Combined responses of primary coral polyps and their algal endosymbionts to decreasing seawater pH

Scucchia, Federica; Malik, Assaf; Zaslansky, Paul; Putnam, Hollie M.; Mass, Tali

doi:10.1098/rspb.2021.0328

Cited by 13 publications

(27 citation statements)

References 54 publications

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“…Enrichment analysis was conducted in Bioconductor GOSeq v1.42.0, as described previously (Malik et al, 2020;Scucchia et al, 2021).…”

Section: Host Functional Enrichmentmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…The expression of known coral biomineralization-related proteins (Scucchia et al, 2021;Table S3) from the literature was tested against the differential expression results (DESeq2, as described above). A BLAST search (https://blast.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/Blast.cgi) was performed to identify these known coral biomineralization-related genes in the genome of S. pistillata (NCBI GCF_002571385.1).…”

Section: S Pistillata Biomineralization-related Genesmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Surface area of the nubbins' skeletons was measured using the aluminum foil method (Marsh, 1970). The extracted tissue was mechanically disrupted using an electrical homogenizer (HOG-160-1/2; MRC-labs) and processed as described previously (Scucchia et al, 2021). Briefly, the homogenate was centrifuged at 5000× g for 5 min at 4°C to separate the debris and the symbiont cells from the coral host tissue.…”

Section: Host Protein Symbiodiniaceae Isolation and Pigment Analysismentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Some evidence indicates that enhanced CO 2 levels in seawater could improve the symbiont photosynthetic performance, by alleviating the carbon limitation that is experienced by symbiotic algae inside the host tissues (Barott et al, 2015;Biscéré et al, 2019;Noonan & Fabricius, 2016;Scucchia et al, 2021). The enhancement of symbiont photosynthesis could prevent acidosis of the host cells, thus preserving the acid-base homeostasis that is essential for the coral cellular metabolism .…”

Section: Different Performance Among Symbiont Typesmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…The coral adaptive capacity however is not only determined by the host response but also the algal endosymbionts play a crucial role (McCulloch et al, 2012). Although not the prevalent trend, evidence suggests that in some coral species the increased availability of CO 2 associated with OA could boost the primary productivity of the algae (Barott et al, 2015;Biscéré et al, 2019;Brading et al, 2011;Noonan & Fabricius, 2016;Scucchia et al, 2021;Wooldridge, 2013), which, in turn, might increase the energy available to the host for physiological processes (Guillermic et al, 2021), as well as prevent acidosis in the host cells .…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Genetic and physiological traits conferring tolerance to ocean acidification in mesophotic corals

Scucchia

Malik

Putnam

et al. 2021

Global Change Biology

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The integrity of coral reefs worldwide is jeopardized by ocean acidification (OA). Most studies conducted so far have focused on the vulnerability to OA of corals inhabiting shallow reefs while nothing is currently known about the response of mesophotic scleractinian corals. In this study, we assessed the susceptibility to OA of corals, together with their algal partners, inhabiting a wide depth range. We exposed fragments of the depth generalist coral Stylophora pistillata collected from either 5 or 45 m to simulated future OA conditions, and assessed key molecular, physiological and photosynthetic processes influenced by the lowered pH. Our comparative analysis reveals that mesophotic and shallow S. pistillata corals are genetically distinct and possess different symbiont types. Under the exposure to acidification conditions, we observed a 50% drop of metabolic rate in shallow corals, whereas mesophotic corals were able to maintain unaltered metabolic rates. Overall, our gene expression and physiological analyses show that mesophotic corals possess a greater capacity to cope with the effects of OA compared to their shallow counterparts. Such capability stems from physiological characteristics (i.e., biomass and lipids energetics), a greater capacity to regulate cellular acid-base parameters, and a higher baseline expression of cell adhesion and extracellular matrix genes. Moreover, our gene expression analysis suggests that the enhanced symbiont photochemical efficiency under high pCO 2 levels could prevent acidosis of the host cells and it could support a greater translocation of photosynthates, increasing the energy pool available to the host. With this work, we provide new insights on the response to OA of corals living at mesophotic depths. Our investigation discloses key genetic and physiological traits underlying the potential for corals to cope with future OA conditions.

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“…Enrichment analysis was conducted in Bioconductor GOSeq v1.42.0, as described previously (Malik et al, 2020;Scucchia et al, 2021).…”

Section: Host Functional Enrichmentmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: S Pistillata Biomineralization-related Genesmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Host Protein Symbiodiniaceae Isolation and Pigment Analysismentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Different Performance Among Symbiont Typesmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Genetic and physiological traits conferring tolerance to ocean acidification in mesophotic corals

Scucchia

Malik

Putnam

et al. 2021

Global Change Biology

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Effects of seawater pCO2 on the skeletal morphology of massive Porites spp. corals

et al. 2022

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Ocean acidification alters the dissolved inorganic carbon chemistry of seawater and can reduce the calcification rates of tropical corals. Here we explore the effect of altering seawater pCO2 on the skeletal morphology of 4 genotypes of massive Porites spp. which display widely different calcification rates. Increasing seawater pCO2 causes significant changes in in the skeletal morphology of all Porites spp. studied regardless of whether or not calcification was significantly affected by seawater pCO2. Both the median calyx size and the proportion of skeletal surface occupied by the calices decreased significantly at 750 µatm compared to 400 µatm indicating that polyp size shrinks in this genus in response to ocean acidification. The coenosteum, connecting calices, expands to occupy a larger proportion of the coral surface to compensate for this decrease in calyx area. At high seawater pCO2 the spines deposited at the skeletal surface became more numerous and the trabeculae (vertical skeletal pillars) became significantly thinner in 2 of the 4 genotypes. The effect of high seawater pCO2 is most pronounced in the fastest growing coral and the regular placement of trabeculae and synapticulae is disturbed in this genotype resulting in a skeleton that is more randomly organised. The study demonstrates that ocean acidification decreases the polyp size and fundamentally alters the architecture of the skeleton in this major reef building species from the Indo-Pacific Ocean.

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The influence of seawater pCO2 and temperature on the amino acid composition and aragonite CO3 disorder of coral skeletons

Allison,

Ross,

Castillo Alvarez

et al. 2024

Coral Reefs

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Coral skeletons are composites of aragonite and biomolecules. We report the concentrations of 11 amino acids in massive Porites spp. coral skeletons cultured at two temperatures (25 °C and 28 °C) and 3 seawater pCO2 (180, 400 and 750 µatm). Coral skeletal aspartic acid/asparagine (Asx), glutamic acid/glutamine (Glx), glycine, serine and total amino acid concentrations are significantly higher at 28 °C than at 25 °C. Skeletal Asx, Glx, Gly, Ser, Ala, L-Thr and total amino acid are significantly lower at 180 µatm seawater pCO2 compared to 400 µatm, and Ser is reduced at 180 µatm compared to 750 µatm. Concentrations of all skeletal amino acids are significantly inversely related to coral calcification rate but not to calcification media pH. Raman spectroscopy of these and additional specimens indicates that CO3 disorder in the skeletal aragonite lattice is not affected by seawater pCO2 but decreases at the higher temperature. This is contrary to observations in synthetic aragonite where disorder is positively related to the aragonite precipitation rate mediated by either increasing temperature (this study) or increasing Ω (this study and a previous report) and to the concentration of amino acid in the precipitation media (a previous report). We observe no significant relationship between structural disorder and coral calcification rate or skeletal [amino acid]. Both temperature and seawater pCO2 can significantly affect skeletal amino acid composition, and further work is required to clarify how environmental change mediates disorder.

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Combined responses of primary coral polyps and their algal endosymbionts to decreasing seawater pH

Cited by 13 publications

References 54 publications

Genetic and physiological traits conferring tolerance to ocean acidification in mesophotic corals

Genetic and physiological traits conferring tolerance to ocean acidification in mesophotic corals

Effects of seawater pCO2 on the skeletal morphology of massive Porites spp. corals

The influence of seawater pCO2 and temperature on the amino acid composition and aragonite CO3 disorder of coral skeletons

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