immune system-related genes. Elevated seawater temperatures did not induce shifts in the coral-associated bacterial community, but caused significant gene expression modulation in both Symbiodinium and the coral host. While Symbiodinium exhibited an antiviral response and upregulated stress response genes, M. aequituberculata showed regulation of genes involved in stress and innate immune response processes, including immune and cytokine receptor signalling, the complement system, immune cell activation and phagocytosis, as well as molecular chaperones. These observations show that M. aequituberculata is capable of maintaining a stable bacterial community under elevated seawater temperatures and thereby contributes to preventing disease development.
Efficacy of long-term coral tissue storage in ethanol for genotyping studies
Publisher: Springer Science and Business Media LLC
Date: 29-11-2013
Scientists’ warning to humanity: microorganisms and climate change
Publisher: Springer Science and Business Media LLC
Date: 18-06-2019
Simultaneous determination of coenzyme Q and plastoquinone redox states in the coral-Symbiodinium symbiosis during thermally induced bleaching
Publisher: Elsevier BV
Date: 06-2014
Development of 10 polymorphic microsatellite markers from herbicide‐bleached tissues of the brooding pocilloporid coral Seriatopora hystrix
Publisher: Wiley
Date: 21-12-2005
Sex, Scavengers, and Chaperones: Transcriptome Secrets of Divergent Symbiodinium Thermal Tolerances
Publisher: Oxford University Press (OUP)
Date: 11-10-2016
Asymmetric dispersal is a critical element of concordance between biophysical dispersal models and spatial genetic structure in Great Barrier Reef corals
Publisher: Wiley
Date: 17-07-2019
DOI: 10.1111/DDI.12969
Evidence for a role of viruses in the thermal sensitivity of coral photosymbionts
Publisher: Springer Science and Business Media LLC
Date: 02-12-2017
Colonization and metabolite profiles of homologous, heterologous and experimentally evolved algal symbionts in the sea anemone Exaiptasia diaphana
Publisher: Springer Science and Business Media LLC
Date: 30-03-2022
DOI: 10.1038/S43705-022-00114-7
Abstract: The sea anemone, Exaiptasia diaphana , is a model of coral-dinoflagellate (Symbiodiniaceae) symbiosis. However, little is known of its potential to form symbiosis with Cladocopium —a key Indo-Pacific algal symbiont of scleractinian corals, nor the host nutritional consequences of such an association. Aposymbiotic anemones were inoculated with homologous algal symbionts, Breviolum minutum , and seven heterologous strains of Cladocopium C1 acro (wild-type and heat-evolved) under ambient conditions. Despite lower initial algal cell density, Cladocopium C1 acro -anemeones achieved similar cell densities as B. minutum -anemones by week 77. Wild-type and heat-evolved Cladocopium C1 acro showed similar colonization patterns. Targeted LC-MS-based metabolomics revealed that almost all significantly different metabolites in the host and Symbiodiniaceae fractions were due to differences between Cladocopium C1 acro and B. minutum , with little difference between heat-evolved and wild-type Cladocopium C1 acro at week 9. The algal fraction of Cladocopium C1 acro -anemones was enriched in metabolites related to nitrogen storage, while the host fraction of B. minutum -anemones was enriched in sugar-related metabolites. Compared to B. minutum , Cladocopium C1 acro is likely slightly less nutritionally beneficial to the host under ambient conditions, but more capable of maintaining its own growth when host nitrogen supply is limited. Our findings demonstrate the value of E. diaphana to study experimentally evolved Cladocopium .
Novel T4 bacteriophages associated with black band disease in corals
Publisher: Wiley
Date: 12-11-2019
Abstract: Research into causative agents underlying coral disease have focused primarily on bacteria, whereas potential roles of viruses have been largely unaddressed. Bacteriophages may contribute to diseases through the lysogenic introduction of virulence genes into bacteria, or prevent diseases through lysis of bacterial pathogens. To identify candidate phages that may influence the pathogenicity of black band disease (BBD), communities of bacteria (16S rRNA) and T4-bacteriophages (gp23) were simultaneously profiled with licon sequencing among BBD-lesions and healthy-coral-tissue of Montipora hispida, as well as seawater (study site: the central Great Barrier Reef). Bacterial community compositions were distinct among BBD-lesions, healthy coral tissue and seawater s les, as observed in previous studies. Surprisingly, however, viral beta ersities based on both operational taxonomic unit (OTU)-compositions and overall viral community compositions of assigned taxa did not differ statistically between the BBD-lesions and healthy coral tissue. Nonetheless, relative abundances of three bacteriophage OTUs, affiliated to Cyanophage PRSM6 and Prochlorococcus phages P-SSM2, were significantly higher in BBD-lesions than in healthy tissue. These OTUs associated with BBD s les suggest the presence of bacteriophages that infect members of the cyanobacteria-dominated BBD community, and thus have potential roles in BBD pathogenicity.
Coral-associated viral communities show high levels of diversity and host auxiliary functions
Publisher: PeerJ
Date: 17-11-2017
DOI: 10.7717/PEERJ.4054
Abstract: Stony corals (Scleractinia) are marine invertebrates that form the foundation and framework upon which tropical reefs are built. The coral animal associates with a erse microbiome comprised of dinoflagellate algae and other protists, bacteria, archaea, fungi and viruses. Using a metagenomics approach, we analysed the DNA and RNA viral assemblages of seven coral species from the central Great Barrier Reef (GBR), demonstrating that tailed bacteriophages of the Caudovirales dominate across all species examined, and ssDNA viruses, notably the Microviridae , are also prevalent. Most sequences with matches to eukaryotic viruses were assigned to six viral families, including four Nucleocytoplasmic Large DNA Viruses (NCLDVs) families: Iridoviridae, Phycodnaviridae, Mimiviridae, and Poxviridae , as well as Retroviridae and Polydnaviridae . Contrary to previous findings, Herpesvirales were rare in these GBR corals. Sequences of a ssRNA virus with similarities to the dinornavirus, Heterocapsa circularisquama ssRNA virus of the Alvernaviridae that infects free-living dinoflagellates, were observed in three coral species. We also detected viruses previously undescribed from the coral holobiont, including a virus that targets fungi associated with the coral species Acropora tenuis . Functional analysis of the assembled contigs indicated a high prevalence of latency-associated genes in the coral-associated viral assemblages, several host-derived auxiliary metabolic genes (AMGs) for photosynthesis ( psbA , psbD genes encoding the photosystem II D1 and D2 proteins respectively), as well as potential nematocyst toxins and antioxidants (genes encoding green fluorescent-like chromoprotein). This study expands the currently limited knowledge on coral-associated viruses by characterising viral composition and function across seven GBR coral species.
Adaptive divergence in a scleractinian coral: physiological adaptation of Seriatopora hystrix to shallow and deep reef habitats
Publisher: Springer Science and Business Media LLC
Date: 2011
Geographic variation in long-term trajectories of change in coral recruitment: a global-to-local perspective
Publisher: CSIRO Publishing
Date: 2015
DOI: 10.1071/MF14139
Abstract: Compiled abundances of juvenile corals revealed no change over time in the Pacific, but a decline in the Caribbean. Using these analyses as a rationale, we explored recruitment and post-settlement success in determining coral cover using studies in the Caribbean (St John, Bonaire) and Pacific (Moorea, Okinawa). Juvenile corals, coral recruits, and coral cover have been censused in these locations for years, and the ratio of juvenile (J) to recruiting (R) corals was used to measure post-settlement success. In St John and Bonaire, coral cover was stable but different between studies, with the ratio of the density of juveniles to density of recruits (J:R) ~0.10 in Moorea, declines in coral cover were followed by recovery that was related to the density of juvenile corals 3 years before, with J:R ~0.40 and in Okinawa, a decline in coral cover in 1998 was followed by a slow recovery with J/R ~0.01. Coral cover was associated positively with juvenile corals in St John, and in Okinawa, the density of juvenile corals was associated positively with recruits the year before. J:R varied among studies, and standardised densities of juvenile corals declined in the Caribbean, but increased in the Pacific. These results suggest that differences in the post-settlement success may drive variation in coral community structure.
Abundance and morphology of virus-like particles associated with the coral Acropora hyacinthus differ between healthy and white syndrome-infected states
Publisher: Inter-Research Science Center
Date: 09-09-2014
DOI: 10.3354/MEPS10927
Generating viral metagenomes from the coral holobiont
Publisher: Frontiers Media SA
Date: 07-05-2014
Seasonal variation in the photo-physiology of homogeneous and heterogeneous Symbiodinium consortia in two scleractinian corals
Publisher: Inter-Research Science Center
Date: 09-06-2008
DOI: 10.3354/MEPS07360
Maternal effects in gene expression of interspecific coral hybrids
Publisher: Wiley
Date: 29-11-2021
DOI: 10.1111/MEC.15727
Predictive models for the selection of thermally tolerant corals based on offspring survival
Publisher: Springer Science and Business Media LLC
Date: 29-03-2022
DOI: 10.1038/S41467-022-28956-8
Abstract: Finding coral reefs resilient to climate warming is challenging given the large spatial scale of reef ecosystems. Methods are needed to predict the location of corals with heritable tolerance to high temperatures. Here, we combine Great Barrier Reef-scale remote sensing with breeding experiments that estimate larval and juvenile coral survival under exposure to high temperatures. Using reproductive corals collected from the northern and central Great Barrier Reef, we develop forecasting models to locate reefs harbouring corals capable of producing offspring with increased heat tolerance of an additional 3.4° heating weeks (~3 °C). Our findings predict hundreds of reefs (~7.5%) may be home to corals that have high and heritable heat-tolerance in habitats with high daily and annual temperature ranges and historically variable heat stress. The locations identified represent targets for protection and consideration as a source of corals for use in restoration of degraded reefs given their potential to resist climate change impacts and repopulate reefs with tolerant offspring.
Persistence and Change in Community Composition of Reef Corals through Present, Past, and Future Climates
Publisher: Public Library of Science (PLoS)
Date: 10-2014
Genetic Traces of Recent Long-Distance Dispersal in a Predominantly Self-Recruiting Coral
Publisher: Public Library of Science (PLoS)
Date: 14-10-2008
Impact of Light and Temperature on the Uptake of Algal Symbionts by Coral Juveniles
Publisher: Public Library of Science (PLoS)
Date: 21-11-2012
Juvenile corals can acquire more carbon from high-performance algal symbionts
Publisher: Springer Science and Business Media LLC
Date: 25-02-2009
A community change in the algal endosymbionts of a scleractinian coral following a natural bleaching event: field evidence of acclimatization
Publisher: The Royal Society
Date: 18-03-2008
Abstract: The symbiosis between reef-building corals and their algal endosymbionts (zooxanthellae of the genus Symbiodinium ) is highly sensitive to temperature stress, which makes coral reefs vulnerable to climate change. Thermal tolerance in corals is known to be substantially linked to the type of zooxanthellae they harbour and, when multiple types are present, the relative abundance of types can be experimentally manipulated to increase the thermal limits of in idual corals. Although the potential exists for this to translate into substantial thermal acclimatization of coral communities, to date there is no evidence to show that this takes place under natural conditions. In this study, we show field evidence of a dramatic change in the symbiont community of Acropora millepora , a common and widespread Indo-Pacific hard coral species, after a natural bleaching event in early 2006 in the Keppel Islands (Great Barrier Reef). Before bleaching, 93.5% ( n =460) of the randomly s led and tagged colonies predominantly harboured the thermally sensitive Symbiodinium type C2, while the remainder harboured a tolerant Symbiodinium type belonging to clade D or mixtures of C2 and D. After bleaching, 71% of the surviving tagged colonies that were initially C2 predominant changed to D or C1 predominance. Colonies that were originally C2 predominant suffered high mortality (37%) compared with D-predominant colonies (8%). We estimate that just over 18% of the original A. millepora population survived unchanged leaving 29% of the population C2 and 71% D or C1 predominant six months after the bleaching event. This change in the symbiont community structure, while it persists, is likely to have substantially increased the thermal tolerance of this coral population. Understanding the processes that underpin the temporal changes in symbiont communities is key to assessing the acclimatization potential of reef corals.
Exploring microbiome engineering as a strategy for improved thermal tolerance in Exaiptasia diaphana
Publisher: Oxford University Press (OUP)
Date: 04-2022
DOI: 10.1111/JAM.15465
Abstract: Fourteen percent of all living coral, equivalent to more than all the coral on the Great Barrier Reef, has died in the past decade as a result of climate change-driven bleaching. Inspired by the 'oxidative stress theory of coral bleaching', we investigated whether a bacterial consortium designed to scavenge free radicals could integrate into the host microbiome and improve thermal tolerance of the coral model, Exaiptasia diaphana. E. diaphana anemones were inoculated with a consortium of high free radical scavenging (FRS) bacteria, a consortium of congeneric low FRS bacteria, or sterile seawater as a control, then exposed to elevated temperature. Increases in the relative abundance of Labrenzia during the first 2 weeks following the last inoculation provided evidence for temporary inoculum integration into the E. diaphana microbiome. Initial uptake of other consortium members was inconsistent, and these bacteria did not persist either in E. diaphana's microbiome over time. Given their non-integration into the host microbiome, the ability of the FRS consortium to mitigate thermal stress could not be assessed. Importantly, there were no physiological impacts (negative or positive) of the bacterial inoculations on the holobiont. The introduced bacteria were not maintained in the anemone microbiome over time, thus, their protective effect is unknown. Achieving long-term integration of bacteria into cnidarian microbiomes remains a research priority. Microbiome engineering strategies to mitigate coral bleaching may assist coral reefs in their persistence until climate change has been curbed. This study provides insights that will inform microbiome manipulation approaches in coral bleaching mitigation research.
Whole-genome duplication in an algal symbiont bolsters coral heat tolerance
Publisher: Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory
Date: 11-04-2022
DOI: 10.1101/2022.04.10.487810
Abstract: Coral reefs are fundamentally sustained by symbioses involving dinoflagellate algae in the Family Symbiodiniaceae. The coral symbiont Durusdinium trenchii is notable for enhancing the resilience of coral holobionts under thermal stress. Believed to have experienced whole-genome duplication (WGD), D. trenchii offers a valuable model system to understand how selection acts on the genome of a facultative symbiont after WGD. We present genome assemblies for two isolates of D. trenchii and confirm WGD in these taxa, providing the first ex le of this phenomenon in a single-celled eukaryotic symbiont. We assess how the facultative lifestyle has contributed to the retention and ergence of duplicated genes, and how these results intersect with the observed thermotolerance of corals hosting D. trenchii symbionts. Our findings reveal that the free-living lifestyle is the main driver of post-WGD evolution, however, they also implicate symbiosis in this process, with both lifestyles increasing algal fitness. Our results demonstrate that WGD, driven by selection in the free-living phase, has converted D. trenchii into a coral symbiont that serendipitously provides increased thermal stress protection to the host coral.
The coral immune response facilitates protection against microbes during tissue regeneration
Publisher: Wiley
Date: 19-06-2015
DOI: 10.1111/MEC.13257
Abstract: Increasing physical damage on coral reefs from predation, storms and anthropogenic disturbances highlights the need to understand the impact of injury on the coral immune system. In this study, we examined the regulation of the coral immune response over 10 days following physical trauma artificially inflicted on in situ colonies of the coral Acropora aspera, simultaneously with bacterial colonization of the lesions. Corals responded to injury by increasing the expression of immune system-related genes involved in the Toll-like and NOD-like receptor signalling pathways and the lectin-complement system in three phases (<2, 4 and 10 days post-injury). Phenoloxidase activity was also significantly upregulated in two phases (<3 and 10 days post-injury), as were levels of non-fluorescent chromoprotein. In addition, green fluorescent protein expression was upregulated in response to injury from 4 days post-injury, while cyan fluorescent protein expression was reduced. No shifts in the composition of coral-associated bacterial communities were evident following injury based on 16S rRNA gene licon pyrosequencing. Bacteria-specific fluorescence in situ hybridization also showed no evidence of bacterial colonization of the wound or regenerating tissues. Coral tissues showed near-complete regeneration of lesions within 10 days. This study demonstrates that corals exhibit immune responses that support rapid recovery following physical injury, maintain coral microbial homeostasis and prevent bacterial infestation that may compromise coral fitness.
Highly structured prokaryote communities exist within the skeleton of coral colonies
Publisher: Springer Science and Business Media LLC
Date: 20-10-2018
Allorecognition maturation in the broadcast-spawning coral Acropora millepora
Publisher: Springer Science and Business Media LLC
Date: 27-05-2012
Absence of skeleton deposition in juveniles of the scleractinian coral Acropora millepora
Publisher: Springer Science and Business Media LLC
Date: 26-07-2012
Metagenomic characterization of viral communities in corals: mining biological signal from methodological noise
Publisher: Wiley
Date: 27-03-2015
Abstract: Reef-building corals form close associations with organisms from all three domains of life and therefore have many potential viral hosts. Yet knowledge of viral communities associated with corals is barely explored. This complexity presents a number of challenges in terms of the metagenomic assessments of coral viral communities and requires specialized methods for purification and lification of viral nucleic acids, as well as virome annotation. In this minireview, we conduct a meta-analysis of the limited number of existing coral virome studies, as well as available coral transcriptome and metagenome data, to identify trends and potential complications inherent in different methods. The analysis shows that the method used for viral nucleic acid isolation drastically affects the observed viral assemblage and interpretation of the results. Further, the small number of viral reference genomes available, coupled with short sequence read lengths might cause errors in virus identification. Despite these limitations and potential biases, the data show that viral communities associated with corals are erse, with double- and single-stranded DNA and RNA viruses. The identified viruses are dominated by double-stranded DNA-tailed bacteriophages, but there are also viruses that infect eukaryote hosts, likely the endosymbiotic dinoflagellates, Symbiodinium spp., host coral and other eukaryotes in close association.
Coral microbiome dynamics, functions and design in a changing world
Publisher: Springer Science and Business Media LLC
Date: 07-2019
DOI: 10.1038/S41579-019-0223-4
Abstract: Corals associate not only with dinoflagellates, which are their algal endosymbionts and which have been extensively studied over the past four decades, but also with a variety of other microorganisms. The coral microbiome includes dinoflagellates, viruses, fungi, archaea and bacteria, with knowledge of the latter growing rapidly. This Review focuses on the bacterial members of the coral microbiome and draws parallels with better-studied microbiomes in other biological systems. We synthesize current understanding of spatial, temporal and host-specific patterns in coral-associated bacterial communities, the drivers shaping these patterns, and the role of the microbiome in acclimatization and adaptation of the host to climate warming. We discuss how this knowledge can be harnessed to assist the future persistence of coral reefs and provide novel perspectives for the development of microbiome engineering and its implications for coral reef conservation and restoration.
HoloVir: A workflow for investigating the diversity and function of viruses in invertebrate holobionts
Publisher: Frontiers Media SA
Date: 09-06-2016
Genomic signatures in the coral holobiont reveal host adaptations driven by Holocene climate change and reef specific symbionts
Publisher: American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS)
Date: 27-11-2020
Abstract: Genomes of 150 coral colonies reveal evolutionary processes related to past climatic change on the Great Barrier Reef.
Eight microsatellite loci for the Irukandji syndrome-causing carybdeid jellyfish, Carukia barnesi (Cubozoa, Cnidaria)
Publisher: Wiley
Date: 12-02-2009
DOI: 10.1111/J.1755-0998.2008.02509.X
Abstract: Microsatellites are high-resolution genetic markers that may be applied to examine parentage, population structure and the direction and extent of dispersal. Here we present eight polymorphic microsatellite loci developed for the carybdeid jellyfish, Carukia barnesi. The loci were developed from a microsatellite-enriched, partial genomic DNA library and tested for polymorphism on animals from each of two geographically distinct populations, Lizard Island and Double Island, from the Great Barrier Reef. The number of alleles observed for each locus ranged from 7 to 19.
Unexpected patterns of genetic structuring among locations but not colour morphs in Acropora nasuta (Cnidaria; Scleractinia)
Publisher: Wiley
Date: 28-11-2004
DOI: 10.1046/J.1365-294X.2003.02019.X
Abstract: Symbiotic relationships have contributed greatly to the evolution and maintenance of biological ersity. On the Great Barrier Reef, species of obligate coral-dwelling fishes (genus Gobiodon) coexist by selectively recruiting to colonies of Acropora nasuta that differ in branch-tip colour. In this study, we investigate genetic variability among sympatric populations of two colour morphs of A. nasuta ('blue-tip' and 'brown-tip') living in symbiosis with two fish species, Gobiodon histrio and G. quinquestrigatus, respectively, to determine whether gobies are selecting between intraspecific colour polymorphisms or cryptic coral species. We also examine genetic differentiation among coral populations containing both these colour morphs that are separated by metres between local sites, tens of kilometres across the continental shelf and hundreds of kilometres along the Great Barrier Reef. We use three nuclear DNA loci, two of which we present here for the first time for Acropora. No significant genetic differentiation was detected between sympatric colour morphs at these three loci. Hence, symbiotic gobies are selecting among colour morphs of A. nasuta, rather than cryptic species. Significant genetic geographical structuring was observed among populations, independent of colour, at regional (i.e. latitudinal separation by < 500 km) and cross-shelf (< 50 km) scales, alongside relative homogeneity between local populations on within reef scales (< 5 km). This contrasts with the reported absence of large-scale genetic structuring in A. valida, which is a member of the same species group as A. nasuta. Apparent differences in biogeographical structuring between species within the A. nasuta group emphasize the need for comparative s ling across both spatial (i.e. within reefs, between reefs and between regions) and taxonomic scales (i.e. within and between closely related species).
Molecular Delineation of Species in the Coral Holobiont
Publisher: Elsevier
Date: 2012
Elevated seawater temperatures have a limited impact on the coral immune response following physical damage
Publisher: Springer Science and Business Media LLC
Date: 17-03-2015
Genetic diversity and differentiation among high-latitude broadcast-spawning coral populations disjunct from the core range
Publisher: Inter-Research Science Center
Date: 02-10-2013
DOI: 10.3354/MEPS10480
Species–specific interactions between algal endosymbionts and coral hosts define their bleaching response to heat and light stress
Publisher: The Royal Society
Date: 24-06-2008
Abstract: The impacts of warming seas on the frequency and severity of bleaching events are well documented, but the potential for different Symbiodinium types to enhance the physiological tolerance of reef corals is not well understood. Here we compare the functionality and physiological properties of juvenile corals when experimentally infected with one of two homologous Symbiodinium types and exposed to combined heat and light stress. A suite of physiological indicators including chlorophyll a fluorescence, oxygen production and respiration, as well as pigment concentration consistently demonstrated lower metabolic costs and enhanced physiological tolerance of Acropora tenuis juveniles when hosting Symbiodinium type C1 compared with type D. In other studies, the same D-type has been shown to confer higher thermal tolerance than both C2 in adults and C1 in juveniles of the closely related species Acropora millepora . Our results challenge speculations that associations with type D are universally most robust to thermal stress. Although the heat tolerance of corals may be contingent on the Symbiodinium strain in hospite , our results highlight the complexity of interactions between symbiotic partners and a potential role for host factors in determining the physiological performance of reef corals.
Slow mitochondrial DNA sequence evolution in the Anthozoa (Cnidaria)
Publisher: Wiley
Date: 12-2002
DOI: 10.1046/J.1365-294X.2002.01652.X
Abstract: Mitochondrial genes have been used extensively in population genetic and phylogeographical analyses, in part due to a high rate of nucleotide substitution in animal mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA). Nucleotide sequences of anthozoan mitochondrial genes, however, are virtually invariant among conspecifics, even at third codon positions of protein-coding sequences. Hence, mtDNA markers are of limited use for population-level studies in these organisms. Mitochondrial gene sequence ergence among anthozoan species is also low relative to that exhibited in other animals, although higher level relationships can be resolved with these markers. Substitution rates in anthozoan nuclear genes are much higher than in mitochondrial genes, whereas nuclear genes in other metazoans usually evolve more slowly than, or similar to, mitochondrial genes. Although several mechanisms accounting for a slow rate of sequence evolution have been proposed, there is not yet a definitive explanation for this observation. Slow evolution and unique characteristics may be common in primitive metazoans, suggesting that patterns of mtDNA evolution in these organisms differ from that in other animal systems.
CRISPR-Cas Defense System and Potential Prophages in Cyanobacteria Associated with the Coral Black Band Disease
Publisher: Frontiers Media SA
Date: 22-12-2016
A multilocus, temperature stress‐related gene expression profile assay in Acropora millepora, a dominant reef‐building coral
Publisher: Wiley
Date: 28-09-2010
DOI: 10.1111/J.1755-0998.2010.02923.X
Abstract: We report an accurate multiplex reverse transcription quantitative polymerase chain reaction (RT-qPCR) assay, capable of reproducing gene expression profiles from 16 target genes [12 genes of interest (GOIs) and four reference genes (RGs)] in Acropora millepora, a common reef-building model coral species. The 12 GOIs have known or putative roles in the coral bleaching response, yet the method is not restricted to this particular assay and gene set. The procedure is based on the Beckman Coulter (Fullerton, CA, USA) GenomeLab™ GeXP Genetic Analysis System and bridges the gap between quantitative real-time PCR (qPCR) expression analysis of a single or a small number of genes and microarray gene expression surveys of thousands of genes. Despite large variation among biological replicates, the majority of GOIs were up-regulated (up to 4000%) in most colonies during a laboratory-based thermal stress experiment. Two genes, Nf-kβ2 and MnSod, were consistently up-regulated in all colonies tested, and we therefore propose these as candidate markers useful for population-level evaluations of thermal stress. Our assay provides an important new tool for coral bleaching studies because of the lower cost, labour and amount of cDNA required compared with singleplex qPCR, population-level studies with large biological replication are feasible.
Patterns of Gene Expression in a Scleractinian Coral Undergoing Natural Bleaching
Publisher: Springer Science and Business Media LLC
Date: 30-12-2009
DOI: 10.1007/S10126-009-9247-5
Abstract: Coral bleaching is a major threat to coral reefs worldwide and is predicted to intensify with increasing global temperature. This study represents the first investigation of gene expression in an Indo-Pacific coral species undergoing natural bleaching which involved the loss of algal symbionts. Quantitative real-time polymerase chain reaction experiments were conducted to select and evaluate coral internal control genes (ICGs), and to investigate selected coral genes of interest (GOIs) for changes in gene expression in nine colonies of the scleractinian coral Acropora millepora undergoing bleaching at Magnetic Island, Great Barrier Reef, Australia. Among the six ICGs tested, glyceraldehyde 3-phosphate dehydrogenase and the ribosomal protein genes S7 and L9 exhibited the most constant expression levels between s les from healthy-looking colonies and s les from the same colonies when severely bleached a year later. These ICGs were therefore utilised for normalisation of expression data for seven selected GOIs. Of the seven GOIs, homologues of catalase, C-type lectin and chromoprotein genes were significantly up-regulated as a result of bleaching by factors of 1.81, 1.46 and 1.61 (linear mixed models analysis of variance, P < 0.05), respectively. We present these genes as potential coral bleaching response genes. In contrast, three genes, including one putative ICG, showed highly variable levels of expression between coral colonies. Potential variation in microhabitat, gene function unrelated to the stress response and in idualised stress responses may influence such differences between colonies and need to be better understood when designing and interpreting future studies of gene expression in natural coral populations.
Coral—the world's most diverse symbiotic ecosystem
Publisher: Wiley
Date: 21-10-2015
DOI: 10.1111/MEC.13400
Abstract: Zooxanthellate corals (i.e. those harbouring Symbiodinium) are the main builders of the world's shallow-water marine coral reefs. They represent intimate erse symbioses between coral animals, single-celled photosynthetic dinoflagellates (Symbiodinium spp.), other microscopic eukaryotes, prokaryotes and viruses. Crabs and other crustaceans, worms, sponges, bivalves and hydrozoans, fishes, sea urchins, octopuses and sea stars are itinerant members of these 'rainforests of the sea'. This review focuses on the bio ersity of scleractinian coral animals and their best studied microscopic epi- and endosymbionts. In relation to coral-associated species ersity, Symbiodinium internal transcribed spacer region sequence types tally 10(2) -10(3) or up to ~15 different operational taxonomic units (OTUs, or putative species at the 97% sequence identity level this cut-off was chosen based on intragenomic sequence ersity observed in monoclonal cultures) and prokaryotes (mostly bacterial) total 10(2) -10(4) OTUs. We analysed all publically accessible 16S rRNA gene sequence data and found Gammaproteobacteria were extremely abundant, followed by Alphaproteobacteria. Notably, Archaea were poorly represented and 'unassigned OTUs' were abundant in data generated by high-throughput DNA sequencing studies of corals. We outline and compare model systems that could be used in future studies of the coral holobiont. In our future directions, we recommend a global coral s ling effort including substantial attention being paid to method of coral tissue acquisition, which compartments (mucus, tissue, skeleton) to explore, broadening the holobiont members considered and linking bio ersity with functional investigations.
From cholera to corals: Viruses as drivers of virulence in a major coral bacterial pathogen
Publisher: Springer Science and Business Media LLC
Date: 08-12-2015
DOI: 10.1038/SREP17889
Abstract: Disease is an increasing threat to reef-building corals. One of the few identified pathogens of coral disease is the bacterium Vibrio coralliilyticus . In Vibrio cholerae , infection by a bacterial virus (bacteriophage) results in the conversion of non-pathogenic strains to pathogenic strains and this can lead to cholera pandemics. Pathogenicity islands encoded in the V. cholerae genome play an important role in pathogenesis. Here we analyse five whole genome sequences of V. coralliilyticus to examine whether virulence is similarly driven by horizontally acquired elements. We demonstrate that bacteriophage genomes encoding toxin genes with homology to those found in pathogenic V. cholerae are integrated in V. coralliilyticus genomes. Virulence factors located on chromosomal pathogenicity islands also exist in some strains of V. coralliilyticus . The presence of these genetic signatures indicates virulence in V. coralliilyticus is driven by prophages and other horizontally acquired elements. Screening for pathogens of coral disease should target conserved regions in these elements.
Symbiodinium Genotypic and Environmental Controls on Lipids in Reef Building Corals
Publisher: Public Library of Science (PLoS)
Date: 26-05-2011
Interspecific Hybridization May Provide Novel Opportunities for Coral Reef Restoration
Publisher: Frontiers Media SA
Date: 14-05-2018
Improved Cladocopium goreaui genome assembly reveals features of a facultative coral symbiont and the complex evolutionary history of dinoflagellate genes
Publisher: Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory
Date: 20-07-2022
DOI: 10.1101/2022.07.19.500725
Abstract: Dinoflagellates of the family Symbiodiniaceae are crucial photosymbionts in corals and other marine organisms. Of these algae, Cladocopium goreaui is one of the most dominant symbiont species in the Indo-Pacific. Here, we present an improved genome assembly of C. goreaui combining new long-read sequence data with earlier generated short-read data. Incorporating new full-length transcripts to guide gene prediction, the C. goreaui genome (1.2 Gb) exhibits a high extent of completeness (82.4% based on BUSCO protein recovery) and better resolution of repetitive sequence regions 45,322 gene models were predicted, and 327 putative, topologically associated domains of the chromosomes were identified. Comparison with other Symbiodiniaceae genomes revealed a prevalence of repeats and duplicated genes in C. goreaui , and lineage-specific genes indicating functional innovation. Incorporating 2,841,408 protein sequences from 96 broadly s led eukaryotes and representative prokaryotes in a phylogenomic approach, we assessed the evolutionary history of C. goreaui genes. Of the 5,246 phylogenetic trees inferred from homologous protein sets containing two or more phyla, 35-36% have putatively originated via horizontal gene transfer (HGT), predominantly (19-23%) via an ancestral Archaeplastida lineage implicated in the endosymbiotic origin of plastids: 10-11% are of green algal origin, including genes encoding photosynthetic functions. Our results demonstrate the utility of long-read sequence data in resolving structural features of a dinoflagellate genome and highlight how genetic transfer has shaped genome evolution of a facultative symbiont, and more broadly of dinoflagellates.
The Mitochondrial Genome of Acropora tenuis (Cnidaria; Scleractinia) Contains a Large Group I Intron and a Candidate Control Region
Publisher: Springer Science and Business Media LLC
Date: 07-2002
DOI: 10.1007/S00239-001-0075-0
Abstract: The complete nucleotide sequence of the mitochondrial genome of the coral Acropora tenuis has been determined. The 18,338 bp A. tenuis mitochondrial genome contains the standard metazoan complement of 13 protein-coding and two rRNA genes, but only the same two tRNA genes (trnM and trnW) as are present in the mtDNA of the sea anemone, Metridium senile. The A. tenuis nad5 gene is interrupted by a large group I intron which contains ten protein-coding genes and rns M. senile has an intron at the same position but this contains only two protein-coding genes. Despite the large distance (about 11.5 kb) between the 5?-exon and 3?-exon boundaries, the A. tenuis nad5 gene is functional, as we were able to RT-PCR across the predicted intron splice site using total RNA from A. tenuis. As in M. senile, all of the genes in the A. tenuis mt genome have the same orientation, but their organization is completely different in these two zoantharians: The only common gene boundaries are those at each end of the group I intron and between trnM and rnl. Finally, we provide evidence that the rns-cox3 intergenic region in A. tenuis may correspond to the mitochondrial control region of higher animals. This region contains repetitive elements, and has the potential to form secondary structures of the type characteristic of vertebrate D-loops. Comparisons between a wide range of Acropora species showed that a long hairpin predicted in rns-cox3 is phylogenetically conserved, and allowed the tentative identification of conserved sequence blocks.
Host Coenzyme Q Redox State Is an Early Biomarker of Thermal Stress in the Coral Acropora millepora
Publisher: Public Library of Science (PLoS)
Date: 10-2015
Genetic Divergence across Habitats in the Widespread Coral Seriatopora hystrix and Its Associated Symbiodinium
Publisher: Public Library of Science (PLoS)
Date: 27-05-2010
Estimating the Potential for Adaptation of Corals to Climate Warming
Publisher: Public Library of Science (PLoS)
Date: 18-03-2010
A novel, tissue-associated and vertically transmitted bacterial symbiont in the coralPocillopora acuta
Publisher: Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory
Date: 14-09-2023
The Roles and Interactions of Symbiont, Host and Environment in Defining Coral Fitness
Publisher: Public Library of Science (PLoS)
Date: 24-07-2009
Chemical mutagenesis and thermal selection of coral photosymbionts induce adaptation to heat stress with trait trade‐offs
Publisher: Wiley
Date: 19-08-2023
DOI: 10.1111/EVA.13586
Abstract: Despite the relevance of heat‐evolved microalgal endosymbionts to coral reef restoration, to date, few Symbiodiniaceae strains have been thermally enhanced via experimental evolution. Here, we investigated whether the thermal tolerance of Symbiodiniaceae can be increased through chemical mutagenesis followed by thermal selection. Strains of Durusdinium trenchii , Fugacium kawagutii and Symbiodinium pilosum were exposed to ethyl methanesulfonate to induce random mutagenesis, and then underwent thermal selection at high temperature (31/33°C). After 4.6–5 years of experimental evolution, the in vitro thermal tolerance of these strains was assessed via reciprocal transplant experiments to ambient (27°C) and elevated (31/35°C) temperatures. Growth, photosynthetic efficiency, oxidative stress and nutrient use were measured to compare thermal tolerance between strains. Heat‐evolved D. trenchii , F. kawagutii and S. pilosum strains all exhibited increased photosynthetic efficiency under thermal stress. However, trade‐offs in growth rates were observed for the heat‐evolved D. trenchii lineage at both ambient and elevated temperatures. Reduced phosphate and nitrate uptake rates in F. kawagutii and S. pilosum heat‐evolved lineages, respectively, suggest alterations in nutrition resource usage and allocation processes may have occurred. Increased phosphate uptake rates of the heat‐evolved D. trenchii strain indicate that experimental evolution resulted in further trade‐offs in this species. These findings deepen our understanding of the physiological responses of Symbiodiniaceae cultures to thermal selection and their capacity to adapt to elevated temperatures. The new heat‐evolved Symbiodiniaceae developed here may be beneficial for coral reef restoration efforts if their enhanced thermal tolerance can be conferred in hospite .
Methods for sampling free-living Symbiodinium (zooxanthellae) and their distribution and abundance at Lizard Island (Great Barrier Reef)
Publisher: Elsevier BV
Date: 09-2008
Determining the community structure of the coral Seriatopora hystrix from hydrodynamic and genetic networks
Publisher: Elsevier BV
Date: 12-2010
Real-time PCR reveals a high incidence of Symbiodinium clade D at low levels in four scleractinian corals across the Great Barrier Reef: implications for symbiont shuffling
Publisher: Springer Science and Business Media LLC
Date: 06-06-2007
Cell surface carbohydrates of symbiotic dinoflagellates and their role in the establishment of cnidarian–dinoflagellate symbiosis
Publisher: Springer Science and Business Media LLC
Date: 20-07-2022
DOI: 10.1038/S41396-021-01059-W
Abstract: Symbiodiniaceae algae are often photosymbionts of reef-building corals. The establishment of their symbiosis resembles a microbial infection where eukaryotic pattern recognition receptors (e.g. lectins) are thought to recognize a specific range of taxon-specific microbial-associated molecular patterns (e.g. glycans). The present study used the sea anemone, Exaiptasia diaphana and three species of Symbiodiniaceae (the homologous Breviolum minutum , the heterologous-compatible Cladocopium goreaui and the heterologous-incompatible Fugacium kawagutii ) to compare the surface glycomes of three symbionts and explore the role of glycan–lectin interactions in host–symbiont recognition and establishment of symbiosis. We identified the nucleotide sugars of the algal cells, then examined glycans on the cell wall of the three symbiont species with monosaccharide analysis, lectin array technology and fluorescence microscopy of the algal cell decorated with fluorescently tagged lectins. Armed with this inventory of possible glycan moieties, we then assayed the ability of the three Symbiodiniaceae to colonize aposymbiotic E. diaphana after modifying the surface of one of the two partners. The Symbiodiniaceae cell-surface glycome varies among algal species. Trypsin treatment of the alga changed the rate of B. minutum and C. goreaui uptake, suggesting that a protein-based moiety is an essential part of compatible symbiont recognition. Our data strongly support the importance of D-galactose (in particular β-D-galactose) residues in the establishment of the cnidarian–dinoflagellate symbiosis, and we propose a potential involvement of L-fucose, D-xylose and D-galacturonic acid in the early steps of this mutualism.
The promiscuous larvae: flexibility in the establishment of symbiosis in corals
Publisher: Springer Science and Business Media LLC
Date: 05-09-2012
Prevalent and persistent viral infection in cultures of the coral algal endosymbiont Symbiodinium
Publisher: Springer Science and Business Media LLC
Date: 17-03-2017
Expanding the Symbiodinium (Dinophyceae, Suessiales) Toolkit Through Protoplast Technology
Publisher: Wiley
Date: 21-02-2017
DOI: 10.1111/JEU.12393
Abstract: Dinoflagellates within the genus Symbiodinium are photosymbionts of many tropical reef invertebrates, including corals, making them central to the health of coral reefs. Symbiodinium have therefore gained significant research attention, though studies have been constrained by technical limitations. In particular, the generation of viable cells with their cell walls removed (termed protoplasts) has enabled a wide range of experimental techniques for bacteria, fungi, plants, and algae such as ultrastructure studies, virus infection studies, patch cl ing, genetic transformation, and protoplast fusion. However, previous studies have struggled to remove the cell walls from armored dinoflagellates, potentially due to the internal placement of their cell walls. Here, we produce the first Symbiodinium protoplasts from three genetically and physiologically distinct strains via incubation with cellulase and osmotic agents. Digestion of the cell walls was verified by a lack of Calcofluor White fluorescence signal and by cell swelling in hypotonic culture medium. Fused protoplasts were also observed, motivating future investigation into intra- and inter-specific somatic hybridization of Symbiodinium. Following digestion and transfer to regeneration medium, protoplasts remained photosynthetically active, regrew cell walls, regained motility, and entered exponential growth. Generation of Symbiodinium protoplasts opens exciting, new avenues for researching these crucial symbiotic dinoflagellates, including genetic modification.
Microbiome engineering: enhancing climate resilience in corals
Publisher: Wiley
Date: 04-02-2019
DOI: 10.1002/FEE.2001
The ReFuGe 2020 Consortium—using “omics” approaches to explore the adaptability and resilience of coral holobionts to environmental change
Publisher: Frontiers Media SA
Date: 2015
Highly infectious symbiont dominates initial uptake in coral juveniles
Publisher: Wiley
Date: 08-2009
Symbiodiniaceae‐bacteria interactions: rethinking metabolite exchange in reef‐building corals as multi‐partner metabolic networks
Publisher: Wiley
Date: 23-01-2020
Abstract: The intimate relationship between scleractinian corals and their associated microorganisms is fundamental to healthy coral reef ecosystems. Coral-associated microbes (Symbiodiniaceae and other protists, bacteria, archaea, fungi and viruses) support coral health and resilience through metabolite transfer, inter-partner signalling, and genetic exchange. However, much of our understanding of the coral holobiont relationship has come from studies that have investigated either coral-Symbiodiniaceae or coral-bacteria interactions in isolation, while relatively little research has focused on other ecological and metabolic interactions potentially occurring within the coral multi-partner symbiotic network. Recent evidences of intimate coupling between phytoplankton and bacteria have demonstrated that obligate resource exchange between partners fundamentally drives their ecological success. Here, we posit that similar associations with bacterial consortia regulate Symbiodiniaceae productivity and are in turn central to the health of corals. Indeed, we propose that this bacteria-Symbiodiniaceae-coral relationship underpins the coral holobiont's nutrition, stress tolerance and potentially influences the future survival of coral reef ecosystems under changing environmental conditions. Resolving Symbiodiniaceae-bacteria associations is therefore a logical next step towards understanding the complex multi-partner interactions occurring in the coral holobiont.
Parental and early life stage environments drive establishment of bacterial and dinoflagellate communities in a common coral
Publisher: Springer Science and Business Media LLC
Date: 31-01-2019
Development of a free radical scavenging bacterial consortium to mitigate oxidative stress in cnidarians
Publisher: Wiley
Date: 14-07-2021
Abstract: Corals are colonized by symbiotic microorganisms that profoundly influence the animal’s health. One noted symbiont is a single‐celled alga (in the dinoflagellate family Symbiodiniaceae ), which provides the coral with most of its fixed carbon. Thermal stress increases the production of reactive oxygen species (ROS) by Symbiodiniaceae during photosynthesis. ROS can both damage the algal symbiont’s photosynthetic machinery and inhibit its repair, causing a positive feedback loop for the toxic accumulation of ROS. If not scavenged by the antioxidant network, excess ROS may trigger a signaling cascade ending with the coral host and algal symbiont disassociating in a process known as bleaching. We use Exaiptasia diaphana as a model for corals and constructed a consortium comprised of E. diaphana –associated bacteria capable of neutralizing ROS. We identified six strains with high free radical scavenging (FRS) ability belonging to the families Alteromonadaceae , Rhodobacteraceae , Flavobacteriaceae and Micrococcaceae . In parallel, we established a consortium of low FRS isolates consisting of genetically related strains. Bacterial whole genome sequences were used to identify key pathways that are known to influence ROS.
Quantification of algal endosymbionts (Symbiodinium) in coral tissue using real‐time PCR
Publisher: Wiley
Date: 2009
DOI: 10.1111/J.1755-0998.2008.02222.X
Abstract: Understanding the flexibility of the endosymbioses between scleractinian corals and single-cell algae of the genus Symbiodinium will provide valuable insights into the future of coral reefs. Here, a real-time polymerase chain reaction (PCR) assay is presented to accurately determine the cell densities of Symbiodinium clades C and D in the scleractinian coral Acropora millepora, which can be extended to other coral-symbiont associations in the future. The assay targets single- to low-copy genes of the actin family of both the coral host and algal symbiont. Symbiont densities are expressed as the ratio of Symbiodinium cells to each host cell (S/H ratio, error within 30%), but can also be normalized to coral surface area. Greater accuracy in estimating ratios of associations involving multiple clades is achieved compared with previous real-time PCR assays based on high-copy ribosomal DNA loci (error within an order of magnitude). Healthy adult A. millepora containing ~1.4 × 10(6) zooxanthellae per cm(2) (as determined by haemocytometer counts) had S/H ratios of c. 0.15, i.e. ~15 symbiont cells per 100 host cells. In severely bleached colonies, this ratio decreased to less than 0.005. Because of its capacity to accurately determine both densities and ratios of multiple symbionts within one s le, the assay will open the door for novel research into the mechanisms of symbiont shuffling and switching.
Diverse associations among coral host haplotypes and algal endosymbionts may drive adaptation at geographically peripheral and ecologically marginal locations
Publisher: Wiley
Date: 08-06-2015
DOI: 10.1111/JBI.12536
Genetic, morphological and growth characterisation of a newRoseofilumstrain (Oscillatoriales, Cyanobacteria) associated with coral black band disease
Publisher: PeerJ
Date: 09-06-2016
DOI: 10.7717/PEERJ.2110
Abstract: Black band disease (BBD) is a common disease of reef-building corals with a worldwide distribution that causes tissue loss at a rate of up to 3 cm/day. Critical for a mechanistic understanding of the disease’s aetiology is the cultivation of its proposed pathogen, filamentous cyanobacteria (genus Roseofilum ). Here, we optimise existing protocols for the isolation and cultivation of Roseofilum cyanobacteria using a new strain from the central Great Barrier Reef. We demonstrate that the isolation of this bacterium via inoculation onto agar plates was highly effective with a low percentage agar of 0.6% and that growth monitoring was most sensitive with fluorescence measurements of chlorophyll-a (440/685 nm). Cell growth curves in liquid and solid media were generated for the first time for this cyanobacterium and showed best growth rates for the previously untested L1-medium (growth rate k = 0.214 biomass/day doubling time t gen = 4.67 days). Our results suggest that the trace metals contained in L1-medium maximise biomass increase over time for this cyanobacterium. Since the newly isolated Roseofilum strain is genetically closest to Pseudoscillatoria coralii , but in terms of pigmentation and cell size closer to Roseofilum reptotaenium , we formally merge the two species into a single taxon by providing an emended species description, Roseofilum reptotaenium (Rasoulouniriana) Casamatta emend. Following this optimized protocol is recommended for fast isolation and cultivation of Roseofilum cyanobacteria, for growth curve generation in strain comparisons and for maximisation of biomass in genetic studies.
Genetic diversity and connectivity in a brooding reef coral at the limit of its distribution
Publisher: The Royal Society
Date: 26-08-2009
Abstract: Remote populations are predicted to be vulnerable owing to their isolation from potential source reefs, and usually low population size and associated increased extinction risk. We investigated genetic ersity, population sub ision and connectivity in the brooding reef coral Seriatopora hystrix at the limits of its Eastern Australian (EA) distribution and three sites in the southern Great Barrier Reef (GBR). Over the approximately 1270 km survey range, high levels of population sub ision were detected (global F ST = 0.224), with the greatest range in pairwise F ST values observed among the three southernmost locations: Lord Howe Island, Elizabeth Reef and Middleton Reef. Flinders Reef, located between the GBR and the more southerly offshore reefs, was highly isolated and showed the signature of a recent bottleneck. High pairwise F ST values and the presence of multiple genetic clusters indicate that EA subtropical coral populations have been historically isolated from each other and the GBR. One putative first-generation migrant was detected from the GBR into the EA subtropics. Occasional long-distance dispersal is supported by changes in species composition at these high-latitude reefs and the occurrence of new species records over the past three decades. While subtropical populations exhibited significantly lower allelic richness than their GBR counterparts, genetic ersity was still moderately high. Furthermore, subtropical populations were not inbred and had a considerable number of private alleles. The results suggest that these high-latitude S. hystrix populations are supplemented by infrequent long-distance migrants from the GBR and may have adequate population sizes to maintain viability and resist severe losses of genetic ersity.
Diversity of algal endosymbionts (zooxanthellae) in octocorals: The roles of geography and host relationships
Publisher: Wiley
Date: 03-05-2005
Reef invertebrate viromics: diversity, host specificity and functional capacity
Publisher: Wiley
Date: 30-04-2018
Abstract: Recent metagenomic analyses have revealed a high ersity of viruses in the pelagic ocean and uncovered clear habitat-specific viral distribution patterns. Conversely, similar insights into the composition, host specificity and function of viruses associated with marine organisms have been limited by challenges associated with s ling and computational analysis. Here, we performed targeted viromic analysis of six coral reef invertebrate species and their surrounding seawater to deliver taxonomic and functional profiles of viruses associated with reef organisms. Sponges and corals' host species-specific viral assemblages with low sequence identity to known viral genomes. While core viral genes involved in capsid formation, tail structure and infection mechanisms were observed across all reef s les, auxiliary genes including those involved in herbicide resistance and viral pathogenesis pathways such as host immune suppression were differentially enriched in reef hosts. Utilising a novel OTU based assessment, we also show a prevalence of dsDNA viruses belonging to the Mimiviridae, Caudovirales and Phycodnaviridae in reef environments and further highlight the abundance of ssDNA viruses belonging to the Circoviridae, Parvoviridae, Bidnaviridae and Microviridae in reef invertebrates. These insights into coral reef viruses provide an important framework for future research into how viruses contribute to the health and evolution of reef organisms.
Chromera velia is Endosymbiotic in Larvae of the Reef Corals Acropora digitifera and A. tenuis
Publisher: Elsevier BV
Date: 03-2013
DOI: 10.1016/J.PROTIS.2012.08.003
Abstract: Scleractinian corals occur in symbiosis with a range of organisms including the dinoflagellate alga, Symbiodinium, an association that is mutualistic. However, not all symbionts benefit the host. In particular, many organisms within the microbial mucus layer that covers the coral epithelium can cause disease and death. Other organisms in symbiosis with corals include the recently described Chromera velia, a photosynthetic relative of the apicomplexan parasites that shares a common ancestor with Symbiodinium. To explore the nature of the association between C. velia and corals we first isolated C. velia from the coral Montipora digitata and then exposed aposymbiotic Acropora digitifera and A. tenuis larvae to these cultures. Three C. velia cultures were isolated, and symbiosis was established in coral larvae of both these species exposed to all three clones. Histology verified that C. velia was located in the larval endoderm and ectoderm. These results indicate that C. velia has the potential to be endosymbiotic with coral larvae.
Adaptive responses of free‐living and symbiotic microalgae to simulated future ocean conditions
Publisher: Wiley
Date: 20-02-2021
DOI: 10.1111/GCB.15546
Abstract: Marine microalgae are a erse group of microscopic eukaryotic and prokaryotic organisms capable of photosynthesis. They are important primary producers and carbon sinks but their physiology and persistence are severely affected by global climate change. Powerful experimental evolution technologies are being used to examine the potential of microalgae to respond adaptively to current and predicted future conditions, as well as to develop resources to facilitate species conservation and restoration of ecosystem functions. This review synthesizes findings and insights from experimental evolution studies of marine microalgae in response to elevated temperature and/or p CO 2 . Adaptation to these environmental conditions has been observed in many studies of marine dinoflagellates, diatoms and coccolithophores. An enhancement in traits such as growth and photo‐physiological performance and an increase in upper thermal limit have been shown to be possible, although the extent and rate of change differ between microalgal taxa. Studies employing multiple monoclonal replicates showed variation in responses among replicates and revealed the stochasticity of mutations. The work to date is already providing valuable information on species’ climate sensitivity or resilience to managers and policymakers but extrapolating these insights to ecosystem‐ and community‐level impacts continues to be a challenge. We recommend future work should include in situ experiments, diurnal and seasonal fluctuations, multiple drivers and multiple starting genotypes. Fitness trade‐offs, stable versus plastic responses and the genetic bases of the changes also need investigating, and the incorporation of genome resequencing into experimental designs will be invaluable.
Asymmetric dispersal is a critical element of concordance between biophysical dispersal models and spatial genetic structure in Great Barrier Reef corals
Publisher: Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory
Date: 25-10-2018
DOI: 10.1101/453001
Abstract: Widespread coral bleaching, crown-of-thorns seastar outbreaks, and tropical storms all threaten foundational coral species of the Great Barrier Reef, with impacts differing over time and space. Yet, dispersal via larval propagules could aid reef recovery by supplying new settlers and enabling the spread of adaptive variation among regions. Documenting and predicting spatial connections arising from planktonic larval dispersal in marine species, however, remains a formidable challenge. The Great Barrier Reef, Australia Contemporary biophysical larval dispersal models were used to predict longdistance multigenerational connections for two common and foundational coral species ( Acropora tenuis and Acropora millepora ). Spatially extensive genetic surveys allowed us to infer signatures of asymmetric dispersal for these species and evaluate concordance against expectations from biophysical models using coalescent genetic simulations, directions of inferred gene flow, and spatial eigenvector modelling. At long distances, biophysical models predicted a preponderance of north to south connections and genetic results matched these expectations: coalescent genetic simulations rejected an alternative scenario of historical isolation the strongest signals of inferred gene flow were from north to south and asymmetric eigenvectors derived from north to south connections in the biophysical models were significantly better predictors of spatial genetic patterns than eigenvectors derived from symmetric null spatial models. Results are consistent with biophysical dispersal models yielding approximate summaries of past multigenerational gene flow conditioned upon directionality of connections. For A. tenuis and A. millepora , northern and central reefs have been important sources to downstream southern reefs over the recent evolutionary past and should continue to provide southward gene flow. Endemic genetic ersity of southern reefs suggests substantial local recruitment and lack of long distance gene flow from south to north.
Evidence for de novo acquisition of microalgal symbionts by bleached adult corals
Publisher: Springer Science and Business Media LLC
Date: 07-02-2022
DOI: 10.1038/S41396-022-01203-0
Abstract: Early life stages of most coral species acquire microalgal endosymbionts (Symbiodiniaceae) from the environment, but whether exogenous symbiont uptake is possible in the adult life stage is unclear. Deep sequencing of the Symbiodiniaceae ITS2 genetic marker has revealed novel symbionts in adult corals following bleaching however these strains may have already been present at densities below detection limits. To test whether acquisition of symbionts from the environment occurs, we subjected adult fragments of corals (six species in four families) to a chemical bleaching treatment (menthol and DCMU). The treatment reduced the native microalgal symbiont abundance to below 2% of their starting densities. The bleached corals were then inoculated with a cultured Cladocopium C1 acro strain. Genotyping of the Symbiodiniaceae communities before bleaching and after reinoculation showed that fragments of all six coral species acquired the Cladocopium C1 acro strain used for inoculation. Our results provide strong evidence for the uptake of Symbiodiniaceae from the environment by adult corals. We also demonstrate the feasibility of chemical bleaching followed by reinoculation to manipulate the Symbiodiniaceae communities of adult corals, providing an innovative approach to establish new symbioses between adult corals and heat-evolved microalgal symbionts, which could prove highly relevant to coral reef restoration efforts.
Shifting paradigms in restoration of the world's coral reefs
Publisher: Wiley
Date: 03-2017
DOI: 10.1111/GCB.13647
Abstract: Many ecosystems around the world are rapidly deteriorating due to both local and global pressures, and perhaps none so precipitously as coral reefs. Management of coral reefs through maintenance (e.g., marine-protected areas, catchment management to improve water quality), restoration, as well as global and national governmental agreements to reduce greenhouse gas emissions (e.g., the 2015 Paris Agreement) is critical for the persistence of coral reefs. Despite these initiatives, the health and abundance of corals reefs are rapidly declining and other solutions will soon be required. We have recently discussed options for using assisted evolution (i.e., selective breeding, assisted gene flow, conditioning or epigenetic programming, and the manipulation of the coral microbiome) as a means to enhance environmental stress tolerance of corals and the success of coral reef restoration efforts. The 2014-2016 global coral bleaching event has sharpened the focus on such interventionist approaches. We highlight the necessity for consideration of alternative (e.g., hybrid) ecosystem states, discuss traits of resilient corals and coral reef ecosystems, and propose a decision tree for incorporating assisted evolution into restoration initiatives to enhance climate resilience of coral reefs.
Coral adaptation to climate change: Meta‐analysis reveals high heritability across multiple traits
Publisher: Wiley
Date: 05-09-2021
DOI: 10.1111/GCB.15829
Abstract: Anthropogenic climate change is a rapidly intensifying selection pressure on bio ersity across the globe and, particularly, on the world's coral reefs. The rate of adaptation to climate change is proportional to the amount of phenotypic variation that can be inherited by subsequent generations (i.e., narrow‐sense heritability, h 2 ). Thus, traits that have higher heritability (e.g., h 2 0.5) are likely to adapt to future conditions faster than traits with lower heritability (e.g., h 2 0.1). Here, we synthesize 95 heritability estimates across 19 species of reef‐building corals. Our meta‐analysis reveals low heritability ( h 2 0.25) of gene expression metrics, intermediate heritability ( h 2 = 0.25–0.50) of photochemistry, growth, and bleaching, and high heritability ( h 2 0.50) for metrics related to survival and immune responses. Some of these values are higher than typically observed in other taxa, such as survival and growth, while others were more comparable, such as gene expression and photochemistry. There was no detectable effect of temperature on heritability, but narrow‐sense heritability estimates were generally lower than broad‐sense estimates, indicative of significant non‐additive genetic variation across traits. Trait heritability also varied depending on coral life stage, with bleaching and growth in juveniles generally having lower heritability compared to bleaching and growth in larvae and adults. These differences may be the result of previous stabilizing selection on juveniles or may be due to constrained evolution resulting from genetic trade‐offs or genetic correlations between growth and thermotolerance. While we find no evidence that heritability decreases under temperature stress, explicit tests of the heritability of thermal tolerance itself—such as coral thermal reaction norm shape—are lacking. Nevertheless, our findings overall reveal high trait heritability for the majority of coral traits, suggesting corals may have a greater potential to adapt to climate change than has been assumed in recent evolutionary models.
Sex, Scavengers, and Chaperones: Transcriptome Secrets of DivergentSymbiodiniumThermal Tolerances
Publisher: Oxford University Press (OUP)
Date: 14-06-2016
A candidate transporter allowing symbiotic dinoflagellates to feed their coral hosts
Publisher: Springer Science and Business Media LLC
Date: 28-01-2023
DOI: 10.1038/S43705-023-00218-8
Abstract: The symbiotic partnership between corals and dinoflagellate algae is crucial to coral reefs. Corals provide their algal symbionts with shelter, carbon dioxide and nitrogen. In exchange, the symbiotic algae supply their animal hosts with fixed carbon in the form of glucose. But how glucose is transferred from the algal symbiont to the animal host is unknown. We reasoned that a transporter resident in the dinoflagellate cell membrane would facilitate outward transfer of glucose to the surrounding host animal tissue. We identified a candidate transporter in the cnidarian symbiont dinoflagellate Breviolum minutum that belongs to the ubiquitous family of facilitative sugar uniporters known as SWEETs ( s ugars w ill e ventually be e xported t ransporters). Previous gene expression analyses had shown that Bm SWEET1 is upregulated when the algae are living symbiotically in a cnidarian host by comparison to the free-living state [1, 2]. We used immunofluorescence microscopy to localise Bm SWEET1 in the dinoflagellate cell membrane. Substrate preference assays in a yeast surrogate transport system showed that Bm SWEET1 transports glucose. Quantitative microscopy showed that symbiotic B. minutum cells have significantly more Bm SWEET1 protein than free-living cells of the same strain, consistent with export during symbiosis but not during the free-living, planktonic phase. Thus, Bm SWEET1 is in the right place, at the right time, and has the right substrate to be the transporter with which symbiotic dinoflagellate algae feed their animal hosts to power coral reefs.
Chimerism in Wild Adult Populations of the Broadcast Spawning Coral Acropora millepora on the Great Barrier Reef
Publisher: Public Library of Science (PLoS)
Date: 04-11-2009
Formal recognition of host‐generalist species of dinoflagellate (Cladocopium, Symbiodiniaceae) mutualistic with Indo‐Pacific reef corals
Publisher: Wiley
Date: 31-05-2023
DOI: 10.1111/JPY.13340
Abstract: The existence of widespread species with the capacity to endure erse, or variable, environments are of importance to ecological and genetic research, and conservation. Such “ecological generalists” are more likely to have key adaptations that allow them to better tolerate the physiological challenges of rapid climate change. Reef‐building corals are dependent on endosymbiotic dinoflagellates (Family: Symbiodiniaceae) for their survival and growth. While these symbionts are biologically erse, certain genetic types appear to have broad geographic distributions and are mutualistic with various host species from multiple genera and families in the order Scleractinia that must acquire their symbionts through horizontal transmission. Despite the considerable ecological importance of putative host‐generalist symbionts, they lack formal species descriptions. In this study, we used molecular, ecological, and morphological evidence to verify the existence of five new host‐generalist species in the symbiodiniacean genus Cladocopium . Their geographic distribution and prevalence among host communities corresponds to prevailing environmental conditions at both regional and local scales. The influence that each species has on host physiology may partially explain regional differences in thermal sensitivities among coral communities. The potential increased prevalence of a generalist species that endures environmental instability is a consequential ecological response to warming oceans. Large‐scale shifts in symbiont dominance could ensure reef coral persistence and productivity in the near term. Ultimately, these formal designations should advance scientific communication and generate informed research questions on the physiology and ecology of coral‐dinoflagellate mutualisms.
Variation in photosynthesis and respiration in geographically distinct populations of two reef‑building coral species
Publisher: Inter-Research Science Center
Date: 19-05-2011
DOI: 10.3354/AB00338
Genetic markers for antioxidant capacity in a reef-building coral
Publisher: American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS)
Date: 06-05-2016
Abstract: We identify the first quantitative trait loci for antioxidant capacity in corals, providing possible new avenues for management and restoration approaches.
Diversity and stability of coral endolithic microbial communities at a naturally high pCO2 reef
Publisher: Wiley
Date: 24-08-2017
DOI: 10.1111/MEC.14268
Abstract: The health and functioning of reef-building corals is dependent on a balanced association with prokaryotic and eukaryotic microbes. The coral skeleton harbours numerous endolithic microbes, but their ersity, ecological roles and responses to environmental stress, including ocean acidification (OA), are not well characterized. This study tests whether pH affects the ersity and structure of prokaryotic and eukaryotic algal communities associated with skeletons of Porites spp. using targeted licon (16S rRNA gene, UPA and tufA) sequencing. We found that the composition of endolithic communities in the massive coral Porites spp. inhabiting a naturally high pCO
Variation in bleaching sensitivity of two coral species across a latitudinal gradient on the Great Barrier Reef: the role of zooxanthellae
Publisher: Inter-Research Science Center
Date: 22-05-2006
DOI: 10.3354/MEPS314135
Rapid adaptive responses to climate change in corals
Publisher: Springer Science and Business Media LLC
Date: 09-2017
DOI: 10.1038/NCLIMATE3374
Producing Coral Offspring with Cryopreserved Sperm: A Tool for Coral Reef Restoration
Publisher: Springer Science and Business Media LLC
Date: 31-10-2017
DOI: 10.1038/S41598-017-14644-X
Abstract: Cryopreservation is an important conservation tool, which may help reef-building coral survive. However, scaling-up from small, laboratory-sized experiments to higher-throughput restoration is a major challenge. To be an effective restoration tool, the cryopreservation methods and husbandry to produce new offspring must be defined. This study examined small and larger-scale in vitro reproduction and settlement for Acropora tenuis and Acropora millepora and found that: 1) cryopreservation of coral sperm reduced sperm motility and fertilization success in half, thus fresh sperm, capable of becoming highly motile, is key 2) the sperm-to-egg ratio and the concentration of the cryoprotectant treatments affected fertilization success in small- and larger-scale reproduction trials using cryopreserved sperm (p 0.05) 3) cryopreservation did not affect settlement success, as larvae produced with fresh or cryopreserved sperm had the same settlement success (p 0.05) and 4) the residence time of the sperm within the bank was not important as the fertilization success of sperm frozen for less than 1 month was similar to that frozen up to 2 years (p 0.05). These results described the first settlement for coral larvae produced from cryopreserved sperm and established important ground-work principles for the use of cryopreserved coral sperm for future reef restoration efforts.
Onset of algal endosymbiont specificity varies among closely related species of Acropora corals during early ontogeny
Publisher: Wiley
Date: 08-2009
A PCR-Based Assay Targeting the Major Capsid Protein Gene of a Dinorna-Like ssRNA Virus That Infects Coral Photosymbionts
Publisher: Frontiers Media SA
Date: 09-2017
Contrasting patterns of genetic structure in two species of the coral trout Plectropomus (Serranidae) from east and west Australia: Introgressive hybridisation or ancestral polymorphisms
Publisher: Elsevier BV
Date: 11-2006
DOI: 10.1016/J.YMPEV.2006.04.024
Abstract: Inter-specific genetic relationships among regional populations of two species of grouper (Plectropomus maculatus and Plectropomus leopardus) were examined using mitochondrial and nuclear markers. mtDNA revealed contrasting regional inter-specific patterns whilst nuclear markers revealed contrasting patterns among markers, irrespective of region. In eastern Australia (EA) the species form a single mtDNA lineage, but the two species are reciprocally monophyletic in Western Australia (WA). This supports previous evidence for hybridisation between these species on the east coast. WA P. leopardus forms a sister relationship with the EA P. leopardus-maculatus clade while WA P. maculatus is more basal and sister to the P. leopardus lineages, indicating mtDNA does not suffer from incomplete lineage sorting for these species. In contrast, one of three nuclear markers (locus 7-90TG) differentiated the species into two reciprocally monophyletic clades, with no evidence of hybridisation or ancestral polymorphism. The remaining two nuclear markers (2-22 and ETS-2) did not separate these two species, while distinguishing other plectropomid species, suggesting incomplete lineage sorting at these nuclear loci. These results together with coalescence analyses suggest that P. leopardus females have hybridised historically with P. maculatus males and that P. maculatus mitochondria were displaced through introgressive hybridisation and fixation in the P. maculatus founder population on the Great Barrier Reef. The contrasting regional patterns of mtDNA structure may be attributed to Quaternary sea-level changes and shelf width differences driving different reef configurations on each coast. These reef configurations have provided opportunities for local scale interaction and reproduction among species on the narrower EA continental shelves, but not on the broader WA continental shelves.
Comparative immune responses of corals to stressors associated with offshore reef-based tourist platforms
Publisher: Oxford University Press (OUP)
Date: 2015
The contribution of microbial biotechnology to mitigating coral reef degradation
Publisher: Wiley
Date: 11-07-2017
Identity and diversity of coral endosymbionts (zooxanthellae) from three Palauan reefs with contrasting bleaching, temperature and shading histories
Publisher: Wiley
Date: 16-06-2004
The coral Acropora loripes genome reveals an alternative pathway for cysteine biosynthesis in animals
Publisher: American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS)
Date: 23-09-2022
Abstract: The metabolic capabilities of animals have been derived from well-studied model organisms and are generally considered to be well understood. In animals, cysteine is an important amino acid thought to be exclusively synthesized through the transsulfuration pathway. Corals of the genus Acropora have lost cystathionine β-synthase, a key enzyme of the transsulfuration pathway, and it was proposed that Acropora relies on the symbiosis with dinoflagellates of the family Symbiodiniaceae for the acquisition of cysteine. Here, we identify the existence of an alternative pathway for cysteine biosynthesis in animals through the analysis of the genome of the coral Acropora loripes . We demonstrate that these coral proteins are functional and synthesize cysteine in vivo, exhibiting previously unrecognized metabolic capabilities of animals. This pathway is also present in most animals but absent in mammals, arthropods, and nematodes, precisely the groups where most of the animal model organisms belong to, highlighting the risks of generalizing findings from model organisms.
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