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Cardoso PM, Hill LJ, Villela HDM, Vilela CLS, Assis JM, Rosado PM, Rosado JG, Chacon MA, Majzoub ME, Duarte GAS, Thomas T, Peixoto RS. Localization and symbiotic status of probiotics in the coral holobiont. mSystems 2024; 9:e0026124. [PMID: 38606974 PMCID: PMC11097643 DOI: 10.1128/msystems.00261-24] [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: 02/26/2024] [Accepted: 03/20/2024] [Indexed: 04/13/2024] Open
Abstract
Corals establish symbiotic relationships with microorganisms, especially endosymbiotic photosynthetic algae. Although other microbes have been commonly detected in coral tissues, their identity and beneficial functions for their host are unclear. Here, we confirm the beneficial outcomes of the inoculation of bacteria selected as probiotics and use fluorescence in situ hybridization (FISH) to define their localization in the coral Pocillopora damicornis. Our results show the first evidence of the inherent presence of Halomonas sp. and Cobetia sp. in native coral tissues, even before their inoculation. Furthermore, the relative enrichment of these coral tissue-associated bacteria through their inoculation in corals correlates with health improvements, such as increases in photosynthetic potential, and productivity. Our study suggests the symbiotic status of Halomonas sp. and Cobetia sp. in corals by indicating their localization within coral gastrodermis and epidermis and correlating their increased relative abundance through active inoculation with beneficial outcomes for the holobiont. This knowledge is crucial to facilitate the screening and application of probiotics that may not be transient members of the coral microbiome. IMPORTANCE Despite the promising results indicating the beneficial outcomes associated with the application of probiotics in corals and some scarce knowledge regarding the identity of bacterial cells found within the coral tissue, the correlation between these two aspects is still missing. This gap limits our understanding of the actual diversity of coral-associated bacteria and whether these symbionts are beneficial. Some researchers, for example, have been suggesting that probiotic screening should only focus on the very few known tissue-associated bacteria, such as Endozoicomonas sp., assuming that the currently tested probiotics are not tissue-associated. Here, we provide specific FISH probes for Halomonas sp. and Cobetia sp., expand our knowledge of the identity of coral-associated bacteria and confirm the probiotic status of the tested probiotics. The presence of these beneficial microorganisms for corals (BMCs) inside host tissues and gastric cavities also supports the notion that direct interactions with the host may underpin their probiotic role. This is a new breakthrough; these results argue against the possibility that the positive effects of BMCs are due to factors that are not related to a direct symbiotic interaction, for example, that the host simply feeds on inoculated bacteria or that the bacteria change the water quality.
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Affiliation(s)
- P. M. Cardoso
- Red Sea Research Center, Biological and Environmental Science and Engineering Division, King Abdullah University of Science and Technology, Thuwal, Saudi Arabia
| | - L. J. Hill
- Laboratory of Molecular Microbial Ecology, Institute of Microbiology Paulo de Góes, Federal University of Rio de Janeiro, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
| | - H. D. M. Villela
- Red Sea Research Center, Biological and Environmental Science and Engineering Division, King Abdullah University of Science and Technology, Thuwal, Saudi Arabia
| | - C. L. S. Vilela
- Laboratory of Molecular Microbial Ecology, Institute of Microbiology Paulo de Góes, Federal University of Rio de Janeiro, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
| | - J. M. Assis
- Laboratory of Molecular Microbial Ecology, Institute of Microbiology Paulo de Góes, Federal University of Rio de Janeiro, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
| | - P. M. Rosado
- Red Sea Research Center, Biological and Environmental Science and Engineering Division, King Abdullah University of Science and Technology, Thuwal, Saudi Arabia
| | - J. G. Rosado
- Red Sea Research Center, Biological and Environmental Science and Engineering Division, King Abdullah University of Science and Technology, Thuwal, Saudi Arabia
| | - M. A. Chacon
- Laboratory of Molecular Microbial Ecology, Institute of Microbiology Paulo de Góes, Federal University of Rio de Janeiro, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
| | - M. E. Majzoub
- Center for Marine Science and Innovation; School of Biological, Earth and Environmental Sciences, The University of New South Wales, Sydney, New South Wales, Australia
| | - G. A. S. Duarte
- Red Sea Research Center, Biological and Environmental Science and Engineering Division, King Abdullah University of Science and Technology, Thuwal, Saudi Arabia
- Laboratory of Molecular Microbial Ecology, Institute of Microbiology Paulo de Góes, Federal University of Rio de Janeiro, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
| | - T. Thomas
- Center for Marine Science and Innovation; School of Biological, Earth and Environmental Sciences, The University of New South Wales, Sydney, New South Wales, Australia
| | - R. S. Peixoto
- Red Sea Research Center, Biological and Environmental Science and Engineering Division, King Abdullah University of Science and Technology, Thuwal, Saudi Arabia
- Computational Biology Center, King Abdullah University of Science and Technology (KAUST), Thuwal, Saudi Arabia
- Marine Science and Bioscience Programs, Biological, Environmental and Engineering Sciences Division, King Abdullah University of Science and Technology (KAUST), Thuwal, Saudi Arabia
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He T, Tsui MMP, Mayfield AB, Liu PJ, Chen TH, Wang LH, Fan TY, Lam PKS, Murphy MB. Organic ultraviolet filter mixture promotes bleaching of reef corals upon the threat of elevated seawater temperature. THE SCIENCE OF THE TOTAL ENVIRONMENT 2023; 876:162744. [PMID: 36907390 DOI: 10.1016/j.scitotenv.2023.162744] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 7.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/07/2022] [Revised: 02/13/2023] [Accepted: 03/05/2023] [Indexed: 06/18/2023]
Abstract
Global reef degradation is a critical environmental health issue that has triggered intensive research on ocean warming, but the implications of emerging contaminants in coral habitats are largely overlooked. Laboratory experiments assessing organic ultraviolet (UV) filter exposure have shown that these chemicals negatively affect coral health; their ubiquitous occurrence in association with ocean warming may pose great challenges to coral health. We investigated both short- (10-day) and long-term (60-day) single and co-exposures of coral nubbins to environmentally relevant organic UV filter mixtures (200 ng/L of 12 compounds) and elevated water temperatures (30 °C) to investigate their effects and potential mechanisms of action. The initial 10-day exposure of Seriatopora caliendrum resulted in bleaching only under co-exposure conditions (compounds + temperature). The 60-day mesocosm study entailed the same exposure settings with nubbins of three species (S. caliendrum, Pocillopora acuta and Montipora aequituberculata). Bleaching (37.5 %) and mortality (12.5 %) of S. caliendrum were observed under UV filter mixture exposure. In the co-exposure treatment, 100 % S. caliendrum and P. acuta bleached associating with 100 % and 50 % mortality, respectively, and significant increase of catalase activities in P. acuta and M. aequituberculata nubbins were found. Biochemical and molecular analyses indicated significant alteration of oxidative stress and metabolic enzymes. The results suggest that upon the adverse effects of thermal stress, organic UV filter mixture at environmental concentrations can cause bleaching in corals by inducing a significant oxidative stress and detoxification burden, suggesting that emerging contaminants may play a unique role in global reef degradation.
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Affiliation(s)
- Tangtian He
- State Key Laboratory in Marine Pollution, City University of Hong Kong, 83 Tat Chee Avenue, Kowloon, Hong Kong; Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, The Hong Kong Polytechnic University, Hung Hom, Kowloon, Hong Kong.
| | - Mirabelle M P Tsui
- State Key Laboratory in Marine Pollution, City University of Hong Kong, 83 Tat Chee Avenue, Kowloon, Hong Kong
| | - Anderson B Mayfield
- Khaled bin Sultan Living Oceans Foundation, 130 Severn Ave., Annapolis, MD 21403, USA
| | - Pi-Jen Liu
- Graduate Institute of Marine Biology, National Dong Hwa University, Pingtung 944, Taiwan, ROC
| | - Te-Hao Chen
- National Museum of Marine Biology and Aquarium, Pingtung 944, Taiwan, ROC
| | - Li-Hsueh Wang
- National Museum of Marine Biology and Aquarium, Pingtung 944, Taiwan, ROC
| | - Tung-Yung Fan
- National Museum of Marine Biology and Aquarium, Pingtung 944, Taiwan, ROC
| | - Paul K S Lam
- State Key Laboratory in Marine Pollution, City University of Hong Kong, 83 Tat Chee Avenue, Kowloon, Hong Kong
| | - Margaret B Murphy
- State Key Laboratory in Marine Pollution, City University of Hong Kong, 83 Tat Chee Avenue, Kowloon, Hong Kong.
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Mayfield AB. Multi-macromolecular Extraction from Endosymbiotic Anthozoans. Methods Mol Biol 2023; 2625:17-56. [PMID: 36653630 DOI: 10.1007/978-1-0716-2966-6_3] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 06/17/2023]
Abstract
Obligately symbiotic associations between reef-building corals (anthozoan cnidarians) and photosynthetically active dinoflagellates of the family Symbiodiniaceae comprise the functional basis of all coral reef ecosystems. Given the existential threats of global climate change toward these thermo-sensitive entities, there is an urgent need to better understand the physiological implications of changes in the abiotic milieu of scleractinian corals and their mutualistic algal endosymbionts. Although initially slow to leverage the immense breakthroughs in molecular biotechnology that have benefited humankind, coral biologists are making up for lost time in exploiting an array of ever-advancing molecular tools for answering key questions pertaining to the survival of corals in an ever-changing world. In order to comprehensively characterize the multi-omic landscape of the coral holobiont-the cnidarian host, its intracellular dinoflagellates, and a plethora of other microbial constituents-I introduce a series of protocols herein that yield large quantities of high-quality RNA, DNA, protein, lipids, and polar metabolites from a diverse array of reef corals and endosymbiotic sea anemones. Although numerous published articles in the invertebrate zoology field feature protocols that lead to sufficiently high yield of intact host coral macromolecules, through using the approach outlined herein one may simultaneously acquire a rich, multi-compartmental biochemical pool that truly reflects the complex and dynamic nature of these animal-plant chimeras.
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Assessing the Effects of Ocean Warming and Acidification on the Seagrass Thalassia hemprichii. JOURNAL OF MARINE SCIENCE AND ENGINEERING 2022. [DOI: 10.3390/jmse10060714] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/25/2023]
Abstract
Seagrass beds serve as important carbon sinks, and it is thought that increasing the quantity and quality of such sinks could help to slow the rate of global climate change. Therefore, it will be important to (1) gain a better understanding of seagrass bed metabolism and (2) document how these high-productivity ecosystems are impacted by climate change-associated factors, such as ocean acidification (OA) and ocean warming (OW). A mesocosm-based approach was taken herein in which a tropical, Western Pacific seagrass species Thalassia hemprichii was cultured under either control or OA-simulating conditions; the temperature was gradually increased from 25 to 31 °C for both CO2 enrichment treatments, and it was hypothesized that this species would respond positively to OA and elevated temperature. After 12 weeks of exposure, OA (~1200 ppm) led to (1) increases in underground biomass and root C:N ratios and (2) decreases in root nitrogen content. Rising temperatures (25 to 31 °C) increased the maximum quantum yield of photosystem II (Fv:Fm), productivity, leaf growth rate, decomposition rate, and carbon sequestration, but decreased the rate of shoot density increase and the carbon content of the leaves; this indicates that warming alone does not increase the short-term carbon sink capacity of this seagrass species. Under high CO2 and the highest temperature employed (31 °C), this seagrass demonstrated its highest productivity, Fv:Fm, leaf growth rate, and carbon sequestration. Collectively, then, it appears that high CO2 levels offset the negative effects of high temperature on this seagrass species. Whether this pattern is maintained at temperatures that actually induce marked seagrass stress (likely beginning at 33–34 °C in Southern Taiwan) should be the focus of future research.
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Liang J, Luo W, Yu K, Xu Y, Chen J, Deng C, Ge R, Su H, Huang W, Wang G. Multi-Omics Revealing the Response Patterns of Symbiotic Microorganisms and Host Metabolism in Scleractinian Coral Pavona minuta to Temperature Stresses. Metabolites 2021; 12:metabo12010018. [PMID: 35050140 PMCID: PMC8780272 DOI: 10.3390/metabo12010018] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/01/2021] [Revised: 12/21/2021] [Accepted: 12/21/2021] [Indexed: 12/30/2022] Open
Abstract
Global climate change has resulted in large-scale coral reef decline worldwide, for which the ocean warming has paid more attention. Coral is a typical mutually beneficial symbiotic organism with diverse symbiotic microorganisms, which maintain the stability of physiological functions. This study compared the responses of symbiotic microorganisms and host metabolism in a common coral species, Pavona minuta, under indoor simulated thermal and cold temperatures. The results showed that abnormal temperature stresses had unfavorable impact on the phenotypes of corals, resulting in bleaching and color change. The compositions of symbiotic bacteria and dinoflagellate communities only presented tiny changes under temperature stresses. However, some rare symbiotic members have been showed to be significantly influenced by water temperatures. Finally, by using ultra-performance liquid chromatography tandem mass spectrometry (UPLC–MS) method, we found that different temperature stresses had very different impacts on the metabolism of coral holobiont. The thermal and cold stresses induced the decrease of anti-oxidation metabolites, several monogalactosyldiacylglycerols (MGDGs), and the increase of lipotoxic metabolite, 10-oxo-nonadecanoic acid, in the coral holobiont, respectively. Our study indicated the response patterns of symbiotic microorganisms and host metabolism in coral to the thermal and cold stresses, providing theoretical data for the adaptation and evolution of coral to a different climate in the future.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jiayuan Liang
- Coral Reef Research Center of China, Guangxi University, Nanning 530004, China; (J.L.); (H.S.); (W.H.); (G.W.)
- Guangxi Laboratory on the Study of Coral Reefs in the South China Sea, Nanning 530004, China
- School of Marine Sciences, Guangxi University, Nanning 530004, China; (W.L.); (Y.X.); (J.C.); (C.D.); (R.G.)
| | - Wenwen Luo
- School of Marine Sciences, Guangxi University, Nanning 530004, China; (W.L.); (Y.X.); (J.C.); (C.D.); (R.G.)
| | - Kefu Yu
- Coral Reef Research Center of China, Guangxi University, Nanning 530004, China; (J.L.); (H.S.); (W.H.); (G.W.)
- Guangxi Laboratory on the Study of Coral Reefs in the South China Sea, Nanning 530004, China
- School of Marine Sciences, Guangxi University, Nanning 530004, China; (W.L.); (Y.X.); (J.C.); (C.D.); (R.G.)
- Southern Marine Science and Engineering Guangdong Laboratory, Zhuhai 519080, China
- Correspondence: ; Tel./Fax: +86-771-3231358
| | - Yongqian Xu
- School of Marine Sciences, Guangxi University, Nanning 530004, China; (W.L.); (Y.X.); (J.C.); (C.D.); (R.G.)
| | - Jinni Chen
- School of Marine Sciences, Guangxi University, Nanning 530004, China; (W.L.); (Y.X.); (J.C.); (C.D.); (R.G.)
| | - Chuanqi Deng
- School of Marine Sciences, Guangxi University, Nanning 530004, China; (W.L.); (Y.X.); (J.C.); (C.D.); (R.G.)
| | - Ruiqi Ge
- School of Marine Sciences, Guangxi University, Nanning 530004, China; (W.L.); (Y.X.); (J.C.); (C.D.); (R.G.)
| | - Hongfei Su
- Coral Reef Research Center of China, Guangxi University, Nanning 530004, China; (J.L.); (H.S.); (W.H.); (G.W.)
- Guangxi Laboratory on the Study of Coral Reefs in the South China Sea, Nanning 530004, China
- School of Marine Sciences, Guangxi University, Nanning 530004, China; (W.L.); (Y.X.); (J.C.); (C.D.); (R.G.)
| | - Wen Huang
- Coral Reef Research Center of China, Guangxi University, Nanning 530004, China; (J.L.); (H.S.); (W.H.); (G.W.)
- Guangxi Laboratory on the Study of Coral Reefs in the South China Sea, Nanning 530004, China
- School of Marine Sciences, Guangxi University, Nanning 530004, China; (W.L.); (Y.X.); (J.C.); (C.D.); (R.G.)
| | - Guanghua Wang
- Coral Reef Research Center of China, Guangxi University, Nanning 530004, China; (J.L.); (H.S.); (W.H.); (G.W.)
- Guangxi Laboratory on the Study of Coral Reefs in the South China Sea, Nanning 530004, China
- School of Marine Sciences, Guangxi University, Nanning 530004, China; (W.L.); (Y.X.); (J.C.); (C.D.); (R.G.)
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Grottoli AG, Toonen RJ, Woesik R, Vega Thurber R, Warner ME, McLachlan RH, Price JT, Bahr KD, Baums IB, Castillo KD, Coffroth MA, Cunning R, Dobson KL, Donahue MJ, Hench JL, Iglesias‐Prieto R, Kemp DW, Kenkel CD, Kline DI, Kuffner IB, Matthews JL, Mayfield AB, Padilla‐Gamiño JL, Palumbi S, Voolstra CR, Weis VM, Wu HC. Increasing comparability among coral bleaching experiments. ECOLOGICAL APPLICATIONS 2021; 31:e02262. [PMID: 33222325 PMCID: PMC8243963 DOI: 10.1002/eap.2262] [Citation(s) in RCA: 40] [Impact Index Per Article: 13.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/12/2020] [Accepted: 09/09/2020] [Indexed: 05/14/2023]
Affiliation(s)
- A. G. Grottoli
- School of Earth Sciences The Ohio State University Columbus Ohio43210USA
| | - R. J. Toonen
- Hawaiʻi Institute of Marine Biology University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa Kāneʻohe Hawaii96744USA
| | - R. Woesik
- Department of Ocean Engineering and Marine Sciences Florida Institute of Technology Melbourne Florida32901USA
| | - R. Vega Thurber
- Department of Microbiology Oregon State University Corvallis Oregon97331USA
| | - M. E. Warner
- School of Marine Science and Policy University of Delaware Lewes Delaware19958USA
| | - R. H. McLachlan
- School of Earth Sciences The Ohio State University Columbus Ohio43210USA
| | - J. T. Price
- School of Earth Sciences The Ohio State University Columbus Ohio43210USA
| | - K. D. Bahr
- Department of Life Sciences Texas A&M University–Corpus Christi Corpus Christi Texas78412USA
| | - I. B. Baums
- Department of Biology Pennsylvania State University University Park Pennsylvania16802USA
| | - K. D. Castillo
- Department of Marine Sciences University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill Chapel Hill North Carolina27599USA
| | - M. A. Coffroth
- Department of Geology State University of New York at Buffalo Buffalo New York14260USA
| | - R. Cunning
- Daniel P. Hearther Center for Conservation and Research John G. Shedd Aquarium Chicago Illinois60605USA
| | - K. L. Dobson
- School of Earth Sciences The Ohio State University Columbus Ohio43210USA
| | - M. J. Donahue
- Hawaiʻi Institute of Marine Biology University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa Kāneʻohe Hawaii96744USA
| | - J. L. Hench
- Nicholas School of the Environment Duke University Beaufort North Carolina28516USA
| | - R. Iglesias‐Prieto
- Department of Biology Pennsylvania State University University Park Pennsylvania16802USA
| | - D. W. Kemp
- Department of Biology University of Alabama at Birmingham Birmingham Alabama35233USA
| | - C. D. Kenkel
- Department of Biological Sciences University of Southern California Los Angeles California90089USA
| | - D. I. Kline
- Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute Washington D.C.20013USA
| | - I. B. Kuffner
- St Petersburg Coastal & Marine Science Center United States Geological Survey St Petersburg Florida33701USA
| | - J. L. Matthews
- Faculty of Science Climate Change Cluster University of Technology Sydney Broadway, Sydney New South Wales2007Australia
| | - A. B. Mayfield
- Oceanographic and Meteorological Laboratory Atlantic National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration Miami Florida33149USA
- Cooperative Institute for Marine & Atmospheric Studies University of Miami Miami Florida33149USA
| | - J. L. Padilla‐Gamiño
- School of Aquatic and Fishery Sciences University of Washington Seattle Washington98117USA
| | - S. Palumbi
- Hopkins Marine Station Stanford University Pacific Grove California93950USA
| | - C. R. Voolstra
- Department of Biology University of Konstanz Konstanz78457Germany
| | - V. M. Weis
- Department of Integrative Biology Oregon State University Corvallis Oregon97331USA
| | - H. C. Wu
- Leibniz Centre for Tropical Marine Research Bremen28359Germany
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Peng SE, Moret A, Chang C, Mayfield AB, Ren YT, Chen WNU, Giordano M, Chen CS. A shift away from mutualism under food-deprived conditions in an anemone-dinoflagellate association. PeerJ 2020; 8:e9745. [PMID: 33194344 PMCID: PMC7602683 DOI: 10.7717/peerj.9745] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/27/2019] [Accepted: 07/27/2020] [Indexed: 11/20/2022] Open
Abstract
The mutualistic symbiosis between anthozoans and intra-gastrodermal dinoflagellates of the family Symbiodiniaceae is the functional basis of all coral reef ecosystems, with the latter providing up to 95% of their fixed photosynthate to their hosts in exchange for nutrients. However, recent studies of sponges, jellyfish, and anemones have revealed the potential for this mutualistic relationship to shift to parasitism under stressful conditions. Over a period of eight weeks, we compared the physiological conditions of both inoculated and aposymbiotic anemones (Exaiptasia pallida) that were either fed or starved. By the sixth week, both fed groups of anemones were significantly larger than their starved counterparts. Moreover, inoculated and starved anemones tended to disintegrate into “tissue balls” within eight weeks, and 25% of the samples died; in contrast, starved aposymbiotic anemones required six months to form tissue balls, and no anemones from this group died. Our results show that the dinoflagellates within inoculated anemones may have posed a fatal metabolic burden on their hosts during starvation; this may be because of the need to prioritize their own metabolism and nourishment at the expense of their hosts. Collectively, our study reveals the potential of this dynamic symbiotic association to shift away from mutualism during food-deprived conditions.
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Affiliation(s)
- Shao-En Peng
- National Museum of Marine Biology and Aquarium, Pingtung, Taiwan
- Graduate Institute of Marine Biology, National Dong Hwa University, Pingtung, Taiwan
| | - Alessandro Moret
- Dipatimento di Scienze della Vita e dell’Ambiente, Università Politecnica delle Marche, Ancona, Italy
| | - Cherilyn Chang
- National Museum of Marine Biology and Aquarium, Pingtung, Taiwan
| | - Anderson B. Mayfield
- National Museum of Marine Biology and Aquarium, Pingtung, Taiwan
- Cooperative Institute for Marine and Atmospheric Sciences Studies, University of Miami, Miami, FL, United States of America
- Atlantic Oceanographic and Meteorological Laboratory, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Miami, FL, United States of America
| | - Yu-Ting Ren
- Graduate Institute of Marine Biology, National Dong Hwa University, Pingtung, Taiwan
| | - Wan-Nan U. Chen
- Department of Biological Science and Technology, I-Shou University, Kaohsiung, Taiwan
| | - Mario Giordano
- Dipatimento di Scienze della Vita e dell’Ambiente, Università Politecnica delle Marche, Ancona, Italy
- Institute of Microbiology ASCR, Algatech, Trebon, Czech Republic
| | - Chii-Shiarng Chen
- National Museum of Marine Biology and Aquarium, Pingtung, Taiwan
- Graduate Institute of Marine Biology, National Dong Hwa University, Pingtung, Taiwan
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Mayfield AB. Proteomic Signatures of Corals from Thermodynamic Reefs. Microorganisms 2020; 8:microorganisms8081171. [PMID: 32752238 PMCID: PMC7465421 DOI: 10.3390/microorganisms8081171] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/10/2020] [Revised: 07/30/2020] [Accepted: 07/31/2020] [Indexed: 12/30/2022] Open
Abstract
Unlike most parts of the world, coral reefs of Taiwan’s deep south have generally been spared from climate change-induced degradation. This has been linked to the oceanographically unique nature of Nanwan Bay, where intense upwelling occurs. Specifically, large-amplitude internal waves cause shifts in temperature of 6–9 °C over the course of several hours, and the resident corals not only thrive under such conditions, but they have also been shown to withstand multi-month laboratory incubations at experimentally elevated temperatures. To gain insight into the sub-cellular basis of acclimation to upwelling, proteins isolated from reef corals (Seriatopora hystrix) featured in laboratory-based reciprocal transplant studies in which corals from upwelling and non-upwelling control reefs (<20 km away) were exposed to stable or variable temperature regimes were analyzed via label-based proteomics (iTRAQ). Corals exposed to their “native” temperature conditions for seven days (1) demonstrated highest growth rates and (2) were most distinct from one another with respect to their protein signatures. The latter observation was driven by the fact that two Symbiodiniaceae lipid trafficking proteins, sec1a and sec34, were marginally up-regulated in corals exposed to their native temperature conditions. Alongside the marked degree of proteomic “site fidelity” documented, this dataset sheds light on the molecular mechanisms underlying acclimatization to thermodynamically extreme conditions in situ.
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Affiliation(s)
- Anderson B. Mayfield
- Atlantic Oceanographic and Meteorological Laboratory, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, 4301 Rickenbacker Causeway, Miami, FL 33149, USA; or ; Tel.: +1-337-501-1976
- Cooperative Institutes for Marine and Atmospheric Studies, University of Miami, 4300 Rickenbacker Causeway, Miami, FL 33149, USA
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Temporal variation in daily temperature minima in coral reefs of Nanwan Bay, Southern Taiwan. Sci Rep 2020; 10:8656. [PMID: 32457318 PMCID: PMC7250922 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-020-65194-8] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/17/2018] [Accepted: 04/20/2020] [Indexed: 01/02/2023] Open
Abstract
Temporal variation in seawater temperature plays a crucial role in coral reef ecology. Nanwan Bay, Southern Taiwan is home to well-developed coral reefs, which frequently experience cold-water intrusions caused by internal wave-induced upwelling, that manifest in distinct daily temperature minima. These temperature minima and their associated sources were studied by recording in situ bottom temperatures and sea levels observed at depths of 5 and 30 m from May 2007 to September 2008. These data were then compared to the East Asian Seas Nowcast/Forecast System, and it was found that daily temperature minima presented large variations with magnitudes of 2–3 °C over periods from days to months. It was further demonstrated that the cold-water intrusions may have originated from depths of ~100 m and were strongly affected by westward propagating mesoscale eddies from the Pacific basin. An impinging warm anticyclonic eddy in July 2007 may have combined with the El Niño, resulting in temperatures surpassing 29 °C and degree heating days >4.0 °C-days at both depths, which were coincidental with a mass coral bleaching event. This eddy’s impact was additionally evident in high correlations between daily temperature minima and residual sea levels, suggesting that mesoscale eddies alter stratification, substantially influence temperature variation, and play important roles in understanding ecological processes on coral reefs.
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Liu PJ, Ang SJ, Mayfield AB, Lin HJ. Influence of the seagrass Thalassia hemprichii on coral reef mesocosms exposed to ocean acidification and experimentally elevated temperatures. THE SCIENCE OF THE TOTAL ENVIRONMENT 2020; 700:134464. [PMID: 31689648 DOI: 10.1016/j.scitotenv.2019.134464] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/08/2019] [Revised: 07/25/2019] [Accepted: 09/13/2019] [Indexed: 06/10/2023]
Abstract
Ocean acidification (OA) and warming currently threaten coastal ecosystems across the globe. However, it is possible that the former process could actually benefit marine plants, such as seagrasses. The purpose of this study was to examine whether the effects of the seagrass Thalassia hemprichii can increase the resilience of OA-challenged coral reef mesocosms whose temperatures were gradually elevated. It was found that seagrass shoot density, photosynthetic efficiency, and leaf growth rate actually increased with rising temperatures under OA. Macroalgal growth rates were higher in the seagrass-free mesocosms, but the calcification rate of the model reef coral Pocillopora damicornis was higher in coral reef mesocosms featuring seagrasses under OA at 25 and 28 °C. Both the macroalgal growth rate and the coral calcification rate decreased in all mesocosms when the temperature was raised to 31 °C under OA. However, the variation in gross primary production, ecosystem respiration, and net ecosystem production in the seagrass mesocosms was lower than in seagrass-free controls, suggesting that the presence of seagrass in the mesocosms helped to stabilize the metabolism of the system in response to simulated climate change.
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Affiliation(s)
- Pi-Jen Liu
- Graduate Institute of Marine Biology, National Dong-Hwa University, Pingtung 94450, Taiwan; National Museum of Marine Biology and Aquarium, Pingtung 94450, Taiwan
| | - Shin-Jing Ang
- Department of Life Sciences and Innovation and Development Center of Sustainable Agriculture, National Chung Hsing University, Taichung 40227, Taiwan
| | | | - Hsing-Juh Lin
- Department of Life Sciences and Innovation and Development Center of Sustainable Agriculture, National Chung Hsing University, Taichung 40227, Taiwan.
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Abstract
Herein we propose an ambitious confrontation of the current coral reef crisis through the establishment of a "Coral Hospital." In an analogous manner to a human hospital, "sick" corals will first be diagnosed either in situ or in the hospital's diagnostic "clinic" such that the root cause of illness can be discerned (e.g., disease, high temperatures, or pollutant stress). Then, corals will be "treated" (when necessary) and allowed to "convalesce" in precisely controlled coral husbandry facilities. Upon "rehabilitation," the recovered corals will be returned to their home reef (if this reef was not found to have degraded), or, alternatively, to a site featuring oceanographic conditions favoring a high level of health, as determined by husbandry experiments performed in other hospital "wards." When possible, diagnostic data from the sick corals (i.e., the underlying cause of sickness) will be used to guide environmental remediation schemes aimed at promoting coral resilience in the ocean. If the home reef improves to an appreciable extent during the time the corals are "hospitalized," these corals could be replanted there upon rehabilitation. Regardless of the site of outplanting, recuperated corals will be monitored over time to validate the "quality of care" in the hospital. In the event that the home reefs suffer to such an extent that environmental mitigation is no longer possible, coral gametes will be collected and cryopreserved such that they may be fertilized, reared in officinarum, and later reseeded once/if global marine conditions again permit coral survival.
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Affiliation(s)
- Anderson B Mayfield
- 1Taiwan Coral Research Center, National Museum of Marine Biology and Aquarium, Checheng, Taiwan
| | - Sujune Tsai
- 2Department of Post-Modern Agriculture, Ming-Dao University, Beidou, Taiwan
| | - Chiahsin Lin
- 1Taiwan Coral Research Center, National Museum of Marine Biology and Aquarium, Checheng, Taiwan.,3Graduate Institute of Marine Biology, National Dong-Hwa University, Checheng, Taiwan
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Zhang Y, Zhou Z, Wang L, Huang B. Transcriptome, expression, and activity analyses reveal a vital heat shock protein 70 in the stress response of stony coral Pocillopora damicornis. Cell Stress Chaperones 2018; 23:711-721. [PMID: 29435724 PMCID: PMC6045544 DOI: 10.1007/s12192-018-0883-4] [Citation(s) in RCA: 10] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/13/2017] [Revised: 01/25/2018] [Accepted: 01/30/2018] [Indexed: 12/29/2022] Open
Abstract
Coral bleaching occurs worldwide with increasing frequencies and intensities, which is caused by the stress response of stony coral to environmental change, especially increased sea surface temperature. In the present study, transcriptome, expression, and activity analyses were employed to illustrate the underlying molecular mechanisms of heat shock protein 70 (HSP70) in the stress response of coral to environmental changes. The domain analyses of assembled transcripts revealed 30 HSP70 gene contigs in stony coral Pocillopora damicornis. One crucial HSP70 (PdHSP70) was observed, whose expressions were induced by both elevated temperature and ammonium after expression difference analysis. The complete complementary DNA (cDNA) sequence of PdHSP70 was identified, which encoded a polypeptide of 650 amino acids with a molecular weight of 71.93 kDa. The deduced amino acid sequence of PdHSP70 contained a HSP70 domain (from Pro8 to Gly616), and it shared the highest similarity (95%) with HSP70 from Stylophora pistillata. The expression level of PdHSP70 gene increased significantly at 12 h, and returned to the initial level at 24 h after the stress of high temperature (32 °C). The cDNA fragment encoding the mature peptide of PdHSP70 was recombined and expressed in the prokaryotic expression system. The ATPase activity of recombinant PdHSP70 protein was determined, and it did not change significantly in a wide range of temperature from 25 to 40 °C. These results collectively suggested that PdHSP70 was a vital heat shock protein 70 in the stony coral P. damicornis, whose mRNA expression could be induced by diverse environmental stress and whose activity could remain stable under heat stress. PdHSP70 might be involved in the regulation of the bleaching owing to heat stress in the stony coral P. damicornis.
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Affiliation(s)
- Yidan Zhang
- Key Laboratory of Tropical Biological Resources of Ministry of Education, Hainan University, Haikou, Hainan, 570228, China
| | - Zhi Zhou
- Key Laboratory of Tropical Biological Resources of Ministry of Education, Hainan University, Haikou, Hainan, 570228, China.
- State Key Laboratory of Marine Resource Utilization in South China Sea, Hainan University, Haikou, Hainan, 570228, China.
- Hainan Provincial Key Laboratory for Tropical Hydrobiology and Biotechnology, College of Marine Science, Hainan University, Haikou, Hainan, 570228, China.
| | - Lingui Wang
- Key Laboratory of Tropical Biological Resources of Ministry of Education, Hainan University, Haikou, Hainan, 570228, China
- State Key Laboratory of Marine Resource Utilization in South China Sea, Hainan University, Haikou, Hainan, 570228, China
- Hainan Provincial Key Laboratory for Tropical Hydrobiology and Biotechnology, College of Marine Science, Hainan University, Haikou, Hainan, 570228, China
| | - Bo Huang
- Key Laboratory of Tropical Biological Resources of Ministry of Education, Hainan University, Haikou, Hainan, 570228, China
- State Key Laboratory of Marine Resource Utilization in South China Sea, Hainan University, Haikou, Hainan, 570228, China
- Hainan Provincial Key Laboratory for Tropical Hydrobiology and Biotechnology, College of Marine Science, Hainan University, Haikou, Hainan, 570228, China
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Mayfield AB, Chen YJ, Lu CY, Chen CS. The proteomic response of the reef coral Pocillopora acuta to experimentally elevated temperatures. PLoS One 2018; 13:e0192001. [PMID: 29385204 PMCID: PMC5792016 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0192001] [Citation(s) in RCA: 39] [Impact Index Per Article: 6.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/01/2017] [Accepted: 01/15/2018] [Indexed: 12/12/2022] Open
Abstract
Although most reef-building corals live near the upper threshold of their thermotolerance, some scleractinians are resilient to temperature increases. For instance, Pocillopora acuta specimens from an upwelling habitat in Southern Taiwan survived a nine-month experimental exposure to 30°C, a temperature hypothesized to induce stress. To gain a greater understanding of the molecular pathways underlying such high-temperature acclimation, the protein profiles of experimental controls incubated at 27°C were compared to those of conspecific P. acuta specimens exposed to 30°C for two, four, or eight weeks, and differentially concentrated proteins (DCPs) were removed from the gels and sequenced with mass spectrometry. Sixty unique DCPs were uncovered across both eukaryotic compartments of the P. acuta-dinoflagellate (genus Symbiodinium) mutualism, and Symbiodinium were more responsive to high temperature at the protein-level than the coral hosts in which they resided at the two-week sampling time. Furthermore, proteins involved in the stress response were more likely to be documented at different cellular concentrations across temperature treatments in Symbiodinium, whereas the temperature-sensitive host coral proteome featured numerous proteins involved in cytoskeletal structure, immunity, and metabolism. These proteome-scale data suggest that the coral host and its intracellular dinoflagellates have differing strategies for acclimating to elevated temperatures.
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Affiliation(s)
- Anderson B. Mayfield
- Khaled bin Sultan Living Oceans Foundation, Annapolis, MD, United States of America
- Taiwan Coral Research Center, Checheng, Pingtung, Taiwan
- * E-mail:
| | - Yi-Jyun Chen
- Taiwan Coral Research Center, Checheng, Pingtung, Taiwan
| | - Chi-Yu Lu
- Department of Biochemistry, College of Medicine, Kaohsiung Medical University, Kaohsiung, Taiwan
- Center for Research Resources and Development, Kaohsiung Medical University, Kaohsiung, Taiwan
| | - Chii-Shiarng Chen
- Taiwan Coral Research Center, Checheng, Pingtung, Taiwan
- Department of Marine Biotechnology and Resources, National Sun Yat-Sen University, Kaohsiung, Taiwan
- Graduate Institute of Marine Biotechnology, National Dong-Hwa University, Checheng, Pingtung, Taiwan
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Mayfield AB, Chen YJ, Lu CY, Chen CS. Exploring the Environmental Physiology of the Indo-Pacific Reef Coral <em>Seriatopora hystrix</em> with Differential Proteomics. ACTA ACUST UNITED AC 2018. [DOI: 10.4236/ojms.2018.82012] [Citation(s) in RCA: 10] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/20/2022]
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Mayfield AB, Wang YB, Chen CS, Chen SH, Lin CY. Dual-compartmental transcriptomic + proteomic analysis of a marine endosymbiosis exposed to environmental change. Mol Ecol 2017; 25:5944-5958. [PMID: 27778414 DOI: 10.1111/mec.13896] [Citation(s) in RCA: 31] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/21/2016] [Revised: 10/07/2016] [Accepted: 10/10/2016] [Indexed: 12/24/2022]
Abstract
As significant anthropogenic pressures are putting undue stress on the world's oceans, there has been a concerted effort to understand how marine organisms respond to environmental change. Transcriptomic approaches, in particular, have been readily employed to document the mRNA-level response of a plethora of marine invertebrates exposed to an array of simulated stress scenarios, with the tacit and untested assumption being that the respective proteins show a corresponding trend. To better understand the degree of congruency between mRNA and protein expression in an endosymbiotic marine invertebrate, mRNAs and proteins were sequenced from the same samples of the common, Indo-Pacific coral Seriatopora hystrix exposed to stable or upwelling-simulating conditions for 1 week. Of the 167 proteins downregulated at variable temperature, only two were associated with mRNAs that were also differentially expressed between treatments. Of the 378 differentially expressed genes, none were associated with a differentially expressed protein. Collectively, these results highlight the inherent risk of inferring cellular behaviour based on mRNA expression data alone and challenge the current, mRNA-focused approach taken by most marine and many molecular biologists.
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Affiliation(s)
- Anderson B Mayfield
- National Museum of Marine Biology and Aquarium, 2 Houwan Road, Checheng, Pingtung, 944, Taiwan.,Living Oceans Foundation, 130 Severn Avenue, Annapolis, MD, 21403, USA
| | - Yu-Bin Wang
- Graduate Institute of Zoology, National Taiwan University, No. 1, Sec. 4 Roosevelt Road, Taipei, 106, Taiwan.,Institute of Information Sciences, Academia Sinica, 128 Academia Road, Sec. 2, Nangang, Taipei, 115, Taiwan
| | - Chii-Shiarng Chen
- National Museum of Marine Biology and Aquarium, 2 Houwan Road, Checheng, Pingtung, 944, Taiwan.,Taiwan Coral Research Center, 2 Houwan Road, Checheng, Pingtung, 944, Taiwan.,Graduate Institute of Marine Biotechnology, National Dong-Hwa University, 2 Houwan Road, Checheng, Pingtung, 944, Taiwan.,Department of Marine Biotechnology and Resources, National Sun Yat-Sen University, 70 Lianhai Road, Kaohsiung, 80424, Taiwan
| | - Shu-Hwa Chen
- Institute of Information Sciences, Academia Sinica, 128 Academia Road, Sec. 2, Nangang, Taipei, 115, Taiwan
| | - Chung-Yen Lin
- Institute of Information Sciences, Academia Sinica, 128 Academia Road, Sec. 2, Nangang, Taipei, 115, Taiwan.,Institute of Fisheries Science, National Taiwan University, No. 1, Sec. 4 Roosevelt Road, Taipei, 106, Taiwan.,Institute of Population Health Sciences, National Health Research Institutes, 5 Keyan Road, Zhunan, Miaoli, 350, Taiwan
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Mayfield AB, Chen CS, Dempsey AC. Biomarker profiling in reef corals of Tonga's Ha'apai and Vava'u archipelagos. PLoS One 2017; 12:e0185857. [PMID: 29091723 PMCID: PMC5665425 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0185857] [Citation(s) in RCA: 12] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/28/2017] [Accepted: 09/20/2017] [Indexed: 01/04/2023] Open
Abstract
Given the significant threats towards Earth's coral reefs, there is an urgent need to document the current physiological condition of the resident organisms, particularly the reef-building scleractinians themselves. Unfortunately, most of the planet's reefs are understudied, and some have yet to be seen. For instance, the Kingdom of Tonga possesses an extensive reef system, with thousands of hectares of unobserved reefs; little is known about their ecology, nor is there any information on the health of the resident corals. Given such knowledge deficiencies, 59 reefs across three Tongan archipelagos were surveyed herein, and pocilloporid corals were sampled from approximately half of these surveyed sites; 10 molecular-scale response variable were assessed in 88 of the sampled colonies, and 12 colonies were found to be outliers based on employment of a multivariate statistics-based aberrancy detection system. These outliers differed from the statistically normally behaving colonies in having not only higher RNA/DNA ratios but also elevated expression levels of three genes: 1) Symbiodinium zinc-induced facilitator-like 1-like, 2) host coral copper-zinc superoxide dismutase, and 3) host green fluorescent protein-like chromoprotein. Outliers were also characterized by significantly higher variation amongst the molecular response variables assessed, and the response variables that contributed most significantly to colonies being delineated as outliers differed between the two predominant reef coral species sampled, Pocillopora damicornis and P. acuta. These closely related species also displayed dissimilar temporal fluctuation patterns in their molecular physiologies, an observation that may have been driven by differences in their feeding strategies. Future works should attempt to determine whether corals displaying statistically aberrant molecular physiology, such as the 12 Tongan outliers identified herein, are indeed characterized by a diminished capacity for acclimating to the rapid changes in their abiotic milieu occurring as a result of global climate change.
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Affiliation(s)
- Anderson B. Mayfield
- National Museum of Marine Biology and Aquarium, Checheng, Pingtung, Taiwan
- Khaled bin Sultan Living Oceans Foundation, Annapolis, Maryland, United States of America
- Taiwan Coral Research Center, Checheng, Pingtung, Taiwan
- * E-mail:
| | - Chii-Shiarng Chen
- National Museum of Marine Biology and Aquarium, Checheng, Pingtung, Taiwan
- Taiwan Coral Research Center, Checheng, Pingtung, Taiwan
- Graduate Institute of Marine Biotechnology, National Dong-Hwa University, Checheng, Pingtung, Taiwan
- Department of Marine Biotechnology and Resources, National Sun Yat-Sen University, Kaohsiung, Taiwan
| | - Alexandra C. Dempsey
- Khaled bin Sultan Living Oceans Foundation, Annapolis, Maryland, United States of America
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Crowder CM, Meyer E, Fan TY, Weis VM. Impacts of temperature and lunar day on gene expression profiles during a monthly reproductive cycle in the brooding coral Pocillopora damicornis. Mol Ecol 2017; 26:3913-3925. [PMID: 28467676 DOI: 10.1111/mec.14162] [Citation(s) in RCA: 11] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/12/2016] [Revised: 04/14/2017] [Accepted: 04/17/2017] [Indexed: 12/15/2022]
Abstract
Reproductive timing in brooding corals has been correlated to temperature and lunar irradiance, but the mechanisms by which corals transduce these environmental variables into molecular signals are unknown. To gain insight into these processes, global gene expression profiles in the coral Pocillopora damicornis were examined (via RNA-Seq) across lunar phases and between temperature treatments, during a monthly planulation cycle. The interaction of temperature and lunar day together had the largest influence on gene expression. Mean timing of planulation, which occurred at lunar days 7.4 and 12.5 for 28- and 23°C-treated corals, respectively, was associated with an upregulation of transcripts in individual temperature treatments. Expression profiles of planulation-associated genes were compared between temperature treatments, revealing that elevated temperatures disrupted expression profiles associated with planulation. Gene functions inferred from homologous matches to online databases suggest complex neuropeptide signalling, with calcium as a central mediator, acting through tyrosine kinase and G protein-coupled receptor pathways. This work contributes to our understanding of coral reproductive physiology and the impacts of environmental variables on coral reproductive pathways.
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Affiliation(s)
- Camerron M Crowder
- Department of Integrative Biology, Oregon State University, Corvallis, OR, USA
| | - Eli Meyer
- Department of Integrative Biology, Oregon State University, Corvallis, OR, USA
| | - Tung-Yung Fan
- Institute of Marine Biology, National Dong Hwa University, Pingtung, Taiwan, R.O.C
| | - Virginia M Weis
- Department of Integrative Biology, Oregon State University, Corvallis, OR, USA
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Mayfield AB, Chen CS, Dempsey AC. Identifying corals displaying aberrant behavior in Fiji's Lau Archipelago. PLoS One 2017; 12:e0177267. [PMID: 28542245 PMCID: PMC5443480 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0177267] [Citation(s) in RCA: 9] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/09/2017] [Accepted: 04/25/2017] [Indexed: 12/04/2022] Open
Abstract
Given the numerous threats against Earth’s coral reefs, there is an urgent need to develop means of assessing reef coral health on a proactive timescale. Molecular biomarkers may prove useful in this endeavor because their expression should theoretically undergo changes prior to visible signs of health decline, such as the breakdown of the coral-dinoflagellate (genus Symbiodinium) endosymbiosis. Herein 13 molecular- and physiological-scale biomarkers spanning both eukaryotic compartments of the anthozoan-Symbiodinium mutualism were assessed across 70 pocilloporid coral colonies sampled from reefs of Fiji’s easternmost province, Lau. Eleven colonies were identified as outliers upon employment of a detection method based partially on the Mahalanobis distance; these corals were hypothesized to have been displaying aberrant sub-cellular behavior with respect to their gene expression signatures, as they were characterized not only by lower Symbiodinium densities, but also by higher levels of expression of several stress-targeted genes. Although these findings could suggest that the sampled colonies were physiologically compromised at the time of sampling, further studies are warranted to state conclusively whether these 11 scleractinian coral colonies are more stress-prone than nearby conspecifics that demonstrated statistically normal phenotypes.
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Affiliation(s)
- Anderson B. Mayfield
- National Museum of Marine Biology and Aquarium, Checheng, Pingtung, Taiwan
- Khaled bin Sultan Living Oceans Foundation, Annapolis, MD, United States of America
- Taiwan Coral Research Center, Checheng, Pingtung, Taiwan
- * E-mail:
| | - Chii-Shiarng Chen
- National Museum of Marine Biology and Aquarium, Checheng, Pingtung, Taiwan
- Taiwan Coral Research Center, Checheng, Pingtung, Taiwan
- Graduate Institute of Marine Biotechnology, National Dong Hwa University, Checheng, Pingtung, Taiwan
- Department of Marine Biotechnology and Resources, National Sun Yat-Sen University, Kaohsiung, Taiwan
| | - Alexandra C. Dempsey
- Khaled bin Sultan Living Oceans Foundation, Annapolis, MD, United States of America
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Poli D, Fabbri E, Goffredo S, Airi V, Franzellitti S. Physiological plasticity related to zonation affects hsp70 expression in the reef-building coral Pocillopora verrucosa. PLoS One 2017; 12:e0171456. [PMID: 28199351 PMCID: PMC5310758 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0171456] [Citation(s) in RCA: 8] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/17/2016] [Accepted: 01/20/2017] [Indexed: 11/18/2022] Open
Abstract
This study investigates for the first time the transcriptional regulation of a stress-inducible 70-kDa heat shock protein (hsp70) in the scleractinian coral Pocillopora verrucosa sampled at three locations and two depths (3 m and 12 m) in Bangka Island waters (North Sulawesi, Indonesia). Percentage of coral cover indicated reduced habitat suitability with depth and at the Tanjung Husi (TA) site, which also displayed relatively higher seawater temperatures. Expression of the P. verrucosa hsp70 transcript evaluated under field conditions followed a depth-related profile, with relatively higher expression levels in 3-m collected nubbins compared to the 12-m ones. Expression levels of metabolism-related transcripts ATP synthase and NADH dehydrogenase indicated metabolic activation of nubbins to cope with habitat conditions of the TA site at 3 m. After a 14-day acclimatization to common and fixed temperature conditions in the laboratory, corals were subjected for 7 days to an altered thermal regime, where temperature was elevated at 31°C during the light phase and returned to 28°C during the dark phase. Nubbins collected at 12 m were relatively more sensitive to thermal stress, as they significantly over-expressed the selected transcripts. Corals collected at 3 m appeared more resilient, as they showed unaffected mRNA expressions. The results indicated that local habitat conditions may influence transcription of stress-related genes in P. verrucosa. Corals exhibiting higher basal hsp70 levels may display enhanced tolerance towards environmental stressors.
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Affiliation(s)
- Davide Poli
- Department of Biological, Geological and Environmental Sciences, University of Bologna, via S. Alberto, Ravenna, Italy
- Interdepartment Centre for Environmental Sciences Research, University of Bologna, via S. Alberto, Ravenna, Italy
| | - Elena Fabbri
- Department of Biological, Geological and Environmental Sciences, University of Bologna, via S. Alberto, Ravenna, Italy
- Interdepartment Centre for Environmental Sciences Research, University of Bologna, via S. Alberto, Ravenna, Italy
| | - Stefano Goffredo
- Marine Science Group, Department of Biological, Geological and Environmental Sciences, University of Bologna, Via F. Selmi 3, Bologna, Italy
| | - Valentina Airi
- Marine Science Group, Department of Biological, Geological and Environmental Sciences, University of Bologna, Via F. Selmi 3, Bologna, Italy
| | - Silvia Franzellitti
- Department of Biological, Geological and Environmental Sciences, University of Bologna, via S. Alberto, Ravenna, Italy
- Interdepartment Centre for Environmental Sciences Research, University of Bologna, via S. Alberto, Ravenna, Italy
- * E-mail:
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Uncovering Spatio-Temporal and Treatment-Derived Differences in the Molecular Physiology of a Model Coral-Dinoflagellate Mutualism with Multivariate Statistical Approaches. JOURNAL OF MARINE SCIENCE AND ENGINEERING 2016. [DOI: 10.3390/jmse4030063] [Citation(s) in RCA: 8] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/17/2022]
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Seveso D, Montano S, Strona G, Orlandi I, Galli P, Vai M. Hsp60 expression profiles in the reef-building coral Seriatopora caliendrum subjected to heat and cold shock regimes. MARINE ENVIRONMENTAL RESEARCH 2016; 119:1-11. [PMID: 27183199 DOI: 10.1016/j.marenvres.2016.05.007] [Citation(s) in RCA: 11] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/19/2016] [Revised: 05/02/2016] [Accepted: 05/07/2016] [Indexed: 06/05/2023]
Abstract
Climate changes have increased the intensity/frequency of extreme thermal events, which represent serious threats to the health of reef-building corals. Since the vulnerability of corals exposed to thermal stresses are related to their ability to regulate Heat shock proteins (Hsps), we have analyzed together the time related expression profiles of the mitochondrial Hsp60 and the associated changes in tissue pigmentation in Seriatopora caliendrum subjected to 48 h of heat and cold treatments characterized by moderate (±2 °C) and severe (±6 °C) shocks. For the first time, an Hsp60 response was observed in a scleractinian coral exposed to cold stresses. Furthermore, the Hsp60 modulations and the changes in the tissue coloration were found to be specific for each treatment. A strong down-regulation at the end of the treatments was observed following both the severe shocks, but only the severe heat stress led to bleaching in concert with the lowest levels of Hsp60, suggesting that a severe heat shock can be more deleterious than an exposure to a severe cold temperature. On the contrary, a moderate cold stress seems to be more harmful than a moderate temperature increase, which could allow coral acclimation. Our results can provide a potential framework for understanding the physiological tolerance of corals under possible future climate changes.
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Affiliation(s)
- Davide Seveso
- Department of Biotechnologies and Biosciences, University of Milan - Bicocca, Piazza della Scienza 2, 20126, Milan, Italy; MaRHE Centre (Marine Research and High Education Centre), Magoodhoo Island, Faafu Atoll, Maldives.
| | - Simone Montano
- Department of Biotechnologies and Biosciences, University of Milan - Bicocca, Piazza della Scienza 2, 20126, Milan, Italy; MaRHE Centre (Marine Research and High Education Centre), Magoodhoo Island, Faafu Atoll, Maldives
| | - Giovanni Strona
- European Commission, Joint Research Centre, Institute for Environment and Sustainability, Via E. Fermi 2749, I-21027, Ispra, Italy
| | - Ivan Orlandi
- Department of Biotechnologies and Biosciences, University of Milan - Bicocca, Piazza della Scienza 2, 20126, Milan, Italy
| | - Paolo Galli
- Department of Biotechnologies and Biosciences, University of Milan - Bicocca, Piazza della Scienza 2, 20126, Milan, Italy; MaRHE Centre (Marine Research and High Education Centre), Magoodhoo Island, Faafu Atoll, Maldives
| | - Marina Vai
- Department of Biotechnologies and Biosciences, University of Milan - Bicocca, Piazza della Scienza 2, 20126, Milan, Italy
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Limits to the thermal tolerance of corals adapted to a highly fluctuating, naturally extreme temperature environment. Sci Rep 2015; 5:17639. [PMID: 26627576 PMCID: PMC4667274 DOI: 10.1038/srep17639] [Citation(s) in RCA: 84] [Impact Index Per Article: 9.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/01/2015] [Accepted: 11/03/2015] [Indexed: 11/29/2022] Open
Abstract
Naturally extreme temperature environments can provide important insights into the processes underlying coral thermal tolerance. We determined the bleaching resistance of Acropora aspera and Dipsastraea sp. from both intertidal and subtidal environments of the naturally extreme Kimberley region in northwest Australia. Here tides of up to 10 m can cause aerial exposure of corals and temperatures as high as 37 °C that fluctuate daily by up to 7 °C. Control corals were maintained at ambient nearshore temperatures which varied diurnally by 4-5 °C, while treatment corals were exposed to similar diurnal variations and heat stress corresponding to ~20 degree heating days. All corals hosted Symbiodinium clade C independent of treatment or origin. Detailed physiological measurements showed that these corals were nevertheless highly sensitive to daily average temperatures exceeding their maximum monthly mean of ~31 °C by 1 °C for only a few days. Generally, Acropora was much more susceptible to bleaching than Dipsastraea and experienced up to 75% mortality, whereas all Dipsastraea survived. Furthermore, subtidal corals, which originated from a more thermally stable environment compared to intertidal corals, were more susceptible to bleaching. This demonstrates that while highly fluctuating temperatures enhance coral resilience to thermal stress, they do not provide immunity to extreme heat stress events.
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Morphological Variability and Distinct Protein Profiles of Cultured and Endosymbiotic Symbiodinium cells Isolated from Exaiptasia pulchella. Sci Rep 2015; 5:15353. [PMID: 26481560 PMCID: PMC4611179 DOI: 10.1038/srep15353] [Citation(s) in RCA: 14] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/13/2015] [Accepted: 08/05/2015] [Indexed: 01/10/2023] Open
Abstract
Symbiodinium is a dinoflagellate that plays an important role in the physiology of the symbiotic relationships of Cnidarians such as corals and sea anemones. However, it is very difficult to cultivate free-living dinoflagellates after being isolated from the host, as they are very sensitive to environmental changes. How these symbiont cells are supported by the host tissue is still unclear. This study investigated the characteristics of Symbiodinium cells, particularly with respect to the morphological variability and distinct protein profiles of both cultured and endosymbiotic Symbiodinium which were freshly isolated from Exaiptasia pulchella. The response of the cellular morphology of freshly isolated Symbiodinium cells kept under a 12 h L:12 h D cycle to different temperatures was measured. Cellular proliferation was investigated by measuring the growth pattern of Symbiodinium cells, the results of which indicated that the growth was significantly reduced in response to the extreme temperatures. Proteomic analysis of freshly isolated Symbiodinium cells revealed twelve novel proteins that putatively included transcription translation factors, photosystem proteins, and proteins associated with energy and lipid metabolism, as well as defense response. The results of this study will bring more understandings to the mechanisms governing the endosymbiotic relationship between the cnidarians and dinoflagellates.
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Mayfield AB, Wang YB, Chen CS, Lin CY, Chen SH. Compartment-specific transcriptomics in a reef-building coral exposed to elevated temperatures. Mol Ecol 2015; 23:5816-30. [PMID: 25354956 PMCID: PMC4265203 DOI: 10.1111/mec.12982] [Citation(s) in RCA: 51] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/13/2014] [Revised: 10/15/2014] [Accepted: 10/20/2014] [Indexed: 12/27/2022]
Abstract
Although rising ocean temperatures threaten scleractinian corals and the reefs they construct, certain reef corals can acclimate to elevated temperatures to which they are rarely exposed in situ. Specimens of the model Indo-Pacific reef coral Pocillopora damicornis collected from upwelling reefs of Southern Taiwan were previously found to have survived a 36-week exposure to 30°C, a temperature they encounter infrequently and one that can elicit the breakdown of the coral–dinoflagellate (genus Symbiodinium) endosymbiosis in many corals of the Pacific Ocean. To gain insight into the subcellular pathways utilized by both the coral hosts and their mutualistic Symbiodinium populations to acclimate to this temperature, mRNAs from both control (27°C) and high (30°C)-temperature samples were sequenced on an Illumina platform and assembled into a 236 435-contig transcriptome. These P. damicornis specimens were found to be ∼60% anthozoan and 40% microbe (Symbiodinium, other eukaryotic microbes, and bacteria), from an mRNA-perspective. Furthermore, a significantly higher proportion of genes from the Symbiodinium compartment were differentially expressed after two weeks of exposure. Specifically, at elevated temperatures, Symbiodinium populations residing within the coral gastrodermal tissues were more likely to up-regulate the expression of genes encoding proteins involved in metabolism than their coral hosts. Collectively, these transcriptome-scale data suggest that the two members of this endosymbiosis have distinct strategies for acclimating to elevated temperatures that are expected to characterize many of Earth's coral reefs in the coming decades.
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Affiliation(s)
- Anderson B Mayfield
- National Museum of Marine Biology and Aquarium, 2 Houwan Rd., Checheng, Pingtung, 944, Taiwan; Living Oceans Foundation, 8181 Professional Place, Suite 215, Landover, MD, 20785, USA
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Seveso D, Montano S, Strona G, Orlandi I, Galli P, Vai M. The susceptibility of corals to thermal stress by analyzing Hsp60 expression. MARINE ENVIRONMENTAL RESEARCH 2014; 99:69-75. [PMID: 24999860 DOI: 10.1016/j.marenvres.2014.06.008] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/21/2014] [Revised: 05/23/2014] [Accepted: 06/13/2014] [Indexed: 06/03/2023]
Abstract
Due to the increasing frequency and severity of the coral bleaching events in the context of global warming, there is an urgent need to improve our understanding of the susceptibility of corals to thermal stresses, particularly at the sub-cellular level. In this context, we examined the modulation of the polyp mitochondrial Hsp60 in three scleractinian coral species (Seriatopora hystrix, Montipora monasteriata and Acropora echinata) under simulated heat shock bleaching at 34 °C during a time course of 36 h. All three species displayed a similar initial increase of Hsp60 level which accompanies the increasing paleness of coral tissue. Afterwards, each of them showed a specific pattern of Hsp60 down-regulation which can be indicative of a different threshold of resistance, although it proceeded in synchrony with the complete bleaching of tissues. The finely branched S. hystrix was the species most susceptible to heat stress while the plating M. monasteriata was the most tolerant one, as its Hsp60 down-regulation was less rapid than the branching corals. On the whole, the Hsp60 modulation appears useful for providing information about the susceptibility of the different coral taxa to environmental disturbances.
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Affiliation(s)
- Davide Seveso
- Department of Biotechnologies and Biosciences, University of Milan - Bicocca, Piazza della Scienza 2, 20126, Milan, Italy; MaRHE Centre (Marine Research and High Education Centre), Magoodhoo Island, Faafu Atoll, Maldives.
| | - Simone Montano
- Department of Biotechnologies and Biosciences, University of Milan - Bicocca, Piazza della Scienza 2, 20126, Milan, Italy; MaRHE Centre (Marine Research and High Education Centre), Magoodhoo Island, Faafu Atoll, Maldives
| | - Giovanni Strona
- European Commission, Joint Research Centre, Institute for Environment and Sustainability, Via E. Fermi 2749, I-21027 Ispra, Italy
| | - Ivan Orlandi
- Department of Biotechnologies and Biosciences, University of Milan - Bicocca, Piazza della Scienza 2, 20126, Milan, Italy
| | - Paolo Galli
- Department of Biotechnologies and Biosciences, University of Milan - Bicocca, Piazza della Scienza 2, 20126, Milan, Italy; MaRHE Centre (Marine Research and High Education Centre), Magoodhoo Island, Faafu Atoll, Maldives
| | - Marina Vai
- Department of Biotechnologies and Biosciences, University of Milan - Bicocca, Piazza della Scienza 2, 20126, Milan, Italy
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Tang CH, Leu MY, Shao K, Hwang LY, Chang WB. Short-term effects of thermal stress on the responses of branchial protein quality control and osmoregulation in a reef-associated fish, Chromis viridis. Zool Stud 2014. [DOI: 10.1186/s40555-014-0021-7] [Citation(s) in RCA: 15] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/10/2022]
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