A stony coral cell atlas illuminates the molecular and cellular basis of coral symbiosis, calcification, and immunity

Abstract

Stony corals are colonial cnidarians that sustain the most biodiverse marine ecosystems on Earth: coral reefs. Despite their ecological importance, little is known about the cell types and molecular pathways that underpin the biology of reef-building corals. Using single-cell RNA sequencing, we define over 40 cell types across the life cycle of Stylophora pistillata. We discover specialized immune cells, and we uncover the developmental gene expression dynamics of calcium-carbonate skeleton formation. By simultaneously measuring the transcriptomes of coral cells and the algae within them, we characterize the metabolic programs involved in symbiosis in both partners. We also trace the evolution of these coral cell specializations by phylogenetic integration of multiple cnidarian cell type atlases. Overall, this study reveals the molecular and cellular basis of stony coral biology. ll

Full-Length Transcriptome Sequencing of the Scleractinian Coral Montipora foliosa Reveals the Gene Expression Profile of Coral–Zooxanthellae Holobiont

“…Cell–matrix adhesion. Research shows that scleractinian coral Stylophora pistillata gastrodermal cells share the expression of adhesion proteins [ 50 ]. Calicoblastic cells are also enclosed with mesoglea, a sheet of extracellular matrix, and attached to the coral skeleton by desmocytes via a hemidesmosome adhesion complex.…”

Functional Characterization of Hexacorallia Phagocytic Cells

“…Many invertebrates have specialized types of immune cells that are capable of responding to a diverse range of stressors (77,78). Historically, hexacorallians have been documented to have at least two distinct types of immune cells, and recently through the use of single cell analysis two putative immune cell populations have been identified in a scleractinian coral (79,80). Our analyses similarly support the presence of at least two types of putative phagocytes in P. damicornis and two types of putative phagocytes in N. vectensis (Figures 1A-E).…”

Consensus Guidelines for Advancing Coral Holobiont Genome and Specimen Voucher Deposition

“…This is the strategy pursued in the "Coral symbiosis sensitivity to environmental change hub". Additionally, flow cytometry and fluorescentactivated cell sorting (FACS) with subsequent sequencing may be employed (Rosental et al, 2017;Levy et al, 2021). Whether the microalgae are sourced from mixed holobiont tissue or pure cultures, the "minimal taxonomic information" for sequencing Symbiodiniaceae genomes (Table 2 and Figure 1) should include the deposition of cryo-preserved DNA, genetic characterization with standard phylogenetic markers, light microscopy images of cells for morphological characterization, and metadata describing coral host identity, the coral host's symbiont population composition, and the environment from which microalgal cells were isolated (Supplementary Methods).…”