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Cepeda AS, Mello B, Pacheco MA, Luo Z, Sullivan SA, Carlton JM, Escalante AA. The Genome of Plasmodium gonderi: Insights into the Evolution of Human Malaria Parasites. Genome Biol Evol 2024; 16:evae027. [PMID: 38376987 PMCID: PMC10901558 DOI: 10.1093/gbe/evae027] [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: 08/30/2023] [Revised: 12/21/2023] [Accepted: 02/03/2024] [Indexed: 02/22/2024] Open
Abstract
Plasmodium species causing malaria in humans are not monophyletic, sharing common ancestors with nonhuman primate parasites. Plasmodium gonderi is one of the few known Plasmodium species infecting African old-world monkeys that are not found in apes. This study reports a de novo assembled P. gonderi genome with complete chromosomes. The P. gonderi genome shares codon usage, syntenic blocks, and other characteristics with the human parasites Plasmodium ovale s.l. and Plasmodium malariae, also of African origin, and the human parasite Plasmodium vivax and species found in nonhuman primates from Southeast Asia. Using phylogenetically aware methods, newly identified syntenic blocks were found enriched with conserved metabolic genes. Regions outside those blocks harbored genes encoding proteins involved in the vertebrate host-Plasmodium relationship undergoing faster evolution. Such genome architecture may have facilitated colonizing vertebrate hosts. Phylogenomic analyses estimated the common ancestor between P. vivax and an African ape parasite P. vivax-like, within the Asian nonhuman primates parasites clade. Time estimates incorporating P. gonderi placed the P. vivax and P. vivax-like common ancestor in the late Pleistocene, a time of active migration of hominids between Africa and Asia. Thus, phylogenomic and time-tree analyses are consistent with an Asian origin for P. vivax and an introduction of P. vivax-like into Africa. Unlike other studies, time estimates for the clade with Plasmodium falciparum, the most lethal human malaria parasite, coincide with their host species radiation, African hominids. Overall, the newly assembled genome presented here has the quality to support comparative genomic investigations in Plasmodium.
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Affiliation(s)
- Axl S Cepeda
- Biology Department/Institute of Genomics and Evolutionary Medicine (iGEM), Temple University, Philadelphia, PA 19122-1801, USA
| | - Beatriz Mello
- Departamento de Genética, Universidade Federal do Rio de Janeiro, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
| | - M Andreína Pacheco
- Biology Department/Institute of Genomics and Evolutionary Medicine (iGEM), Temple University, Philadelphia, PA 19122-1801, USA
| | - Zunping Luo
- Center for Genomics & Systems Biology, Department of Biology, New York University, New York, NY 10003, USA
| | - Steven A Sullivan
- Center for Genomics & Systems Biology, Department of Biology, New York University, New York, NY 10003, USA
| | - Jane M Carlton
- Center for Genomics & Systems Biology, Department of Biology, New York University, New York, NY 10003, USA
| | - Ananias A Escalante
- Biology Department/Institute of Genomics and Evolutionary Medicine (iGEM), Temple University, Philadelphia, PA 19122-1801, USA
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Pei PT, Liu L, Jing XL, Liu XL, Sun LY, Gao C, Cui XH, Wang J, Ma ZL, Song SY, Sun ZH, Wang CY. Meta-analysis reveals variations in microbial communities from diverse stony coral taxa at different geographical distances. Front Microbiol 2023; 14:1087750. [PMID: 37520377 PMCID: PMC10374221 DOI: 10.3389/fmicb.2023.1087750] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/02/2022] [Accepted: 06/28/2023] [Indexed: 08/01/2023] Open
Abstract
Coral-associated microbial communities play a vital role in underpinning the health and resilience of reef ecosystems. Previous studies have demonstrated that the microbial communities of corals are affected by multiple factors, mainly focusing on host species and geolocation. However, up-to-date, insight into how the coral microbiota is structured by vast geographic distance with rich taxa is deficient. In the present study, the coral microbiota in six stony coral species collected from the coastal area of three countries, including United States of America (USA), Australia and Fiji, was used for analysis. It was found that the geographic influence on the coral microbiota was stronger than the coral host influence, even though both were significant. Interestingly, the contribution of the deterministic process to bacterial community composition increased as geographical distance grew. A total of 65 differentially abundant features of functions in coral microbial communities were identified to be associated with three geolocations. While in the same coastal area of USA, the similar relationship of coral microbiota was consistent with the phylogenetic relationship of coral hosts. In contrast to the phylum Proteobacteria, which was most abundant in other coral species in USA, Cyanobacteria was the most abundant phylum in Orbicella faveolata. The above findings may help to better understand the multiple natural driving forces shaping the coral microbial community to contribute to defining the healthy baseline of the coral microbiome.
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Affiliation(s)
- Peng-Tao Pei
- Key Laboratory of Marine Drugs, The Ministry of Education of China, Institute of Evolution and Marine Biodiversity, School of Medicine and Pharmacy, Ocean University of China, Qingdao, China
- School of Pharmacy, Fujian Health College, Fuzhou, China
- Single-Cell Center, Chinese Academy of Science Key Laboratory of Biofuels, Shandong Key Laboratory of Energy Genetics, Shandong Energy Institute, Qingdao New Energy Shandong Laboratory, Qingdao Institute of Bioenergy and Bioprocess Technology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Qingdao, China
- Laboratory for Marine Drugs and Bioproducts, National Laboratory for Marine Science and Technology (Qingdao), Qingdao, China
| | - Lu Liu
- School of Pharmacy, Fujian Health College, Fuzhou, China
- Single-Cell Center, Chinese Academy of Science Key Laboratory of Biofuels, Shandong Key Laboratory of Energy Genetics, Shandong Energy Institute, Qingdao New Energy Shandong Laboratory, Qingdao Institute of Bioenergy and Bioprocess Technology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Qingdao, China
- University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China
| | - Xiao-Li Jing
- High Performance Computing and System Simulation Platform, National Laboratory for Marine Science and Technology (Qingdao), Qingdao, China
| | - Xiao-Lu Liu
- Single-Cell Center, Chinese Academy of Science Key Laboratory of Biofuels, Shandong Key Laboratory of Energy Genetics, Shandong Energy Institute, Qingdao New Energy Shandong Laboratory, Qingdao Institute of Bioenergy and Bioprocess Technology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Qingdao, China
- University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China
| | - Lu-Yang Sun
- Single-Cell Center, Chinese Academy of Science Key Laboratory of Biofuels, Shandong Key Laboratory of Energy Genetics, Shandong Energy Institute, Qingdao New Energy Shandong Laboratory, Qingdao Institute of Bioenergy and Bioprocess Technology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Qingdao, China
- University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China
| | - Chen Gao
- Single-Cell Center, Chinese Academy of Science Key Laboratory of Biofuels, Shandong Key Laboratory of Energy Genetics, Shandong Energy Institute, Qingdao New Energy Shandong Laboratory, Qingdao Institute of Bioenergy and Bioprocess Technology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Qingdao, China
| | - Xiao-Han Cui
- Single-Cell Center, Chinese Academy of Science Key Laboratory of Biofuels, Shandong Key Laboratory of Energy Genetics, Shandong Energy Institute, Qingdao New Energy Shandong Laboratory, Qingdao Institute of Bioenergy and Bioprocess Technology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Qingdao, China
- University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China
| | - Jing Wang
- Single-Cell Center, Chinese Academy of Science Key Laboratory of Biofuels, Shandong Key Laboratory of Energy Genetics, Shandong Energy Institute, Qingdao New Energy Shandong Laboratory, Qingdao Institute of Bioenergy and Bioprocess Technology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Qingdao, China
- Department of Mathematics, Ocean University of China, Qingdao, China
| | - Zhong-Lian Ma
- Key Laboratory of Marine Drugs, The Ministry of Education of China, Institute of Evolution and Marine Biodiversity, School of Medicine and Pharmacy, Ocean University of China, Qingdao, China
- Laboratory for Marine Drugs and Bioproducts, National Laboratory for Marine Science and Technology (Qingdao), Qingdao, China
| | - Shu-Yue Song
- Key Laboratory of Marine Drugs, The Ministry of Education of China, Institute of Evolution and Marine Biodiversity, School of Medicine and Pharmacy, Ocean University of China, Qingdao, China
- Laboratory for Marine Drugs and Bioproducts, National Laboratory for Marine Science and Technology (Qingdao), Qingdao, China
| | - Zhi-Hua Sun
- Department of Mathematics, Ocean University of China, Qingdao, China
| | - Chang-Yun Wang
- Key Laboratory of Marine Drugs, The Ministry of Education of China, Institute of Evolution and Marine Biodiversity, School of Medicine and Pharmacy, Ocean University of China, Qingdao, China
- Laboratory for Marine Drugs and Bioproducts, National Laboratory for Marine Science and Technology (Qingdao), Qingdao, China
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3
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Randolph Quek ZB, Jain SS, Richards ZT, Arrigoni R, Benzoni F, Hoeksema BW, Carvajal JI, Wilson NG, Baird AH, Kitahara MV, Seiblitz IGL, Vaga CF, Huang D. A hybrid-capture approach to reconstruct the phylogeny of Scleractinia (Cnidaria: Hexacorallia). Mol Phylogenet Evol 2023:107867. [PMID: 37348770 DOI: 10.1016/j.ympev.2023.107867] [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: 02/26/2023] [Revised: 05/28/2023] [Accepted: 06/19/2023] [Indexed: 06/24/2023]
Abstract
A well-supported evolutionary tree representing most major lineages of scleractinian corals is in sight with the development and application of phylogenomic approaches. Specifically, hybrid-capture techniques are shedding light on the evolution and systematics of corals. Here, we reconstructed a broad phylogeny of Scleractinia to test previous phylogenetic hypotheses inferred from a few molecular markers, in particular, the relationships among major scleractinian families and genera, and to identify clades that require further research. We analysed 449 nuclear loci from 422 corals, comprising 266 species spanning 26 families, combining data across whole genomes, transcriptomes, hybrid capture and low-coverage sequencing to reconstruct the largest phylogenomic tree of scleractinians to date. Due to the large number of loci and data completeness (<38% missing data), node supports were high across shallow and deep nodes with incongruences observed in only a few shallow nodes. The "Robust" and "Complex" clades were recovered unequivocally, and our analyses confirmed that Micrabaciidae Vaughan, 1905 is sister to the "Robust" clade, transforming our understanding of the "Basal" clade. Several families remain polyphyletic in our phylogeny, including Deltocyathiidae Kitahara, Cairns, Stolarski & Miller, 2012, Caryophylliidae Dana, 1846, and Coscinaraeidae Benzoni, Arrigoni, Stefani & Stolarski, 2012, and we hereby formally proposed the family name Pachyseridae Benzoni & Hoeksema to accommodate Pachyseris Milne Edwards & Haime, 1849, which is phylogenetically distinct from Agariciidae Gray, 1847. Results also revealed species misidentifications and inconsistencies within morphologically complex clades, such as Acropora Oken, 1815 and Platygyra Ehrenberg, 1834, underscoring the need for reference skeletal material and topotypes, as well as the importance of detailed taxonomic work. The approach and findings here provide much promise for further stabilising the topology of the scleractinian tree of life and advancing our understanding of coral evolution.
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Affiliation(s)
- Z B Randolph Quek
- Department of Biological Sciences, National University of Singapore, Singapore 117558, Singapore; Yale-NUS College, National University of Singapore, Singapore 138527, Singapore.
| | - Sudhanshi S Jain
- Department of Biological Sciences, National University of Singapore, Singapore 117558, Singapore
| | - Zoe T Richards
- Coral Conservation and Research Group, Trace and Environmental DNA Laboratory, School of Molecular and Life Sciences, Curtin University, Bentley, Western Australia 6102, Australia; Collections and Research, Western Australian Museum, Welshpool, Western Australia 6106, Australia
| | - Roberto Arrigoni
- Department of Biology and Evolution of Marine Organisms, Genoa Marine Centre, Stazione Zoologica Anton Dohrn-National Institute of Marine Biology, Ecology and Biotechnology, 16126 Genoa, Italy
| | - Francesca Benzoni
- Red Sea Research Center, Division of Biological and Environmental Science and Engineering, King Abdullah University of Science and Technology, Thuwal 23955-6900, Saudi Arabia
| | - Bert W Hoeksema
- Taxonomy, Systematics and Geodiversity Group, Naturalis Biodiversity Center, 2300 RA Leiden, The Netherlands; Groningen Institute for Evolutionary Life Sciences, University of Groningen, 9700 CC Groningen, The Netherlands
| | - Jose I Carvajal
- Collections and Research, Western Australian Museum, Welshpool, Western Australia 6106, Australia
| | - Nerida G Wilson
- Collections and Research, Western Australian Museum, Welshpool, Western Australia 6106, Australia; School of Biological Sciences, University of Western Australia, Crawley, Western Australia 6009, Australia
| | - Andrew H Baird
- College of Science and Engineering, James Cook University, Townsville, Queensland 4811, Australia
| | - Marcelo V Kitahara
- Centre for Marine Biology, University of São Paulo, 11612-109 São Sebastião, Brazil; Department of Invertebrate Zoology, National Museum of Natural History, Smithsonian Institution, Washington, D.C. 20560, United States of America
| | - Isabela G L Seiblitz
- Centre for Marine Biology, University of São Paulo, 11612-109 São Sebastião, Brazil; Graduate Program in Zoology, Department of Zoology, Institute of Biosciences, University of São Paulo, 05508-090 São Paulo, Brazil
| | - Claudia F Vaga
- Centre for Marine Biology, University of São Paulo, 11612-109 São Sebastião, Brazil; Graduate Program in Zoology, Department of Zoology, Institute of Biosciences, University of São Paulo, 05508-090 São Paulo, Brazil
| | - Danwei Huang
- Department of Biological Sciences, National University of Singapore, Singapore 117558, Singapore; Lee Kong Chian Natural History Museum, National University of Singapore, Singapore 117377, Singapore; Tropical Marine Science Institute, National University of Singapore, Singapore 119227, Singapore; Centre for Nature-based Climate Solutions, National University of Singapore, Singapore 117558, Singapore.
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4
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Seiblitz IGL, Vaga CF, Capel KCC, Cairns SD, Stolarski J, Quattrini AM, Kitahara MV. Caryophylliids (Anthozoa, Scleractinia) and mitochondrial gene order: insights from mitochondrial and nuclear phylogenomics. Mol Phylogenet Evol 2022; 175:107565. [PMID: 35787457 DOI: 10.1016/j.ympev.2022.107565] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/28/2021] [Revised: 05/25/2022] [Accepted: 05/25/2022] [Indexed: 10/17/2022]
Abstract
Molecularly, the family Caryophylliidae is polyphyletic and different sets of genetic data converge towards a consensus that a taxonomic review of this family is necessary. Overall, the order of genes in the mitochondrial genome (mitogenome) together with DNA sequences have been used to successfully untangle evolutionary relationships in several groups of organisms. Published mitogenomes of two caryophylliid genera (Desmophyllum and Solenosmilia) present a transposition of the gene block containing cob, nad2, and nad6, which is located between nad5 5' exon and trnW, while that of Polycyathus chaishanensis presents the same gene order as the majority of scleractinian corals. In molecular-based evolutionary reconstructions, caryophylliids that have the mitochondrial gene rearrangement were recovered as a monophyletic lineage ("true" caryophylliids), while members of the genus Polycyathus were placed in a different position. In this study, additional mitogenomes of this family were assembled and included in evolutionary reconstructions of Scleractinia in order to improve our understanding on whether the mitogenome gene rearrangement is limited to and, therefore, could be a synapomorphy of the actual members of Caryophylliidae. Specimens of Caryophyllia scobinosa, Premocyathus sp., Heterocyathus sulcatus, and Trochocyathus caryophylloides, as well as Desmophyllum pertusum and Solenosmilia variabilis from the Southwest Atlantic were sequenced using Illumina platforms. Then, mitochondrial genomes were assembled and annotated, and nuclear datasets were recovered in-silico from assembled contigs using a previously published set of baits. Evolutionary reconstructions were performed using mitochondrial and nuclear datasets and based on Maximum Likelihood and Bayesian Inference. Obtained mitogenomes are circular and range between 15,816 and 18,225 bp in size and from 30.76% to 36.63% in GC content. The gene rearrangement is only seen in C. scobinosa, D. pertusum, Premocyathus sp., and S. variabilis, which were recovered as a monophyletic clade in both mitochondrial and nuclear phylogenies. On the other hand, the "caryophylliids" with the canonical mitogenome gene order were not recovered within this clade. Differences in features of the skeleton of "true" caryophylliids in comparison to traditional members of the family were observed and offer further support that the gene rearrangement might be seen as a synapomorphy of family Caryophylliidae.
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Affiliation(s)
- I G L Seiblitz
- Centre for Marine Biology, University of São Paulo, 11612-109 São Sebastião, Brazil; Department of Zoology, Institute of Biosciences, University of São Paulo, 05508-090 São Paulo, Brazil.
| | - C F Vaga
- Centre for Marine Biology, University of São Paulo, 11612-109 São Sebastião, Brazil; Department of Zoology, Institute of Biosciences, University of São Paulo, 05508-090 São Paulo, Brazil
| | - K C C Capel
- Centre for Marine Biology, University of São Paulo, 11612-109 São Sebastião, Brazil; Department of Marine Science, Federal University of São Paulo, 11070-100 Santos, Brazil
| | - S D Cairns
- Department of Invertebrate Zoology, Smithsonian Institution, Washington, DC, 20560-0163 United States of America
| | - J Stolarski
- Institute of Paleobiology, Polish Academy of Sciences, PL-00-818 Warsaw, Poland
| | - A M Quattrini
- Department of Invertebrate Zoology, Smithsonian Institution, Washington, DC, 20560-0163 United States of America
| | - M V Kitahara
- Centre for Marine Biology, University of São Paulo, 11612-109 São Sebastião, Brazil; Department of Marine Science, Federal University of São Paulo, 11070-100 Santos, Brazil.
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5
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Ortiz González IC, Rivera-Vicéns RE, Schizas NV. Description of four Millepora spp. transcriptomes and their potential to delimit the Caribbean fire coral species. Mar Genomics 2021; 59:100863. [PMID: 33762174 DOI: 10.1016/j.margen.2021.100863] [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: 07/12/2020] [Revised: 03/03/2021] [Accepted: 03/04/2021] [Indexed: 10/21/2022]
Abstract
Millepora is a relatively species-rich genus of hydrocorals, with 16 species distributed around the globe. It is considered an important reef building cnidarian. The current diversity of Caribbean Millepora species consists of Millepora complanata, M. alcicornis, M. squarrosa and M. striata. Here, we report the de novo transcriptome assembly and phylotranscriptomic analysis of M. alcicornis, M. complanata, M. squarrosa and a undescribed morphotype (Millepora sp.) found in exposed Thalassia beds and mangrove areas in southwest Puerto Rico. Over 345 million sequence reads were obtained for the analysis of the Millepora transcriptomes (Illumina HiSeq4000; 2x150bp). The analysis pipeline consisted of assembly with Trinity, BUSCO, RSEM and ORFs calling for each transcriptome, followed by ontology (Blast2GO) and phylogenetic analysis. The phylogenetic analysis was performed after selecting homologous genes among the transcriptomes, resulting in 10,596 sequences. Concatenation analysis (Maximum Likelihood and Bayesian inference) and a coalescence-based analysis were performed to the dataset too. Concatenation analysis yielded a topology supporting a clade of M. complanata and M. alcicornis, with Millepora sp. outside this clade and M. squarrosa as an outgroup. The coalescence-based tree estimation analysis (ASTRAL-II), presented a different topology placing M. alcicornis and Millepora sp. as sister taxa, rather than grouping with M. alcicornis with M. complanata. Our coalescence analysis indicated that there is a high degree of incomplete lineage sorting, suggesting a very recent time of species emergence among three out of the four Caribbean Millepora species. Calculations of ABBA-BABA statistics derived from transcriptome-wide SNP data indicate the possible presence of introgression between Millepora complanata and M. alcicornis.
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Affiliation(s)
| | - Ramón E Rivera-Vicéns
- Department of Marine Sciences, University of Puerto Rico at Mayagüez, PO Box 9000, Mayagüez, PR 00680, USA; Department of Earth and Environmental Sciences, Paleontology & Geobiology, Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität München, Richard-Wagner-Str. 10, 80333 München, Germany
| | - Nikolaos V Schizas
- Department of Marine Sciences, University of Puerto Rico at Mayagüez, PO Box 9000, Mayagüez, PR 00680, USA.
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6
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Kenkel CD, Mocellin VJL, Bay LK. Global gene expression patterns in Porites white patch syndrome: Disentangling symbiont loss from the thermal stress response in reef-building coral. Mol Ecol 2020; 29:3907-3920. [PMID: 32858771 DOI: 10.1111/mec.15608] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/13/2019] [Revised: 08/13/2020] [Accepted: 08/14/2020] [Indexed: 12/14/2022]
Abstract
The mechanisms resulting in the breakdown of the coral symbiosis once the process of bleaching has been initiated remain unclear. Distinguishing the process of symbiont loss from the thermal stress response may shed light on the cellular and molecular pathways involved in each process. This study examined physiological changes and global gene expression patterns associated with white patch syndrome (WPS) in Porites lobata, which manifests in localized bleaching independent of thermal stress. In addition, a meta-analysis of global gene expression studies in other corals and anemones was used to contrast differential regulation as a result of disease and thermal stress from patterns correlated with symbiotic state. Symbiont density, chlorophyll a content, holobiont productivity, instant calcification rate, and total host protein content were uniformly reduced in WPS relative to healthy tissue. While expression patterns associated with WPS were secondary to fixed effects of source colony, specific functional enrichments combined with a lack of immune regulation suggest that the viral infection putatively giving rise to this condition affects symbiont rather than host cells. Expression in response to WPS also clustered independently of patterns in white syndrome impacted A. hyacinthus, further supporting a distinct aetiology of this syndrome. Expression patterns in WPS-affected tissues were significantly correlated with prior studies that examined short-term thermal stress responses independent of symbiotic state, suggesting that the majority of expression changes reflect a nonspecific stress response. Across studies, the magnitude and direction of expression change among particular functional enrichments suggests unique responses to stressor duration and highlights distinct responses to bleaching in an anemone model.
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Affiliation(s)
- Carly D Kenkel
- Department of Biological Sciences, University of Southern California, Los Angeles, CA, USA
| | | | - Line K Bay
- Australian Institute of Marine Science, Townsville, Qld, Australia
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7
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Quek RZB, Jain SS, Neo ML, Rouse GW, Huang D. Transcriptome-based target-enrichment baits for stony corals (Cnidaria: Anthozoa: Scleractinia). Mol Ecol Resour 2020; 20:807-818. [PMID: 32077619 PMCID: PMC7468246 DOI: 10.1111/1755-0998.13150] [Citation(s) in RCA: 15] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/03/2019] [Revised: 02/01/2020] [Accepted: 02/10/2020] [Indexed: 01/09/2023]
Abstract
Despite the ecological and economic significance of stony corals (Scleractinia), a robust understanding of their phylogeny remains elusive due to patchy taxonomic and genetic sampling, as well as the limited availability of informative markers. To increase the number of genetic loci available for phylogenomic analyses in Scleractinia, we designed 15,919 DNA enrichment baits targeting 605 orthogroups (mean 565 ± SD 366 bp) over 1,139 exon regions. A further 236 and 62 barcoding baits were designed for COI and histone H3 genes respectively for quality and contamination checks. Hybrid capture using these baits was performed on 18 coral species spanning the presently understood scleractinian phylogeny, with two corallimorpharians as outgroup. On average, 74% of all loci targeted were successfully captured for each species. Barcoding baits were matched unambiguously to their respective samples and revealed low levels of cross-contamination in accordance with expectation. We put the data through a series of stringent filtering steps to ensure only scleractinian and phylogenetically informative loci were retained, and the final probe set comprised 13,479 baits, targeting 452 loci (mean 531 ± SD 307 bp) across 865 exon regions. Maximum likelihood, Bayesian and species tree analyses recovered maximally supported, topologically congruent trees consistent with previous phylogenomic reconstructions. The phylogenomic method presented here allows for consistent capture of orthologous loci among divergent coral taxa, facilitating the pooling of data from different studies and increasing the phylogenetic sampling of scleractinians in the future.
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Affiliation(s)
- Randolph Z. B. Quek
- Department of Biological SciencesNational University of SingaporeSingaporeSingapore
| | - Sudhanshi S. Jain
- Department of Biological SciencesNational University of SingaporeSingaporeSingapore
| | - Mei Lin Neo
- Department of Biological SciencesNational University of SingaporeSingaporeSingapore
- Tropical Marine Science InstituteNational University of SingaporeSingaporeSingapore
| | - Greg W. Rouse
- Scripps Institution of OceanographyUniversity of California San DiegoSan DiegoCAUSA
| | - Danwei Huang
- Department of Biological SciencesNational University of SingaporeSingaporeSingapore
- Tropical Marine Science InstituteNational University of SingaporeSingaporeSingapore
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8
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Leveque S, Afiq-Rosli L, Ip YCA, Jain SS, Huang D. Searching for phylogenetic patterns of Symbiodiniaceae community structure among Indo-Pacific Merulinidae corals. PeerJ 2019; 7:e7669. [PMID: 31565579 PMCID: PMC6746223 DOI: 10.7717/peerj.7669] [Citation(s) in RCA: 10] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/16/2019] [Accepted: 08/13/2019] [Indexed: 11/20/2022] Open
Abstract
Over half of all extant stony corals (Cnidaria: Anthozoa: Scleractinia) harbour endosymbiotic dinoflagellates of the family Symbiodiniaceae, forming the foundational species of modern shallow reefs. However, whether these associations are conserved on the coral phylogeny remains unknown. Here we aim to characterise Symbiodiniaceae communities in eight closely-related species in the genera Merulina, Goniastrea and Scapophyllia, and determine if the variation in endosymbiont community structure can be explained by the phylogenetic relatedness among hosts. We perform DNA metabarcoding of the nuclear internal transcribed spacer 2 using Symbiodiniaceae-specific primers on 30 coral colonies to recover three major endosymbiont clades represented by 23 distinct types. In agreement with previous studies on Southeast Asian corals, we find an abundance of Cladocopium and Durusdinium, but also detect Symbiodinium types in three of the eight coral host species. Interestingly, differences in endosymbiont community structure are dominated by host variation at the intraspecific level, rather than interspecific, intergeneric or among-clade levels, indicating a lack of phylogenetic constraint in the coral-endosymbiont association among host species. Furthermore, the limited geographic sampling of four localities spanning the Western and Central Indo-Pacific preliminarily hints at large-scale spatial structuring of Symbiodiniaceae communities. More extensive collections of corals from various regions and environments will help us better understand the specificity of the coral-endosymbiont relationship.
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Affiliation(s)
- Sébastien Leveque
- National University of Singapore, Singapore, Singapore.,Université de La Rochelle, La Rochelle, Singapore
| | | | | | | | - Danwei Huang
- National University of Singapore, Singapore, Singapore
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9
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Richards ZT, Carvajal JI, Wallace CC, Wilson NG. Phylotranscriptomics confirms Alveopora is sister to Montipora within the family Acroporidae. Mar Genomics 2019; 50:100703. [PMID: 31466869 DOI: 10.1016/j.margen.2019.100703] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/17/2019] [Revised: 08/14/2019] [Accepted: 08/16/2019] [Indexed: 01/17/2023]
Abstract
The genus Alveopora is a scleractinian coral taxon whose phylogenetic classification has recently changed from the family Poritidae to Acroporidae. This change, which was made based on single-locus genetic data, has led to uncertainty about the placement of Alveopora and the ability for deep evolutionary relationships in these groups to be accurately recovered and represented by limited genetic datasets. We sought to characterize the higher-level position of Alveopora using newly available transcriptome data to confirm its placement within Acroporidae and resolve its closest ancestor. Here we present an analysis of a new 2031 gene dataset that confirms the placement of Alveopora within Acroporidae corroborating other single-locus (COI, 16S and ITS) analyses and a mitogenome dataset. We also resolve the position of Alveopora as sister to the genus Montipora. This has allowed the re-interpretation of morphology, and a rediagnosis of the family Acroporidae and the genus Alveopora.
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Affiliation(s)
- Zoe T Richards
- Coral Conservation and Research Group, Trace and Environmental DNA Laboratory, School of Molecular and Life Sciences, Curtin University, Bentley, WA, 6012, Australia; Department of Aquatic Zoology, Western Australian Museum, Kew Street, Welshpool, WA, 6106, Australia.
| | - Jose I Carvajal
- Molecular Systematics Unit, Western Australian Museum, Kew Street, Welshpool, WA 6106, Australia
| | - Carden C Wallace
- Biodiversity and Geosciences Program, Queensland Museum, Brisbane, Queensland 4101, Australia
| | - Nerida G Wilson
- Molecular Systematics Unit, Western Australian Museum, Kew Street, Welshpool, WA 6106, Australia; School of Biological Sciences, University of Western Australia, Crawley, Perth, Western Australia 6009, Australia
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