Distinct lineages and population genomic structure of the coral Pachyseris speciosa in the small equatorial reef system of Singapore

Feldman, Bar; Afiq‐Rosli, Lutfi; Simon‐Blecher, Noa; Bollati, Elena; Wainwright, Benjamin J.; Bongaerts, Pim; Huang, Danwei; Levy, Oren

doi:10.1007/s00338-021-02160-4

Cited by 9 publications

(7 citation statements)

References 82 publications

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“…Identifying Distinct Lineages of Pachyseris speciosa Bongaerts et al (2021) discovered distinct lineages within Pachyseris speciosa that represented a sympatric species complex and developed a CAPS assay to identify each of the lineages. The three lineages were referred to as "green, " "blue" and "red" (see also Feldman et al, 2021). To determine whether the different lineages influenced Symbiodiniaceae genus dominance in the corals studied here, we performed the CAPS assay on our P. speciosa samples.…”

Section: Illumina Library Preparation Sequencing and Bioinformaticsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Our data on the relative abundances of the endosymbiont taxa between the western and eastern Central Indo-Pacific highlight the regional biogeographic drivers of similarities and differences in Symbiodiniaceae diversity. Furthermore, a sympatric species complex representing three distinct lineages of P. speciosa has been discovered recently (Bongaerts et al, 2021;Feldman et al, 2021). Using a cleaved amplified polymorphic sequence (CAPS) assay, we uncover the different P. speciosa lineages from our collections and determine whether they affect Symbiodiniaceae genus dominance.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Endosymbiont Communities in Pachyseris speciosa Highlight Geographical and Methodological Variations

et al. 2021

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Reef-building corals live in symbiosis with the phototrophic dinoflagellate family Symbiodiniaceae, which comprises diverse genera such as Cladocopium and Durusdinium. Pachyseris speciosa, a widely distributed Indo-Pacific coral found in a variety of reef habitats, is known to be associated with these two Symbiodiniaceae genera, but little is known about the biogeographic variability of the endosymbiont communities across the region. In this study, the diversity and dominance patterns of Symbiodiniaceae at the western and eastern areas of the Central Indo-Pacific region were examined. We sampled Pachyseris speciosa colonies at seven and six sites in Singapore and Papua New Guinea, respectively, and genotyped their endosymbionts based on the internal transcribed spacer (ITS) markers using two distinct methods, quantitative polymerase chain reaction (qPCR) and high-throughput sequencing (HTS). Results showed 92% of all colonies in Singapore exhibiting Cladocopium dominance. There was a higher abundance of Durusdinium compared to Cladocopium in certain colonies from one site, Pulau Hantu (mean Durusdinium abundance of 90%, compared to 0–14% among all other sites). In contrast, variation in the endosymbiont communities was generally higher among sites in Papua New Guinea. Cladocopium expectedly dominated most colonies (75%), although colonies from Kimbe Bay (85%) and Kavieng (65%) showed Durusdinium dominance. Between localities, relative genus abundances based on qPCR were not significantly different, but HTS showed that the ratio of Durusdinium over Cladocopium was significantly higher in Papua New Guinea corals. Notably, 6% of colonies from Singapore and 15% from Papua New Guinea showed endosymbiont dominance patterns that were inconsistent between the two methods, underscoring the need for further validation of symbiotic algal quantification based on HTS. The richness of ITS2 type profiles was clearly lower among colonies from the impacted and turbid reefs of Singapore compared to the less urbanized reefs of Papua New Guinea. These coral intraspecific variations of Symbiodiniaceae communities within and among localities suggest that local conditions are important drivers of endosymbiosis and may ultimately influence corals’ resilience against global stressors such as ocean warming.

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Section: Illumina Library Preparation Sequencing and Bioinformaticsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Endosymbiont Communities in Pachyseris speciosa Highlight Geographical and Methodological Variations

et al. 2021

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“…Biodiversity and taxonomic studies on the scleractinian corals of Peninsular Malaysia are in their infancy compared to neighbouring regions, e.g., Singapore ( Huang et al 2009 ) and Sabah, East Malaysia ( Waheed and Hoeksema 2013 , 2014 ; Waheed et al 2015 ). Given recent findings around the region, such as the new genus and species records of Micromussa analusensis by Ng et al (2019) , the increased occurrence and records of Pocillopora acuta ( Poquita-Du et al 2017 ; Torres and Ravago-Gotanco 2018 ), and the cryptic speciation in Pachyseris speciosa ( Bongaerts et al 2021 ; Feldman et al 2021 ), we can expect important scleractinian discoveries for the Mersing Islands (and other coral reefs in Malaysia) should we aim to further explore and examine these underexplored reefs.…”

Section: Discussion and Conclusionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Scleractinian coral (Cnidaria, Hexacorallia, Scleractinia) diversity of the Mersing Islands, Peninsular Malaysia

Lee¹,

Adzis²,

Afiq‐Rosli³

et al. 2022

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We present a comprehensive checklist of scleractinian (hard) corals for the Mersing Islands, Malaysia based on surveys conducted at 24 reefs across protected and unprotected marine areas. A total of 261 species of corals from 16 families and one incertae sedis (Pachyseris spp.) were recorded, along with ten records that are new for the east coast of Peninsular Malaysia. Compared against the IUCN Red List, 46.7% of coral species found in the Mersing Islands were of Least Concern (LC), 29.5% as Near Threatened (NT) and 16.4% Vulnerable (V). Only one recorded species, Pectinia maxima (Moll & Best, 1984), was listed as Endangered (EN). Baseline species diversity data are essential for the monitoring and management of marine biodiversity, especially within marine protected areas. With both protected and unprotected coral reef areas in the vicinity of the widely scattered Mersing Islands, the diversity and distribution of coral species can be used as the basis for area-based conservation and management strategies. The diversity and abundance of scleractinian corals of each island or area should be surveyed periodically to ensure the appropriate level of protection is afforded to retain scleractinian biodiversity in this region.

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“…Based on the >10 m distance among colonies [46,47] and our molecular results, we assumed all five colonies represented distinct genotypes. Population genetics studies conducted to date in Singapore have not detected unambiguous clonality [48,49].…”

Section: Study Site Species and Sample Collectionmentioning

confidence: 94%

Emersion-Associated Responses of an Intertidal Coral and Its Suitability for Transplantation to Ecologically Engineer Seawalls

Yong

Poquita-Du

Huang

et al. 2021

JMSE

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There is a growing interest in transplanting corals onto the intertidal section of artificial coastal defences (e.g., seawalls) as an ecological engineering strategy to enhance biodiversity on urban shores. However, this inevitably results in exposure to the harsh environmental conditions associated with emersion (aerial exposure). Although the effects of a multitude of environmental stressors on corals have been examined, their photophysiological and gene expression responses to emersion stress remain understudied, as does the among-genotype variation in these responses. In this study, we conducted an in situ experiment to test the effects of increased daily emersion duration on a locally common intertidal coral, Dipsastraea cf. lizardensis. Coral fragments (n = 3) from five genotypically distinct colonies were subjected to two treatments: (1) increased daily emersion duration (~4.5 h d−1) and, (2) control (~3 h d−1) for three consecutive days during spring low tide. We examined the post-experimental photophysiological responses and expression level of a stress-associated gene, Hsp16. Relative to the controls, coral fragments that were exposed to longer daily emersion duration displayed significantly reduced effective quantum yield, while endosymbiont density varied significantly among genotypes across the experimental conditions. We found no significant differences in chlorophyll a concentration and Hsp16 gene expression level, suggesting that changes in these processes may be gradual and the duration of treatment that the corals were subjected to is likely within their tolerance limits. Taken together, it appears that D. cf. lizardensis displays substantial capacity to cope with sup-optimal conditions associated with emersion which makes it a promising candidate for transplantation onto intertidal seawalls. However, within-species variation in their stress response indicates that not all genotypes respond similarly to emersion, and this should be taken into account when selecting donor colonies for transplantation.

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Distinct lineages and population genomic structure of the coral Pachyseris speciosa in the small equatorial reef system of Singapore

Cited by 9 publications

References 82 publications

Endosymbiont Communities in Pachyseris speciosa Highlight Geographical and Methodological Variations

Endosymbiont Communities in Pachyseris speciosa Highlight Geographical and Methodological Variations

Scleractinian coral (Cnidaria, Hexacorallia, Scleractinia) diversity of the Mersing Islands, Peninsular Malaysia

Emersion-Associated Responses of an Intertidal Coral and Its Suitability for Transplantation to Ecologically Engineer Seawalls

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Distinct lineages and population genomic structure of the coral Pachyseris speciosa in the small equatorial reef system of Singapore

Cited by 9 publications

References 82 publications

Endosymbiont Communities in Pachyseris speciosa Highlight Geographical and Methodological Variations

Endosymbiont Communities in Pachyseris speciosa Highlight Geographical and Methodological Variations

﻿Scleractinian coral (Cnidaria, Hexacorallia, Scleractinia) diversity of the Mersing Islands, Peninsular Malaysia

Emersion-Associated Responses of an Intertidal Coral and Its Suitability for Transplantation to Ecologically Engineer Seawalls

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Product

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Scleractinian coral (Cnidaria, Hexacorallia, Scleractinia) diversity of the Mersing Islands, Peninsular Malaysia