Fluctuating algal symbiont communities in Acropora palifera (Scleractinia: Acroporidae) from Taiwan

Chen, Chaolun Allen; Wang, Jih-Terng; Fang, Lee‐Shing; Yang, Ya‐Wen

doi:10.3354/meps295113

Cited by 122 publications

(109 citation statements)

References 39 publications

(63 reference statements)

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“…This has previously only been documented on the cladal level to explain differences in thermal tolerance between corals (e.g., 16,17), with those harboring clade D having an increased thermal tolerance over those with clade C (18,21,33). However, recent reports also show members of clade D in marginal habitats or cooler high-latitude communities (26,(35)(36)(37). These field observations coupled with findings that cultured Symbiodinium of the same clade can respond differently to thermal stress indicates that physiological characteristics are not widespread at the cladal level (25,38).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 96%

Bleaching susceptibility and mortality of corals are determined by fine-scale differences in symbiont type

Sampayo

Ridgway

Bongaerts

et al. 2008

Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. U.S.A.

402

434

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Coral bleaching has been identified as one of the major contributors to coral reef decline, and the occurrence of different symbionts determined by broad genetic groupings (clades A-H) is commonly used to explain thermal responses of reef-building corals. By using Stylophora pistillata as a model, we monitored individual tagged colonies in situ over a two-year period and show that fine level genetic variability within clade C is correlated to differences in bleaching susceptibility. Based on denaturing gradient gel electrophoresis of the internal transcribed spacer region 2, visual bleaching assessments, symbiont densities, host protein, and pulse amplitude modulated fluorometry, we show that subcladal types C78 and C8/a are more thermally tolerant than C79 and C35/a, which suffered significant bleaching and postbleaching mortality. Although additional symbiont types were detected during bleaching in colonies harboring types C79 and C35/a, all colonies reverted back to their original symbionts postbleaching. Most importantly, the data propose that the differential mortality of hosts harboring thermally sensitive versus resistant symbionts rather than symbiont shuffling/switching within a single host is responsible for the observed symbiont composition changes of coral communities after bleaching. This study therefore highlights that the use of broad cladal designations may not be suitable to describe differences in bleaching susceptibility, and that differential mortality results in a loss of both symbiont and host genetic diversity and therefore represents an important mechanism in explaining how coral reef communities may respond to changing conditions. climate change ͉ coral reefs ͉ Symbiodinium ͉ zooxanthellae ͉ Stylophora

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 96%

Bleaching susceptibility and mortality of corals are determined by fine-scale differences in symbiont type

Sampayo

Ridgway

Bongaerts

et al. 2008

Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. U.S.A.

402

434

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“…The composition of Symbiodinium in corals is known to be changeable (Toller et al, 2001;LaJeunesse et al, 2004;Chen et al, 2005;Reimer et al, 2007), varying with environmental conditions such as season (Chen et al, 2005), latitude (LaJeunesse et al, 2004) and depth (Toller et al, 2001;Frade et al, 2008). We also observed changes in the algal symbiont population in terms of number and composition.…”

Section: The Fluctuation Of the Symbiotic Algal Compositionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…For instance, Symbiodinium clade D is more heat tolerant and is thus found more often in corals subject to conditions of higher temperature or irradiance (Baker, 2001;Rowen, 2004). Because of differences in the physiological characteristics of each type, the population composition of Symbiodinium in a coral may change under different environmental conditions, such as season (Chen et al, 2005), latitude (LaJeunesse et al, 2004) and depth (Toller et al, 2001;Frade et al, 2008).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

The dynamics of microbial partnerships in the coral Isopora palifera

et al. 2010

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Both bacteria and algal symbionts (genus Symbiodinium), the two major microbial partners in the coral holobiont, respond to fluctuations in the environment, according to current reports; however, little evidence yet indicates that both populations have any direct interaction with each other in seasonal fluctuation. In this study, we present field observations of a compositional change in bacteria and Symbiodinium in the coral Isopora palifera in three separate coral colonies following monthly sampling from February to November in 2008. Using massively parallel pyrosequencing, over 200 000 bacterial V6 sequences were classified to build the bacterial community profile; in addition, the relative composition and quantity of Symbiodinium clades C and D were determined by real-time PCR. The results showed that coral-associated bacterial and Symbiodinium communities were highly dynamic and dissimilar among the tagged coral colonies, suggesting that the effect of host specificity was insignificant. The coral-associated bacterial community was more diverse (Shannon index up to 6.71) than previous estimates in other corals and showed rapid seasonal changes. The population ratios between clade C and D groups of Symbiodinium varied in the tagged coral colonies through the different seasons; clade D dominated in most of the samples. Although significant association between bacteria and symbiont was not detected, this study presents a more detailed picture of changes in these two major microbial associates of the coral at the same time, using the latest molecular approaches.

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“…Out of the nine clades, Symbiodinium clades A, B, C and D are commonly associated with corals and other metazoans (Pochon and Gates, 2010). Although symbiont abundance shows some seasonal variability (Chen et al, 2005), Symbiodinium clade C are the most common endosymbionts found in reef-building corals from the Pacific and Indian Oceans (Lesser et al, 2013) and are represented by many distinct species (Thornhill et al, 2013). Symbiodinum clades A and B are more abundant within Caribbean corals (LaJeunesse, 2002;Baker, 2003), whereas clade D are dominant in corals living in the warm waters of the Persian Gulf (Ghavam Mostafavi et al, 2007).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Unfolding the secrets of coral–algal symbiosis

et al. 2014

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Dinoflagellates from the genus Symbiodinium form a mutualistic symbiotic relationship with reefbuilding corals. Here we applied massively parallel Illumina sequencing to assess genetic similarity and diversity among four phylogenetically diverse dinoflagellate clades (A, B, C and D) that are commonly associated with corals. We obtained more than 30 000 predicted genes for each Symbiodinium clade, with a majority of the aligned transcripts corresponding to sequence data sets of symbiotic dinoflagellates and o2% of sequences having bacterial or other foreign origin. We report 1053 genes, orthologous among four Symbiodinium clades, that share a high level of sequence identity to known proteins from the SwissProt (SP) database. Approximately 80% of the transcripts aligning to the 1053 SP genes were unique to Symbiodinium species and did not align to other dinoflagellates and unrelated eukaryotic transcriptomes/genomes. Six pathways were common to all four Symbiodinium clades including the phosphatidylinositol signaling system and inositol phosphate metabolism pathways. The list of Symbiodinium transcripts common to all four clades included conserved genes such as heat shock proteins (Hsp70 and Hsp90), calmodulin, actin and tubulin, several ribosomal, photosynthetic and cytochrome genes and chloroplast-based hemecontaining cytochrome P450, involved in the biosynthesis of xanthophylls. Antioxidant genes, which are important in stress responses, were also preserved, as were a number of calcium-dependent and calcium/calmodulin-dependent protein kinases that may play a role in the establishment of symbiosis. Our findings disclose new knowledge about the genetic uniqueness of symbiotic dinoflagellates and provide a list of homologous genes important for the foundation of coral-algal symbiosis.

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Fluctuating algal symbiont communities in Acropora palifera (Scleractinia: Acroporidae) from Taiwan

Cited by 122 publications

References 39 publications

Bleaching susceptibility and mortality of corals are determined by fine-scale differences in symbiont type

Bleaching susceptibility and mortality of corals are determined by fine-scale differences in symbiont type

The dynamics of microbial partnerships in the coral Isopora palifera

Unfolding the secrets of coral–algal symbiosis

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