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Long Y, Sinutok S, Buapet P, Yucharoen M. Unraveling the physiological responses of morphologically distinct corals to low oxygen. PeerJ 2024; 12:e18095. [PMID: 39329136 PMCID: PMC11426318 DOI: 10.7717/peerj.18095] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/23/2024] [Accepted: 08/23/2024] [Indexed: 09/28/2024] Open
Abstract
Background Low oxygen in marine environments, intensified by climate change and local pollution, poses a substantial threat to global marine ecosystems, especially impacting vulnerable coral reefs and causing metabolic crises and bleaching-induced mortality. Yet, our understanding of the potential impacts in tropical regions is incomplete. Furthermore, uncertainty surrounds the physiological responses of corals to hypoxia and anoxia conditions. Methods We initially monitored in situ dissolved oxygen (DO) levels at Kham Island in the lower Gulf of Thailand. Subsequently, we conducted a 72-hour experimental exposure of corals with different morphologies-Pocillopora acuta, Porites lutea, and Turbinaria mesenterina-to low oxygen conditions, while following a 12/12-hour dark/light cycle. Three distinct DO conditions were employed: ambient (DO 6.0 ± 0.5 mg L-1), hypoxia (DO 2.0 ± 0.5 mg L-1), and anoxia (DO < 0.5 mg L-1). We measured and compared photosynthetic efficiency, Symbiodiniaceae density, chlorophyll concentration, respiratory rates, primary production, and calcification across the various treatments. Results Persistent hypoxia was observed at the study site. Subsequent experiments revealed that low oxygen levels led to a notable decrease in the maximum quantum yield over time in all the species tested, accompanied by declining rates of respiration and calcification. Our findings reveal the sensitivity of corals to both hypoxia and anoxia, particularly affecting processes crucial to energy balance and structural integrity. Notably, P. lutea and T. mesenterina exhibited no mortality over the 72-hour period under hypoxia and anoxia conditions, while P. acuta, exposed to anoxia, experienced mortality with tissue loss within 24 hours. This study underscores species-specific variations in susceptibility associated with different morphologies under low oxygen conditions. The results demonstrate the substantial impact of deoxygenation on coral growth and health, with the compounded challenges of climate change and coastal pollution exacerbating oxygen availability, leading to increasingly significant implications for coral ecosystems.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ying Long
- Coastal Oceanography and Climate Change Research Center, Prince of Songkla University, Hat Yai, Songkhla, Thailand
- Marine and Coastal Resources Institute, Faculty of Environmental Management, Prince of Songkla University, Hat Yai, Songkhla, Thailand
| | - Sutinee Sinutok
- Coastal Oceanography and Climate Change Research Center, Prince of Songkla University, Hat Yai, Songkhla, Thailand
- Faculty of Environmental Management, Prince of Songkla University, Hat Yai, Songkhla, Thailand
| | - Pimchanok Buapet
- Coastal Oceanography and Climate Change Research Center, Prince of Songkla University, Hat Yai, Songkhla, Thailand
- Division of Biological Science, Faculty of Science, Prince of Songkla University, Hat Yai, Songkhla, Thailand
| | - Mathinee Yucharoen
- Coastal Oceanography and Climate Change Research Center, Prince of Songkla University, Hat Yai, Songkhla, Thailand
- Marine and Coastal Resources Institute, Faculty of Environmental Management, Prince of Songkla University, Hat Yai, Songkhla, Thailand
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2
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Willard HF, Deutekom ES, Allemand D, Tambutté S, Kaandorp JA. Testing hypotheses on the calcification in scleractinian corals using a spatio-temporal model that shows a high degree of robustness. J Theor Biol 2023; 561:111382. [PMID: 36610694 DOI: 10.1016/j.jtbi.2022.111382] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/06/2022] [Revised: 12/05/2022] [Accepted: 12/07/2022] [Indexed: 01/06/2023]
Abstract
Calcification in photosynthetic scleractinian corals is a complicated process that involves many different biological, chemical, and physical sub-processes that happen within and around the coral tissue. Identifying and quantifying the role of separate processes in vivo or in vitro is difficult or not possible. A computational model can facilitate this research by simulating the sub-processes independently. This study presents a spatio-temporal model of the calcification physiology, which is based on processes that are considered essential for calcification: respiration, photosynthesis, Ca2+-ATPase, carbonic anhydrase. The model is used to test different hypotheses considering ion transport across the calicoblastic cells and Light Enhanced Calcification (LEC). It is also used to quantify the effect of ocean acidification (OA) on the Extracellular Calcifying Medium (ECM) and ATP-consumption of Ca2+-ATPase. It was able to reproduce the experimental data of three separate studies and finds that paracellular transport plays a minor role compared to transcellular transport. In the model, LEC results from increased Ca2+-ATPase activity in combination with increased metabolism. Implementing OA increases the concentration of CO2 throughout the entire tissue, thereby increasing the availability of CO3- in the ECM. As a result, the model finds that calcification becomes more energy-demanding and the calcification rate increases.
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Affiliation(s)
- Helena F Willard
- Computational Science Lab, Informatics Institute, University of Amsterdam, Amsterdam, The Netherlands
| | - Eva S Deutekom
- Computational Science Lab, Informatics Institute, University of Amsterdam, Amsterdam, The Netherlands
| | - Denis Allemand
- Centre Scientifique de Monaco, Avenue Saint Martin, 98000, Monaco
| | - Sylvie Tambutté
- Centre Scientifique de Monaco, Avenue Saint Martin, 98000, Monaco
| | - Jaap A Kaandorp
- Computational Science Lab, Informatics Institute, University of Amsterdam, Amsterdam, The Netherlands.
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3
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Herrera M, Liew YJ, Venn A, Tambutté E, Zoccola D, Tambutté S, Cui G, Aranda M. New Insights From Transcriptomic Data Reveal Differential Effects of CO 2 Acidification Stress on Photosynthesis of an Endosymbiotic Dinoflagellate in hospite. Front Microbiol 2021; 12:666510. [PMID: 34349734 PMCID: PMC8326563 DOI: 10.3389/fmicb.2021.666510] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/10/2021] [Accepted: 06/15/2021] [Indexed: 01/22/2023] Open
Abstract
Ocean acidification (OA) has both detrimental as well as beneficial effects on marine life; it negatively affects calcifiers while enhancing the productivity of photosynthetic organisms. To date, many studies have focused on the impacts of OA on calcification in reef-building corals, a process particularly susceptible to acidification. However, little is known about the effects of OA on their photosynthetic algal partners, with some studies suggesting potential benefits for symbiont productivity. Here, we investigated the transcriptomic response of the endosymbiont Symbiodinium microadriaticum (CCMP2467) in the Red Sea coral Stylophora pistillata subjected to different long-term (2 years) OA treatments (pH 8.0, 7.8, 7.4, 7.2). Transcriptomic analyses revealed that symbionts from corals under lower pH treatments responded to acidification by increasing the expression of genes related to photosynthesis and carbon-concentrating mechanisms. These processes were mostly up-regulated and associated metabolic pathways were significantly enriched, suggesting an overall positive effect of OA on the expression of photosynthesis-related genes. To test this conclusion on a physiological level, we analyzed the symbiont’s photochemical performance across treatments. However, in contrast to the beneficial effects suggested by the observed gene expression changes, we found significant impairment of photosynthesis with increasing pCO2. Collectively, our data suggest that over-expression of photosynthesis-related genes is not a beneficial effect of OA but rather an acclimation response of the holobiont to different water chemistries. Our study highlights the complex effects of ocean acidification on these symbiotic organisms and the role of the host in determining symbiont productivity and performance.
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Affiliation(s)
- Marcela Herrera
- Red Sea Research Center (RSRC), Biological and Environmental Sciences and Engineering Division (BESE), King Abdullah University of Science and Technology (KAUST), Thuwal, Saudi Arabia
| | - Yi Jin Liew
- Red Sea Research Center (RSRC), Biological and Environmental Sciences and Engineering Division (BESE), King Abdullah University of Science and Technology (KAUST), Thuwal, Saudi Arabia
| | - Alexander Venn
- Marine Department, Centre Scientifique de Monaco, Monaco, Monaco
| | - Eric Tambutté
- Marine Department, Centre Scientifique de Monaco, Monaco, Monaco
| | - Didier Zoccola
- Marine Department, Centre Scientifique de Monaco, Monaco, Monaco
| | - Sylvie Tambutté
- Marine Department, Centre Scientifique de Monaco, Monaco, Monaco
| | - Guoxin Cui
- Red Sea Research Center (RSRC), Biological and Environmental Sciences and Engineering Division (BESE), King Abdullah University of Science and Technology (KAUST), Thuwal, Saudi Arabia
| | - Manuel Aranda
- Red Sea Research Center (RSRC), Biological and Environmental Sciences and Engineering Division (BESE), King Abdullah University of Science and Technology (KAUST), Thuwal, Saudi Arabia
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Abstract
Coral polyps are basic clonal biological units of reef corals. However, in vitro experimental model for long-term physiological and ecological studies has not been well developed due to the difficulty of effectively acquiring and culturing single polyps. This study developed an experimental platform based on microfluidics for culturing single coral polyps and tracing its growth state over time in the long run. The corresponding computational modeling was conducted to predict the metabolic processes under the static and dynamic conditions by coupling the mass transfer and reaction with Navier-Stokes equations. Design and fabrication of the microfluidic chip was the key to provide a constant laminar flow environment that enabled the controlled high oxygen and bicarbonate transfer for the cultivation of the single coral polyps. The single coral polyps were induced to bail out of the coral reef upon the chemical stress and cultured for more than fifteen days in the microfluidic chip. It was found that the single coral polyps in the microfluidic chip can maintain their normal metabolic process over the cultivation period, suggesting that our microfluidic platform can serve as a suitable tool to study the coral polyps by providing a controllable and suitable biological microenvironment.
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Miniaturized Platform for Individual Coral Polyps Culture and Monitoring. MICROMACHINES 2020; 11:mi11020127. [PMID: 31979337 PMCID: PMC7074014 DOI: 10.3390/mi11020127] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/28/2019] [Revised: 01/16/2020] [Accepted: 01/17/2020] [Indexed: 12/18/2022]
Abstract
Methodologies for coral polyps culture and real-time monitoring are important in investigating the effects of the global environmental changes on coral reefs and marine biology. However, the traditional cultivation method is limited in its ability to provide a rapid and dynamic microenvironment to effectively exchange the chemical substances and simulate the natural environment change. Here, an integrated microdevice with continuous perfusion and temperature-control in the microenvironment was fabricated for dynamic individual coral polyps culture. For a realistic mimicry of the marine ecological environment, we constructed the micro-well based microfluidics platform that created a fluid flow environment with a low shear rate and high substance transfer, and developed a sensitive temperature control system for the long-term culture of individual coral polyps. This miniaturized platform was applied to study the individual coral polyps in response to the temperature change for evaluating the coral death caused by El Nino. The experimental results demonstrated that the microfluidics platform could provide the necessary growth environment for coral polyps as expected so that in turn the biological activity of individual coral polyps can quickly be recovered. The separation between the algae and host polyp cells were observed in the high culture temperature range and the coral polyp metabolism was negatively affected. We believe that our culture platform for individual coral polyps can provide a reliable analytical approach for model and mechanism investigations of coral bleaching and reef conservation.
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Drake JL, Mass T, Stolarski J, Von Euw S, van de Schootbrugge B, Falkowski PG. How corals made rocks through the ages. GLOBAL CHANGE BIOLOGY 2020; 26:31-53. [PMID: 31696576 PMCID: PMC6942544 DOI: 10.1111/gcb.14912] [Citation(s) in RCA: 35] [Impact Index Per Article: 8.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/29/2019] [Revised: 10/28/2019] [Accepted: 10/30/2019] [Indexed: 05/03/2023]
Abstract
Hard, or stony, corals make rocks that can, on geological time scales, lead to the formation of massive reefs in shallow tropical and subtropical seas. In both historical and contemporary oceans, reef-building corals retain information about the marine environment in their skeletons, which is an organic-inorganic composite material. The elemental and isotopic composition of their skeletons is frequently used to reconstruct the environmental history of Earth's oceans over time, including temperature, pH, and salinity. Interpretation of this information requires knowledge of how the organisms formed their skeletons. The basic mechanism of formation of calcium carbonate skeleton in stony corals has been studied for decades. While some researchers consider coral skeletons as mainly passive recorders of ocean conditions, it has become increasingly clear that biological processes play key roles in the biomineralization mechanism. Understanding the role of the animal in living stony coral biomineralization and how it evolved has profound implications for interpreting environmental signatures in fossil corals to understand past ocean conditions. Here we review historical hypotheses and discuss the present understanding of how corals evolved and how their skeletons changed over geological time. We specifically explain how biological processes, particularly those occurring at the subcellular level, critically control the formation of calcium carbonate structures. We examine the different models that address the current debate including the tissue-skeleton interface, skeletal organic matrix, and biomineralization pathways. Finally, we consider how understanding the biological control of coral biomineralization is critical to informing future models of coral vulnerability to inevitable global change, particularly increasing ocean acidification.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jeana L Drake
- Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, University of California, Los Angeles, CA, USA
| | - Tali Mass
- Department of Marine Biology, The Leon H. Charney School of Marine Sciences, University of Haifa, Haifa, Israel
| | | | - Stanislas Von Euw
- Trinity Centre for Bioengineering, Trinity Biomedical Sciences Institute, Trinity College Dublin, Dublin, Ireland
| | | | - Paul G Falkowski
- Department of Marine and Coastal Sciences, Rutgers University, New Brunswick, NJ, USA
- Department of Earth and Planetary Sciences, Rutgers University, New Brunswick, NJ, USA
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7
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Guo W. Seawater temperature and buffering capacity modulate coral calcifying pH. Sci Rep 2019; 9:1189. [PMID: 30718522 PMCID: PMC6362028 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-018-36817-y] [Citation(s) in RCA: 9] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/19/2018] [Accepted: 11/29/2018] [Indexed: 11/17/2022] Open
Abstract
Scleractinian corals promote the precipitation of their carbonate skeleton by elevating the pH and dissolved inorganic carbon (DIC) concentration of their calcifying fluid above that of seawater. The fact corals actively regulate their calcifying fluid chemistry implies the potential for acclimation to ocean acidification. However, the extent to which corals can adjust their regulation mechanism in the face of decreasing ocean pH has not been rigorously tested. Here I present a numerical model simulating pH and DIC up-regulation by corals, and use it to determine the relative importance of physiological regulation versus seawater conditions in controlling coral calcifying fluid chemistry. I show that external seawater temperature and buffering capacity exert the first-order control on the extent of pH elevation in the calcifying fluid and explain most of the observed inter- and intra-species variability. Conversely, physiological regulation, represented by the interplay between enzymatic proton pumping, carbon influx and the exchange of calcifying fluid with external seawater, contributes to some variability but remain relatively constant as seawater conditions change. The model quantitatively reproduces variations of calcifying fluid pH in natural Porites colonies, and predicts an average 0.16 unit decrease in Porites calcifying fluid pH, i.e., ~43% increase in H+ concentration, by the end of this century as a combined result of projected ocean warming and acidification, highlighting the susceptibility of coral calcification to future changes in ocean conditions. In addition, my findings support the development of coral-based seawater pH proxies, but suggest the influences of physicochemical and biological factors other than seawater pH must be considered.
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Affiliation(s)
- Weifu Guo
- Department of Geology and Geophysics, Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution, Woods Hole, MA, 02543, USA.
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8
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Raybaud V, Tambutté S, Ferrier-Pagès C, Reynaud S, Venn AA, Tambutté É, Nival P, Allemand D. Computing the carbonate chemistry of the coral calcifying medium and its response to ocean acidification. J Theor Biol 2017; 424:26-36. [PMID: 28476563 DOI: 10.1016/j.jtbi.2017.04.028] [Citation(s) in RCA: 15] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/04/2016] [Revised: 04/25/2017] [Accepted: 04/28/2017] [Indexed: 11/19/2022]
Abstract
Critical to determining vulnerability or resilience of reef corals to Ocean Acidification (OA) is a clearer understanding of the extent to which corals can control carbonate chemistry in their Extracellular Calcifying Medium (ECM) where the CaCO3 skeleton is produced. Here, we employ a mathematical framework to calculate ECM aragonite saturation state (Ωarag.(ECM)) and carbonate system ion concentration using measurements of calcification rate, seawater characteristics (temperature, salinity and pH) and ECM pH (pH(ECM)). Our calculations of ECM carbonate chemistry at current-day seawater pH, indicate that Ωarag.(ECM) ranges from ∼10 to 38 (mean 20.41), i.e. about 5 to 6-fold higher than seawater. Accordingly, Dissolved Inorganic Carbon (DIC) and Total Alkalinity (TA) were calculated to be around 3 times higher in the ECM than in seawater. We also assessed the effects of acidification on ECM chemical properties of the coral Stylophora pistillata. At reduced seawater pH our calculations indicate that Ωarag.(ECM) remains almost constant. DIC(ECM) and TA(ECM) gradually increase as seawater pH declines, reaching values about 5 to 6-fold higher than in seawater, respectively for DIC and TA. We propose that these ECM characteristics buffer the effect of acidification and explain why certain corals continue to produce CaCO3 even when seawater chemistry is less favourable.
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Affiliation(s)
- Virginie Raybaud
- Marine Biology Department, Centre Scientifique de Monaco, 8 Quai Antoine 1er, MC98000, Monaco; Laboratoire International Associé 647 « BIOSENSIB », Centre Scientifique de Monaco-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique, 8 Quai Antoine 1er, MC98000, Monaco; Sorbonne Universités, UPMC Univ Paris 06, CNRS UMS 829, Observatoire Océanologique de Villefranche-sur-Mer, 06230 Villefranche-sur-Mer, France; Present address: Université Côte d'Azur, CNRS, ECOMERS, France.
| | - Sylvie Tambutté
- Marine Biology Department, Centre Scientifique de Monaco, 8 Quai Antoine 1er, MC98000, Monaco; Laboratoire International Associé 647 « BIOSENSIB », Centre Scientifique de Monaco-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique, 8 Quai Antoine 1er, MC98000, Monaco
| | - Christine Ferrier-Pagès
- Marine Biology Department, Centre Scientifique de Monaco, 8 Quai Antoine 1er, MC98000, Monaco; Laboratoire International Associé 647 « BIOSENSIB », Centre Scientifique de Monaco-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique, 8 Quai Antoine 1er, MC98000, Monaco
| | - Stéphanie Reynaud
- Marine Biology Department, Centre Scientifique de Monaco, 8 Quai Antoine 1er, MC98000, Monaco; Laboratoire International Associé 647 « BIOSENSIB », Centre Scientifique de Monaco-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique, 8 Quai Antoine 1er, MC98000, Monaco
| | - Alexander A Venn
- Marine Biology Department, Centre Scientifique de Monaco, 8 Quai Antoine 1er, MC98000, Monaco; Laboratoire International Associé 647 « BIOSENSIB », Centre Scientifique de Monaco-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique, 8 Quai Antoine 1er, MC98000, Monaco
| | - Éric Tambutté
- Marine Biology Department, Centre Scientifique de Monaco, 8 Quai Antoine 1er, MC98000, Monaco; Laboratoire International Associé 647 « BIOSENSIB », Centre Scientifique de Monaco-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique, 8 Quai Antoine 1er, MC98000, Monaco
| | - Paul Nival
- Sorbonne Universités, UPMC Univ Paris 06, CNRS UMR 7093, Laboratoire d'Océanologie de Villefranche, 06230 Villefranche-sur-Mer, France
| | - Denis Allemand
- Marine Biology Department, Centre Scientifique de Monaco, 8 Quai Antoine 1er, MC98000, Monaco; Laboratoire International Associé 647 « BIOSENSIB », Centre Scientifique de Monaco-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique, 8 Quai Antoine 1er, MC98000, Monaco.
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10
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Tresguerres M. Novel and potential physiological roles of vacuolar-type H+-ATPase in marine organisms. J Exp Biol 2016; 219:2088-97. [DOI: 10.1242/jeb.128389] [Citation(s) in RCA: 27] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/17/2022]
Abstract
ABSTRACT
The vacuolar-type H+-ATPase (VHA) is a multi-subunit enzyme that uses the energy from ATP hydrolysis to transport H+ across biological membranes. VHA plays a universal role in essential cellular functions, such as the acidification of lysosomes and endosomes. In addition, the VHA-generated H+-motive force can drive the transport of diverse molecules across cell membranes and epithelia for specialized physiological functions. Here, I discuss diverse physiological functions of VHA in marine animals, focusing on recent discoveries about base secretion in shark gills, potential bone dissolution by Osedax bone-eating worms and its participation in a carbon-concentrating mechanism that promotes coral photosynthesis. Because VHA is evolutionarily conserved among eukaryotes, it is likely to play many other essential physiological roles in diverse marine organisms. Elucidating and characterizing basic VHA-dependent mechanisms could help to determine species responses to environmental stress, including (but not limited to) that resulting from climate change.
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Affiliation(s)
- Martin Tresguerres
- Marine Biology Research Division, Scripps Institution of Oceanography, University of California San Diego, 9500 Gilman Drive, SIO mail code 0202, La Jolla, CA 92093, USA
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11
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Microelectrode characterization of coral daytime interior pH and carbonate chemistry. Nat Commun 2016; 7:11144. [PMID: 27041668 PMCID: PMC4821998 DOI: 10.1038/ncomms11144] [Citation(s) in RCA: 53] [Impact Index Per Article: 6.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/01/2015] [Accepted: 02/24/2016] [Indexed: 11/08/2022] Open
Abstract
Reliably predicting how coral calcification may respond to ocean acidification and warming depends on our understanding of coral calcification mechanisms. However, the concentration and speciation of dissolved inorganic carbon (DIC) inside corals remain unclear, as only pH has been measured while a necessary second parameter to constrain carbonate chemistry has been missing. Here we report the first carbonate ion concentration ([CO3(2-)]) measurements together with pH inside corals during the light period. We observe sharp increases in [CO3(2-)] and pH from the gastric cavity to the calcifying fluid, confirming the existence of a proton (H(+)) pumping mechanism. We also show that corals can achieve a high aragonite saturation state (Ωarag) in the calcifying fluid by elevating pH while at the same time keeping [DIC] low. Such a mechanism may require less H(+)-pumping and energy for upregulating pH compared with the high [DIC] scenario and thus may allow corals to be more resistant to climate change related stressors.
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12
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Gutner-Hoch E, Schneider K, Stolarski J, Domart-Coulon I, Yam R, Meibom A, Shemesh A, Levy O. Evidence for Rhythmicity Pacemaker in the Calcification Process of Scleractinian Coral. Sci Rep 2016; 6:20191. [PMID: 26847144 PMCID: PMC4742845 DOI: 10.1038/srep20191] [Citation(s) in RCA: 11] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/28/2015] [Accepted: 12/17/2015] [Indexed: 11/09/2022] Open
Abstract
Reef-building scleractinian (stony) corals are among the most efficient bio-mineralizing organisms in nature. The calcification rate of scleractinian corals oscillates under ambient light conditions, with a cyclic, diurnal pattern. A fundamental question is whether this cyclic pattern is controlled by exogenous signals or by an endogenous 'biological-clock' mechanism, or both. To address this problem, we have studied calcification patterns of the Red Sea scleractinian coral Acropora eurystoma with frequent measurements of total alkalinity (AT) under different light conditions. Additionally, skeletal extension and ultra-structure of newly deposited calcium carbonate were elucidated with (86)Sr isotope labeling analysis, combined with NanoSIMS ion microprobe and scanning electron microscope imaging. Our results show that the calcification process persists with its cyclic pattern under constant light conditions while dissolution takes place within one day of constant dark conditions, indicating that an intrinsic, light-entrained mechanism may be involved in controlling the calcification process in photosymbiotic corals.
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Affiliation(s)
- Eldad Gutner-Hoch
- The Mina &Everard Goodman Faculty of Life Sciences, Bar-Ilan University, 52900 Ramat-Gan, Israel
| | - Kenneth Schneider
- The Mina &Everard Goodman Faculty of Life Sciences, Bar-Ilan University, 52900 Ramat-Gan, Israel
| | - Jaroslaw Stolarski
- Institute of Paleobiology, Polish Academy of Sciences, Twarda 51/55, PL-00-818 Warsaw, Poland
| | - Isabelle Domart-Coulon
- MCAM UMR7245, Sorbonne Universités, Muséum National d'Histoire Naturelle, (CP54) 57 rue Cuvier, 75005 Paris, France
| | - Ruth Yam
- Department of Earth and Planetary Sciences, Weizmann Institute of Science, P.O.Box 26, 76100 Rehovot, Israel
| | - Anders Meibom
- Laboratory for Biological Geochemistry, School of Architecture, Civil and Environmental Engineering (ENAC), Ecole Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne (EPFL), CH-1015 Lausanne, Switzerland.,Center for Advanced Surface Analysis, Institute of Earth Sciences, University of Lausanne, Lausanne, Switzerland
| | - Aldo Shemesh
- Department of Earth and Planetary Sciences, Weizmann Institute of Science, P.O.Box 26, 76100 Rehovot, Israel
| | - Oren Levy
- The Mina &Everard Goodman Faculty of Life Sciences, Bar-Ilan University, 52900 Ramat-Gan, Israel
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13
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Hopkinson BM, Tansik AL, Fitt WK. Internal carbonic anhydrase activity in the tissue of scleractinian corals is sufficient to support proposed roles in photosynthesis and calcification. ACTA ACUST UNITED AC 2015; 218:2039-48. [PMID: 25908060 DOI: 10.1242/jeb.118182] [Citation(s) in RCA: 18] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/10/2014] [Accepted: 04/20/2015] [Indexed: 11/20/2022]
Abstract
Reef-building corals import inorganic carbon (Ci) to build their calcium carbonate skeletons and to support photosynthesis by the symbiotic algae that reside in their tissue. The internal pathways that deliver Ci for both photosynthesis and calcification are known to involve the enzyme carbonic anhydrase (CA), which interconverts CO2 and HCO3 (-). We have developed a method for absolute quantification of internal CA (iCA) activity in coral tissue based on the rate of (18)O-removal from labeled Ci. The method was applied to three Caribbean corals (Orbicella faveolata, Porites astreoides and Siderastrea radians) and showed that these species have similar iCA activities per unit surface area, but that S. radians has ∼10-fold higher iCA activity per unit tissue volume. A model of coral Ci processing shows that the measured iCA activity is sufficient to support the proposed roles for iCA in Ci transport for photosynthesis and calcification. This is the case even when iCA activity is homogeneously distributed throughout the coral, but the model indicates that it would be advantageous to concentrate iCA in the spaces where calcification (the calcifying fluid) and photosynthesis (the oral endoderm) take place. We argue that because the rates of photosynthesis and calcification per unit surface area are similar among the corals studied here, the areal iCA activity used to deliver Ci for these reactions should also be similar. The elevated iCA activity per unit volume of S. radians compared with that of the other species is probably due to the thinner effective tissue thickness in this species.
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Affiliation(s)
- Brian M Hopkinson
- Department of Marine Sciences, University of Georgia, Athens, GA 30602, USA
| | - Anna L Tansik
- Department of Marine Sciences, University of Georgia, Athens, GA 30602, USA
| | - William K Fitt
- School of Ecology, University of Georgia, Athens, GA 30602, USA
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Holcomb M, Tambutté E, Allemand D, Tambutté S. Light enhanced calcification in Stylophora pistillata: effects of glucose, glycerol and oxygen. PeerJ 2014; 2:e375. [PMID: 24883242 PMCID: PMC4034610 DOI: 10.7717/peerj.375] [Citation(s) in RCA: 23] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/30/2013] [Accepted: 04/19/2014] [Indexed: 11/20/2022] Open
Abstract
Zooxanthellate corals have long been known to calcify faster in the light than in the dark, however the mechanism underlying this process has been uncertain. Here we tested the effects of oxygen under controlled pCO2 conditions and fixed carbon sources on calcification in zooxanthellate and bleached microcolonies of the branching coral Stylophora pistillata. In zooxanthellate microcolonies, oxygen increased dark calcification rates to levels comparable to those measured in the light. However in bleached microcolonies oxygen alone did not enhance calcification, but when combined with a fixed carbon source (glucose or glycerol), calcification increased. Respiration rates increased in response to oxygen with greater increases when oxygen is combined with fixed carbon. ATP content was largely unaffected by treatments, with the exception of glycerol which decreased ATP levels.
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SAWALL Y, KHOKIATTIWONG S, JOMPA J, RICHTER C. Calcification, photosynthesis and nutritional status of the hermatypic coral Porites lutea: contrasting case studies from Indonesia and Thailand. ACTA ACUST UNITED AC 2014. [DOI: 10.3755/galaxea.16.1] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/12/2022]
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