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Castillo KD, Bove CB, Hughes AM, Powell ME, Ries JB, Davies SW. Gene expression plasticity facilitates acclimatization of a long-lived Caribbean coral across divergent reef environments. Sci Rep 2024; 14:7859. [PMID: 38570591 PMCID: PMC10991280 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-024-57319-0] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/16/2023] [Accepted: 03/17/2024] [Indexed: 04/05/2024] Open
Abstract
Local adaptation can increase fitness under stable environmental conditions. However, in rapidly changing environments, compensatory mechanisms enabled through plasticity may better promote fitness. Climate change is causing devastating impacts on coral reefs globally and understanding the potential for adaptive and plastic responses is critical for reef management. We conducted a four-year, three-way reciprocal transplant of the Caribbean coral Siderastrea siderea across forereef, backreef, and nearshore populations in Belize to investigate the potential for environmental specialization versus plasticity in this species. Corals maintained high survival within forereef and backreef environments, but transplantation to nearshore environments resulted in high mortality, suggesting that nearshore environments present strong environmental selection. Only forereef-sourced corals demonstrated evidence of environmental specialization, exhibiting the highest growth in the forereef. Gene expression profiling 3.5 years post-transplantation revealed that transplanted coral hosts exhibited profiles more similar to other corals in the same reef environment, regardless of their source location, suggesting that transcriptome plasticity facilitates acclimatization to environmental change in S. siderea. In contrast, algal symbiont (Cladocopium goreaui) gene expression showcased functional variation between source locations that was maintained post-transplantation. Our findings suggest limited acclimatory capacity of some S. siderea populations under strong environmental selection and highlight the potential limits of coral physiological plasticity in reef restoration.
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Affiliation(s)
- Karl D Castillo
- Department of Earth, Marine and Environmental Sciences, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill, NC, USA.
- Environment, Ecology and Energy Program, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill, NC, USA.
| | - Colleen B Bove
- Environment, Ecology and Energy Program, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill, NC, USA.
- Department of Biology, Boston University, Boston, MA, USA.
| | | | - Maya E Powell
- Environment, Ecology and Energy Program, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill, NC, USA
| | - Justin B Ries
- Department of Marine and Environmental Sciences, Marine Sciences Center, Northeastern University, Nahant, MA, USA
| | - Sarah W Davies
- Environment, Ecology and Energy Program, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill, NC, USA.
- Department of Biology, Boston University, Boston, MA, USA.
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2
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Strader ME, Wright RM, Pezner AK, Nuttall MF, Aichelman HE, Davies SW. Intersection of coral molecular responses to a localized mortality event and ex situ deoxygenation. Ecol Evol 2024; 14:e11275. [PMID: 38654712 PMCID: PMC11036075 DOI: 10.1002/ece3.11275] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/13/2024] [Revised: 03/22/2024] [Accepted: 04/01/2024] [Indexed: 04/26/2024] Open
Abstract
In July 2016, East Bank of Flower Garden Banks (FGB) National Marine Sanctuary experienced a localized mortality event (LME) of multiple invertebrate species that ultimately led to reductions in coral cover. Abiotic data taken directly after the event suggested that acute deoxygenation contributed to the mortality. Despite the large impact of this event on the coral community, there was no direct evidence that this LME was driven by acute deoxygenation, and thus we explored whether gene expression responses of corals to the LME would indicate what abiotic factors may have contributed to the LME. Gene expression of affected and unaffected corals sampled during the mortality event revealed evidence of the physiological consequences of the LME on coral hosts and their algal symbionts from two congeneric species (Orbicella franksi and Orbicella faveolata). Affected colonies of both species differentially regulated genes involved in mitochondrial regulation and oxidative stress. To further test the hypothesis that deoxygenation led to the LME, we measured coral host and algal symbiont gene expression in response to ex situ experimental deoxygenation (control = 6.9 ± 0.08 mg L-1, anoxic = 0.083 ± 0.017 mg L-1) in healthy O. faveolata colonies from the FGB. However, this deoxygenation experiment revealed divergent gene expression patterns compared to the corals sampled during the LME and was more similar to a generalized coral environmental stress response. It is therefore likely that while the LME was connected to low oxygen, it was a series of interconnected stressors that elicited the unique gene expression responses observed here. These in situ and ex situ data highlight how field responses to stressors are unique from those in controlled laboratory conditions, and that the complexities of deoxygenation events in the field likely arise from interactions between multiple environmental factors simultaneously.
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Affiliation(s)
- Marie E. Strader
- Department of BiologyTexas A&M UniversityCollege StationTexasUSA
| | - Rachel M. Wright
- Department of Biological SciencesSouthern Methodist UniversityDallasTexasUSA
| | | | | | | | - Sarah W. Davies
- Department of BiologyBoston UniversityBostonMassachusettsUSA
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3
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Zhang Y, Luo L, Gan P, Chen X, Li X, Pang Y, Yu X, Yu K. Exposure to pentachlorophenol destructs the symbiotic relationship between zooxanthellae and host and induces pathema in coral Porites lutea. THE SCIENCE OF THE TOTAL ENVIRONMENT 2024; 907:167956. [PMID: 37884147 DOI: 10.1016/j.scitotenv.2023.167956] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/08/2023] [Revised: 10/17/2023] [Accepted: 10/18/2023] [Indexed: 10/28/2023]
Abstract
Stress from chemical pollutants is among the key issues that have adverse impacts on coral reefs. As a persistent organic pollutant, pentachlorophenol (PCP) has been detected in the seawater of Weizhou Island and was proved to have significant adverse effects on aquatic animals. However, little is known about its effects on scleractinian coral. Therefore, we investigated the response of the coral Porites lutea to PCP stress. Coral bleaching, photosynthesis parameters and antioxidant enzyme activities of P. lutea under PCP exposure were documented. After 96 h of exposure, significant tissue loss and bleaching occurred when the PCP concentration exceeded 100 μg/L. The density of symbiotic zooxanthellae decreased from 2.06 × 106 cells/cm2 to 0.93 × 106 cells/cm2 when the PCP concentration increased from 1 μg/L- 1000 μg/L. Long-term exposure of 120 days to PCP at 0.1 μg/L also led to coral bleaching, the maximum photochemical quantum yield of PSII in P. lutea nubbins significantly decreased to 0.482. The analysis of microbial community distribution indicated that the increase of the pathogenic bacterium Citrobacter may be one of the inducers of coral bleaching. Conjoint analysis of transcriptomics and proteomics showed that the metabolism of amino acids and carbohydrates in zooxanthellae was abnormal, leading to the destruction of its symbiotic relationship with the host. The immune system of the host was disrupted, which could be linked to the prevalence of coral pathema. The toxic responses of PCP on both zooxanthellae and its host were further confirmed by the upregulation of the differential metabolites including 1-naphthylamine and phosphatidylcholine, etc.
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Affiliation(s)
- Yuanyuan Zhang
- School of Marine Sciences, Guangxi Laboratory on the Study of Coral Reefs in the South China Sea, Guangxi University, Nanning 530004, China; Southern Marine Science and Engineering Guangdong Laboratory (Zhuhai), Zhuhai 519000, China
| | - Lan Luo
- School of Marine Sciences, Guangxi Laboratory on the Study of Coral Reefs in the South China Sea, Guangxi University, Nanning 530004, China
| | - Pin Gan
- School of Marine Sciences, Guangxi Laboratory on the Study of Coral Reefs in the South China Sea, Guangxi University, Nanning 530004, China
| | - Xuan Chen
- School of Marine Sciences, Guangxi Laboratory on the Study of Coral Reefs in the South China Sea, Guangxi University, Nanning 530004, China
| | - Xiaoli Li
- School of Marine Sciences, Guangxi Laboratory on the Study of Coral Reefs in the South China Sea, Guangxi University, Nanning 530004, China
| | - Yan Pang
- School of Marine Sciences, Guangxi Laboratory on the Study of Coral Reefs in the South China Sea, Guangxi University, Nanning 530004, China
| | - Xiaopeng Yu
- School of Marine Sciences, Guangxi Laboratory on the Study of Coral Reefs in the South China Sea, Guangxi University, Nanning 530004, China
| | - Kefu Yu
- School of Marine Sciences, Guangxi Laboratory on the Study of Coral Reefs in the South China Sea, Guangxi University, Nanning 530004, China; Southern Marine Science and Engineering Guangdong Laboratory (Zhuhai), Zhuhai 519000, China.
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Meng Z, Williams A, Liau P, Stephens TG, Drury C, Chiles EN, Su X, Javanmard M, Bhattacharya D. Development of a portable toolkit to diagnose coral thermal stress. Sci Rep 2022; 12:14398. [PMID: 36002502 PMCID: PMC9402530 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-022-18653-3] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/25/2022] [Accepted: 08/17/2022] [Indexed: 11/21/2022] Open
Abstract
Coral bleaching, precipitated by the expulsion of the algal symbionts that provide colonies with fixed carbon is a global threat to reef survival. To protect corals from anthropogenic stress, portable tools are needed to detect and diagnose stress syndromes and assess population health prior to extensive bleaching. Here, medical grade Urinalysis strips, used to detect an array of disease markers in humans, were tested on the lab stressed Hawaiian coral species, Montipora capitata (stress resistant) and Pocillopora acuta (stress sensitive), as well as samples from nature that also included Porites compressa. Of the 10 diagnostic reagent tests on these strips, two appear most applicable to corals: ketone and leukocytes. The test strip results from M. capitata were explored using existing transcriptomic data from the same samples and provided evidence of the stress syndromes detected by the strips. We designed a 3D printed smartphone holder and image processing software for field analysis of test strips (TestStripDX) and devised a simple strategy to generate color scores for corals (reflecting extent of bleaching) using a smartphone camera (CoralDX). Our approaches provide field deployable methods, that can be improved in the future (e.g., coral-specific stress test strips) to assess reef health using inexpensive tools and freely available software.
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Affiliation(s)
- Zhuolun Meng
- Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering, Rutgers University, Piscataway, NJ, 08854, USA
| | - Amanda Williams
- Microbial Biology Graduate Program, Rutgers University, New Brunswick, NJ, 08901, USA
| | - Pinky Liau
- Department of Biochemistry and Microbiology, Rutgers University, New Brunswick, NJ, 08901, USA
| | - Timothy G Stephens
- Department of Biochemistry and Microbiology, Rutgers University, New Brunswick, NJ, 08901, USA
| | - Crawford Drury
- Hawai'i Institute of Marine Biology, University of Hawai'i at Mānoa, Kaneohe, HI, 96744, USA
| | - Eric N Chiles
- Metabolomics Shared Resource, Rutgers Cancer Institute of New Jersey, Rutgers University, New Brunswick, NJ, 08901, USA
| | - Xiaoyang Su
- Metabolomics Shared Resource, Rutgers Cancer Institute of New Jersey, Rutgers University, New Brunswick, NJ, 08901, USA
- Department of Medicine, Division of Endocrinology, Robert Wood Johnson Medical School, Rutgers University, New Brunswick, USA
| | - Mehdi Javanmard
- Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering, Rutgers University, Piscataway, NJ, 08854, USA.
| | - Debashish Bhattacharya
- Department of Biochemistry and Microbiology, Rutgers University, New Brunswick, NJ, 08901, USA.
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Rodriguez-Casariego JA, Cunning R, Baker AC, Eirin-Lopez JM. Symbiont shuffling induces differential DNA methylation responses to thermal stress in the coral Montastraea cavernosa. Mol Ecol 2021; 31:588-602. [PMID: 34689363 DOI: 10.1111/mec.16246] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/25/2021] [Revised: 10/17/2021] [Accepted: 10/19/2021] [Indexed: 12/11/2022]
Abstract
Algal symbiont shuffling in favour of more thermotolerant species has been shown to enhance coral resistance to heat-stress. Yet, the mechanistic underpinnings and long-term implications of these changes are poorly understood. This work studied the modifications in coral DNA methylation, an epigenetic mechanism involved in coral acclimatization, in response to symbiont manipulation and subsequent heat stress exposure. Symbiont composition was manipulated in the great star coral Montastraea cavernosa through controlled thermal bleaching and recovery, producing paired ramets of three genets dominated by either their native symbionts (genus Cladocopium) or the thermotolerant species (Durusdinium trenchi). Single-base genome-wide analyses showed significant modifications in DNA methylation concentrated in intergenic regions, introns and transposable elements. Remarkably, DNA methylation changes in response to heat stress were dependent on the dominant symbiont, with twice as many differentially methylated regions found in heat-stressed corals hosting different symbionts (Cladocopium vs. D. trenchii) compared to all other comparisons. Interestingly, while differential gene body methylation was not correlated with gene expression, an enrichment in differentially methylated regions was evident in repetitive genome regions. Overall, these results suggest that changes in algal symbionts favouring heat tolerant associations are accompanied by changes in DNA methylation in the coral host. The implications of these results for coral adaptation, along with future avenues of research based on current knowledge gaps, are discussed in the present work.
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Affiliation(s)
- Javier A Rodriguez-Casariego
- Environmental Epigenetics Laboratory, Institute of Environment, Florida International University, Miami, Florida, USA
| | - Ross Cunning
- Daniel P. Haerther Center for Conservation and Research, John G. Shedd Aquarium, Chicago, Illinois, USA.,Department of Marine Biology and Ecology, Rosenstiel School of Marine and Atmospheric Science, University of Miami, Miami, Florida, USA
| | - Andrew C Baker
- Department of Marine Biology and Ecology, Rosenstiel School of Marine and Atmospheric Science, University of Miami, Miami, Florida, USA
| | - Jose M Eirin-Lopez
- Environmental Epigenetics Laboratory, Institute of Environment, Florida International University, Miami, Florida, USA
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Chan WY, Chung J, Peplow LM, Hoffmann AA, van Oppen MJH. Maternal effects in gene expression of interspecific coral hybrids. Mol Ecol 2020; 30:517-527. [PMID: 33179328 DOI: 10.1111/mec.15727] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/12/2020] [Revised: 11/03/2020] [Accepted: 11/04/2020] [Indexed: 12/24/2022]
Abstract
Maternal effects have been well documented for offspring morphology and life history traits in plants and terrestrial animals, yet little is known about maternal effects in corals. Further, few studies have explored maternal effects in gene expression. In a previous study, F1 interspecific hybrid and purebred larvae of the coral species Acropora tenuis and Acropora loripes were settled and exposed to ambient or elevated temperature and pCO2 conditions for 7 months. At this stage, the hybrid coral recruits from both ocean conditions exhibited strong maternal effects in several fitness traits. We conducted RNA-sequencing on these corals and showed that gene expression of the hybrid Acropora also exhibited clear maternal effects. Only 40 genes were differentially expressed between hybrids and their maternal progenitor. In contrast, ~2000 differentially expressed genes were observed between hybrids and their paternal progenitors, and between the reciprocal F1 hybrids. These results indicate that maternal effects in coral gene expression can be long-lasting. Unlike findings from most short-term stress experiments in corals, no genes were differentially expressed in the hybrid nor purebred offspring after seven months of exposure to elevated temperature and pCO2 conditions.
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Affiliation(s)
- Wing Yan Chan
- Australian Institute of Marine Science, Townsville, QLD, Australia.,School of BioSciences, University of Melbourne, Parkville, VIC, Australia
| | - Jessica Chung
- Bio21 Institute, University of Melbourne, Parkville, VIC, Australia.,Melbourne Bioinformatics, University of Melbourne, Parkville, VIC, Australia
| | - Lesa M Peplow
- Australian Institute of Marine Science, Townsville, QLD, Australia
| | - Ary A Hoffmann
- Bio21 Institute, University of Melbourne, Parkville, VIC, Australia
| | - Madeleine J H van Oppen
- Australian Institute of Marine Science, Townsville, QLD, Australia.,School of BioSciences, University of Melbourne, Parkville, VIC, Australia
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van Oppen MJH, Medina M. Coral evolutionary responses to microbial symbioses. Philos Trans R Soc Lond B Biol Sci 2020; 375:20190591. [PMID: 32772672 PMCID: PMC7435167 DOI: 10.1098/rstb.2019.0591] [Citation(s) in RCA: 20] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Accepted: 04/09/2020] [Indexed: 12/19/2022] Open
Abstract
This review explores how microbial symbioses may have influenced and continue to influence the evolution of reef-building corals (Cnidaria; Scleractinia). The coral holobiont comprises a diverse microbiome including dinoflagellate algae (Dinophyceae; Symbiodiniaceae), bacteria, archaea, fungi and viruses, but here we focus on the Symbiodiniaceae as knowledge of the impact of other microbial symbionts on coral evolution is scant. Symbiosis with Symbiodiniaceae has extended the coral's metabolic capacity through metabolic handoffs and horizontal gene transfer (HGT) and has contributed to the ecological success of these iconic organisms. It necessitated the prior existence or the evolution of a series of adaptations of the host to attract and select the right symbionts, to provide them with a suitable environment and to remove disfunctional symbionts. Signatures of microbial symbiosis in the coral genome include HGT from Symbiodiniaceae and bacteria, gene family expansions, and a broad repertoire of oxidative stress response and innate immunity genes. Symbiosis with Symbiodiniaceae has permitted corals to occupy oligotrophic waters as the algae provide most corals with the majority of their nutrition. However, the coral-Symbiodiniaceae symbiosis is sensitive to climate warming, which disrupts this intimate relationship, causing coral bleaching, mortality and a worldwide decline of coral reefs. This article is part of the theme issue 'The role of the microbiome in host evolution'.
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Affiliation(s)
- Madeleine J. H. van Oppen
- School of BioSciences, The University of Melbourne, Parkville, 3010 Victoria, Australia
- Australian Institute of Marine Science, PMB No. 3, Townsville MC, 4810 Queensland, Australia
| | - Mónica Medina
- Department of Biology, The Pennsylvania State University, 208 Mueller Lab, University Park, PA 16802, USA
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