1
|
Alessi C, Lemonnier H, Camp EF, Wabete N, Payri C, Rodolfo Metalpa R. Algal symbiont diversity in Acropora muricata from the extreme reef of Bouraké associated with resistance to coral bleaching. PLoS One 2024; 19:e0296902. [PMID: 38416713 PMCID: PMC10901360 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0296902] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/16/2023] [Accepted: 12/21/2023] [Indexed: 03/01/2024] Open
Abstract
Widespread coral bleaching has generally been linked to high water temperatures at larger geographic scales. However, the bleaching response can be highly variable among individual of the same species, between different species, and across localities; what causes this variability remains unresolved. Here, we tracked bleached and non-bleached colonies of Acropora muricata to see if they recovered or died following a stress event inside the semi-enclosed lagoon of Bouraké (New Caledonia), where corals are long-term acclimatized to extreme conditions of temperature, pH and dissolved oxygen, and at a nearby control reef where conditions are more benign. We describe Symbiodiniaceae community changes based on next-generation sequencing of the ITS2 marker, metabolic responses, and energetic reserve measures (12 physiological traits evaluated) during the La Niña warm and rainy summer in 2021. Widespread coral bleaching (score 1 and 2 on the coral colour health chart) was observed only in Bouraké, likely due to the combination of the high temperatures (up to 32°C) and heavy rain. All colonies (i.e., Bouraké and reference site) associated predominantly with Symbiodinaceae from the genera Cladocopium. Unbleached colonies in Bouraké had a specific ITS2-type profile (proxies for Symbiodiniaceae genotypes), while the bleached colonies in Bouraké had the same ITS2-type profile of the reef control colonies during the stress event. After four months, the few bleached colonies that survived in Bouraké (B2) acquired the same ITS2 type profiles of the unbleached colonies in Bouraké. In terms of physiological performances, all bleached corals showed metabolic depression (e.g., Pgross and Rdark). In contrast, unbleached colonies in Bouraké maintained higher metabolic rates and energetic reserves compared to control corals. Our study suggests that Acropora muricata enhanced their resistance to bleaching thanks to specific Symbiodiniaceae associations, while energetic reserves may increase their resilience after stress.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Cinzia Alessi
- ENTROPIE, IRD, Université de la Réunion, CNRS, IFREMER, Université de Nouvelle-Calédonie, Nouméa, New Caledonia
- Laboratoire d'Excellence CORAIL, ENTROPIE (UMR9220), IRD, Nouméa, New Caledonia
| | - Hugues Lemonnier
- ENTROPIE, IRD, Université de la Réunion, CNRS, IFREMER, Université de Nouvelle-Calédonie, Nouméa, New Caledonia
- Laboratoire d'Excellence CORAIL, ENTROPIE (UMR9220), IRD, Nouméa, New Caledonia
| | - Emma F Camp
- Climate Change Cluster, University of Technology, Ultimo, NSW, Australia
| | - Nelly Wabete
- ENTROPIE, IRD, Université de la Réunion, CNRS, IFREMER, Université de Nouvelle-Calédonie, Nouméa, New Caledonia
| | - Claude Payri
- ENTROPIE, IRD, Université de la Réunion, CNRS, IFREMER, Université de Nouvelle-Calédonie, Nouméa, New Caledonia
- Laboratoire d'Excellence CORAIL, ENTROPIE (UMR9220), IRD, Nouméa, New Caledonia
| | - Riccardo Rodolfo Metalpa
- ENTROPIE, IRD, Université de la Réunion, CNRS, IFREMER, Université de Nouvelle-Calédonie, Nouméa, New Caledonia
- Laboratoire d'Excellence CORAIL, ENTROPIE (UMR9220), IRD, Nouméa, New Caledonia
- Labex ICONA International CO2 Natural Analogues Network, Shimoda, Japan
| |
Collapse
|
2
|
Baum JK, Claar DC, Tietjen KL, Magel JMT, Maucieri DG, Cobb KM, McDevitt-Irwin JM. Transformation of coral communities subjected to an unprecedented heatwave is modulated by local disturbance. SCIENCE ADVANCES 2023; 9:eabq5615. [PMID: 37018404 DOI: 10.1126/sciadv.abq5615] [Citation(s) in RCA: 8] [Impact Index Per Article: 8.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/15/2022] [Accepted: 03/08/2023] [Indexed: 06/19/2023]
Abstract
Corals are imminently threatened by climate change-amplified marine heatwaves. However, how to conserve coral reefs remains unclear, since those without local anthropogenic disturbances often seem equally or more susceptible to thermal stress as impacted ones. We disentangle this apparent paradox, revealing that the relationship between reef disturbance and heatwave impacts depends upon the scale of biological organization. We show that a tropical heatwave of globally unprecedented duration (~1 year) culminated in an 89% loss of hard coral cover. At the community level, losses depended on pre-heatwave community structure, with undisturbed sites, which were dominated by competitive corals, undergoing the greatest losses. In contrast, at the species level, survivorship of individual corals typically declined as local disturbance intensified. Our study reveals both that prolonged heatwaves projected under climate change will still have winners and losers and that local disturbance can impair survival of coral species even under such extreme conditions.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Julia K Baum
- Department of Biology, University of Victoria, P.O. Box 1700 Station CSC, Victoria, British Columbia V8W 2Y2, Canada
- Hawai'i Institute of Marine Biology, University of Hawai'i, Kaneohe, HI 96744, USA
| | - Danielle C Claar
- Department of Biology, University of Victoria, P.O. Box 1700 Station CSC, Victoria, British Columbia V8W 2Y2, Canada
- Washington State Department of Natural Resources, MS 47027, Olympia, WA 98504, USA
| | - Kristina L Tietjen
- Department of Biology, University of Victoria, P.O. Box 1700 Station CSC, Victoria, British Columbia V8W 2Y2, Canada
| | - Jennifer M T Magel
- Department of Biology, University of Victoria, P.O. Box 1700 Station CSC, Victoria, British Columbia V8W 2Y2, Canada
- Department of Forest & Conservation Sciences, University of British Columbia, 2424 Main Mall, Vancouver, British Columbia V6T 1Z4, Canada
| | - Dominique G Maucieri
- Department of Biology, University of Victoria, P.O. Box 1700 Station CSC, Victoria, British Columbia V8W 2Y2, Canada
| | - Kim M Cobb
- School of Earth and Atmospheric Sciences, Georgia Institute of Technology, Atlanta, GA 30332, USA
- Institute at Brown University for Environment and Society, Department of Earth, Environmental, and Planetary Sciences, Brown University, Providence, RI 02912, USA
| | - Jamie M McDevitt-Irwin
- Department of Biology, University of Victoria, P.O. Box 1700 Station CSC, Victoria, British Columbia V8W 2Y2, Canada
- Hopkins Marine Station, Stanford University, 120 Ocean View Blvd, Pacific Grove, CA 93950, USA
| |
Collapse
|
3
|
Landwehr KR, Mead-Hunter R, O'Leary RA, Kicic A, Mullins BJ, Larcombe AN. Respiratory Health Effects of In Vivo Sub-Chronic Diesel and Biodiesel Exhaust Exposure. Int J Mol Sci 2023; 24:ijms24065130. [PMID: 36982203 PMCID: PMC10049281 DOI: 10.3390/ijms24065130] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/16/2023] [Revised: 03/01/2023] [Accepted: 03/03/2023] [Indexed: 03/30/2023] Open
Abstract
Biodiesel, which can be made from a variety of natural oils, is currently promoted as a sustainable, healthier replacement for commercial mineral diesel despite little experimental data supporting this. The aim of our research was to investigate the health impacts of exposure to exhaust generated by the combustion of diesel and two different biodiesels. Male BALB/c mice (n = 24 per group) were exposed for 2 h/day for 8 days to diluted exhaust from a diesel engine running on ultra-low sulfur diesel (ULSD) or Tallow or Canola biodiesel, with room air exposures used as control. A variety of respiratory-related end-point measurements were assessed, including lung function, responsiveness to methacholine, airway inflammation and cytokine response, and airway morphometry. Exposure to Tallow biodiesel exhaust resulted in the most significant health impacts compared to Air controls, including increased airway hyperresponsiveness and airway inflammation. In contrast, exposure to Canola biodiesel exhaust resulted in fewer negative health effects. Exposure to ULSD resulted in health impacts between those of the two biodiesels. The health effects of biodiesel exhaust exposure vary depending on the feedstock used to make the fuel.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Katherine R Landwehr
- Occupation, Environment and Safety, School of Population Health, Curtin University, Perth, WA 6845, Australia
- Respiratory Environmental Health, Wal-yan Respiratory Research Centre, Telethon Kids Institute, Perth Children's Hospital, Nedlands, Perth, WA 6009, Australia
| | - Ryan Mead-Hunter
- Occupation, Environment and Safety, School of Population Health, Curtin University, Perth, WA 6845, Australia
| | - Rebecca A O'Leary
- Department of Primary Industries and Regional Development, Perth, WA 6151, Australia
| | - Anthony Kicic
- Occupation, Environment and Safety, School of Population Health, Curtin University, Perth, WA 6845, Australia
- Respiratory Environmental Health, Wal-yan Respiratory Research Centre, Telethon Kids Institute, Perth Children's Hospital, Nedlands, Perth, WA 6009, Australia
- Department of Respiratory and Sleep Medicine, Perth Children's Hospital, Nedlands, Perth, WA 6009, Australia
- Centre for Cell Therapy and Regenerative Medicine, The University of Western Australia, Perth, WA 6009, Australia
| | - Benjamin J Mullins
- Occupation, Environment and Safety, School of Population Health, Curtin University, Perth, WA 6845, Australia
| | - Alexander N Larcombe
- Occupation, Environment and Safety, School of Population Health, Curtin University, Perth, WA 6845, Australia
- Respiratory Environmental Health, Wal-yan Respiratory Research Centre, Telethon Kids Institute, Perth Children's Hospital, Nedlands, Perth, WA 6009, Australia
| |
Collapse
|
4
|
Matias AMA, Popovic I, Thia JA, Cooke IR, Torda G, Lukoschek V, Bay LK, Kim SW, Riginos C. Cryptic diversity and spatial genetic variation in the coral Acropora tenuis and its endosymbionts across the Great Barrier Reef. Evol Appl 2023; 16:293-310. [PMID: 36793689 PMCID: PMC9923489 DOI: 10.1111/eva.13435] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 6.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/06/2022] [Revised: 05/20/2022] [Accepted: 05/29/2022] [Indexed: 11/26/2022] Open
Abstract
Genomic studies are uncovering extensive cryptic diversity within reef-building corals, suggesting that evolutionarily and ecologically relevant diversity is highly underestimated in the very organisms that structure coral reefs. Furthermore, endosymbiotic algae within coral host species can confer adaptive responses to environmental stress and may represent additional axes of coral genetic variation that are not constrained by taxonomic divergence of the cnidarian host. Here, we examine genetic variation in a common and widespread, reef-building coral, Acropora tenuis, and its associated endosymbiotic algae along the entire expanse of the Great Barrier Reef (GBR). We use SNPs derived from genome-wide sequencing to characterize the cnidarian coral host and organelles from zooxanthellate endosymbionts (genus Cladocopium). We discover three distinct and sympatric genetic clusters of coral hosts, whose distributions appear associated with latitude and inshore-offshore reef position. Demographic modelling suggests that the divergence history of the three distinct host taxa ranges from 0.5 to 1.5 million years ago, preceding the GBR's formation, and has been characterized by low-to-moderate ongoing inter-taxon gene flow, consistent with occasional hybridization and introgression typifying coral evolution. Despite this differentiation in the cnidarian host, A. tenuis taxa share a common symbiont pool, dominated by the genus Cladocopium (Clade C). Cladocopium plastid diversity is not strongly associated with host identity but varies with reef location relative to shore: inshore colonies contain lower symbiont diversity on average but have greater differences between colonies as compared with symbiont communities from offshore colonies. Spatial genetic patterns of symbiont communities could reflect local selective pressures maintaining coral holobiont differentiation across an inshore-offshore environmental gradient. The strong influence of environment (but not host identity) on symbiont community composition supports the notion that symbiont community composition responds to habitat and may assist in the adaptation of corals to future environmental change.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Ambrocio Melvin A Matias
- Institute of Biology University of the Philippines Diliman Quezon City Philippines.,School of Biological Sciences The University of Queensland St. Lucia Queensland Australia
| | - Iva Popovic
- School of Biological Sciences The University of Queensland St. Lucia Queensland Australia
| | - Joshua A Thia
- Bio21 Institute, School of BioSciences The University of Melbourne Parkeville Victoria Australia
| | - Ira R Cooke
- College of Public Health, Medical and Veterinary Sciences James Cook University Townsville Queensland Australia
| | - Gergely Torda
- ARC Centre of Excellence for Coral Reef Studies James Cook University Townsville Queensland Australia
| | - Vimoksalehi Lukoschek
- ARC Centre of Excellence for Coral Reef Studies James Cook University Townsville Queensland Australia.,Gold Coast University Hospital QLD Health Southport Queensland Australia
| | - Line K Bay
- Australian Institute of Marine Science Townsville Queensland Australia
| | - Sun W Kim
- School of Biological Sciences The University of Queensland St. Lucia Queensland Australia
| | - Cynthia Riginos
- School of Biological Sciences The University of Queensland St. Lucia Queensland Australia
| |
Collapse
|
5
|
Santana EFC, Mies M, Longo GO, Menezes R, Aued AW, Luza AL, Bender MG, Segal B, Floeter SR, Francini-Filho RB. Turbidity shapes shallow Southwestern Atlantic benthic reef communities. MARINE ENVIRONMENTAL RESEARCH 2023; 183:105807. [PMID: 36379169 DOI: 10.1016/j.marenvres.2022.105807] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/13/2022] [Revised: 10/26/2022] [Accepted: 11/06/2022] [Indexed: 06/16/2023]
Abstract
Southwestern Atlantic reefs (Brazilian Province) occur along a broad latitudinal range (∼5°N-27°S) and under varied environmental conditions. We combined large-scale benthic cover and environmental data into uni- and multivariate regression tree analyses to identify unique shallow (<30 m) benthic reef communities and their environmental drivers along the Brazilian Province. Turbidity was the leading environmental driver of benthic reef communities, with the occurrence of two main groups: clear-water (dominated by fleshy macroalgae) and turbid (dominated by turf algae). Seven out of 14 scleractinian coral species were more abundant in the turbid group, thus corroborating the photophobic nature of some Brazilian corals. The most abundant scleractinian in Brazil (Montastraea cavernosa), largely dominated (71-93% of total coral cover) both, the shallow turbid and deeper clear-water reefs. Because these habitat types are widely recognized as potential climate refuges, local threats (e.g. pollution, overfishing) should be averted.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Erika F C Santana
- Programa de Pós-Graduação em Ciências Biológicas (Zoologia), Universidade Federal da Paraíba, Cidade Universitária, 58059-900, JP, PB, Brazil
| | - Miguel Mies
- Instituto Oceanográfico, Universidade de São Paulo, SP, Brazil; Instituto Coral Vivo, Santa Cruz Cabrália, BA, Brazil
| | - Guilherme O Longo
- Laboratório de Ecologia Marinha, Departamento de Oceanografia e Limnologia, Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Norte, Natal, RN, 59014-002, Brazil
| | - Rafael Menezes
- Programa de Pós-Graduação em Ciências Biológicas (Zoologia), Universidade Federal da Paraíba, Cidade Universitária, 58059-900, JP, PB, Brazil
| | - Anaide W Aued
- Laboratório de Biogeografia e Macroecologia Marinha, Departamento de Ecologia e Zoologia, Universidade Federal de Santa Catarina, Florianópolis, 88040-970, SC, Brazil
| | - André Luís Luza
- Laboratório de Macroecologia e Conservação Marinha, Universidade Federal de Santa Maria, Santa Maria, RS, Brazil
| | - Mariana G Bender
- Laboratório de Macroecologia e Conservação Marinha, Universidade Federal de Santa Maria, Santa Maria, RS, Brazil
| | - Barbara Segal
- Laboratório de Ecologia de Ambientes Recifais, Departamento de Ecologia e Zoologia, Universidade Federal de Santa Catarina, Florianópolis, 88040-970, SC, Brazil
| | - Sergio R Floeter
- Laboratório de Biogeografia e Macroecologia Marinha, Departamento de Ecologia e Zoologia, Universidade Federal de Santa Catarina, Florianópolis, 88040-970, SC, Brazil
| | - Ronaldo B Francini-Filho
- Laboratório de Ecologia e Conservação Marinha, Centro de Biologia Marinha, Universidade de São Paulo, 11612-109, São Sebastião, SP, Brazil.
| |
Collapse
|
6
|
Keshavmurthy S, Chen TR, Liu PJ, Wang JT, Chen CA. Learning from the past is not enough to survive present and future bleaching threshold temperatures. THE SCIENCE OF THE TOTAL ENVIRONMENT 2022; 852:158379. [PMID: 36055494 DOI: 10.1016/j.scitotenv.2022.158379] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/29/2022] [Revised: 08/24/2022] [Accepted: 08/25/2022] [Indexed: 06/15/2023]
Abstract
In the past decade, the frequency of mass coral bleaching events has increased due to seawater temperature anomalies persisting for longer periods. Coral survival from temperature anomalies has been based on how each species in each location responds to stress, which is unique to individual species and may be due to the way stressful experiences accumulate through time in the form of ecological and physiological memory. A deeper understanding of ecological and physiological memory in corals is necessary to understand their survival strategies into the future. Laboratory experiments can help us simulate seawater temperatures experienced by corals in the past and compare their responses to those of the present and future. In this study, we sampled corals with different life history traits from one location perturbed by seawater temperature incursions (variable site) and from a second, relatively undisturbed location (stable site). We sampled across two seasons to observe the responses to bleaching threshold temperatures in the past (1998-29 °C), present (2018-31 °C), and future (2050-33 °C). Corals were healthy at 29 °C and 31 °C, but a fast-growing, temperature-susceptible coral species experienced high mortality at 33 °C compared to a slow-growing, temperature-resistant coral species. Moreover, corals from the variable site and during the spring season fared better under temperature stress. The results of this study provide insight into the possible role of life-history traits on coral's response to seasons and locations in terms of memory to long-term and short-term thermal anomalies and climate change.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
| | - Ting-Ru Chen
- Biodiversity Research Centre, Academia Sinica, Nangang, Taipei 115, Taiwan; Institute of Oceanography, National Taiwan University, Taipei 106, Taiwan
| | - Pei-Jen Liu
- Institute of Marine Biology, National Dong Hwa University, Hualien 974, Taiwan
| | - Jih-Terng Wang
- Department of Oceanography, National Sun Yat-Sen University, Kaohsiung 804, Taiwan
| | - Chaolun Allen Chen
- Biodiversity Research Centre, Academia Sinica, Nangang, Taipei 115, Taiwan; Department of Life Science, National Taiwan Normal University, Taipei 106, Taiwan; Department of Life Science, Tunghai University, Taichung 404, Taiwan.
| |
Collapse
|
7
|
Quigley KM, Ramsby B, Laffy P, Harris J, Mocellin VJL, Bay LK. Symbioses are restructured by repeated mass coral bleaching. SCIENCE ADVANCES 2022; 8:eabq8349. [PMID: 36475796 PMCID: PMC9728966 DOI: 10.1126/sciadv.abq8349] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/04/2022] [Accepted: 11/02/2022] [Indexed: 06/17/2023]
Abstract
Survival of symbiotic reef-building corals under global warming requires rapid acclimation or adaptation. The impact of accumulated heat stress was compared across 1643 symbiont communities before and after the 2016 mass bleaching in three coral species and free-living in the environment across ~900 kilometers of the Great Barrier Reef. Resilient reefs (less aerial bleaching than predicted from high satellite sea temperatures) showed low variation in symbioses. Before 2016, heat-tolerant environmental symbionts were common in ~98% of samples and moderately abundant (9 to 40% in samples). In corals, heat-tolerant symbionts were at low abundances (0 to 7.3%) but only in a minority (13 to 27%) of colonies. Following bleaching, environmental diversity doubled (including heat-tolerant symbionts) and increased in one coral species. Communities were dynamic (Acropora millepora) and conserved (Acropora hyacinthus and Acropora tenuis), including symbiont community turnover and redistribution. Symbiotic restructuring after bleaching occurs but is a taxon-specific ecological opportunity.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Kate M. Quigley
- Australian Institute of Marine Science, Townsville, QLD, Australia
- Minderoo Foundation, Perth, WA, Australia
- Oceans Institute, University of Western Australia, Perth, WA, Australia
- James Cook University, Townsville, QLD, Australia
| | - Blake Ramsby
- Australian Institute of Marine Science, Townsville, QLD, Australia
| | - Patrick Laffy
- Australian Institute of Marine Science, Townsville, QLD, Australia
| | | | | | - Line K. Bay
- Australian Institute of Marine Science, Townsville, QLD, Australia
| |
Collapse
|
8
|
McIlroy SE, terHorst CP, Teece M, Coffroth MA. Nutrient dynamics in coral symbiosis depend on both the relative and absolute abundance of Symbiodiniaceae species. MICROBIOME 2022; 10:192. [PMID: 36336686 PMCID: PMC9639324 DOI: 10.1186/s40168-022-01382-0] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/14/2022] [Accepted: 09/30/2022] [Indexed: 06/16/2023]
Abstract
BACKGROUND Symbionts provide a variety of reproductive, nutritional, and defensive resources to their hosts, but those resources can vary depending on symbiont community composition. As genetic techniques open our eyes to the breadth of symbiont diversity within myriad microbiomes, symbiosis research has begun to consider what ecological mechanisms affect the identity and relative abundance of symbiont species and how this community structure impacts resource exchange among partners. Here, we manipulated the in hospite density and relative ratio of two species of coral endosymbionts (Symbiodinium microadriaticum and Breviolum minutum) and used stable isotope enrichment to trace nutrient exchange with the host, Briareum asbestinum. RESULTS The patterns of uptake and translocation of carbon and nitrogen varied with both density and ratio of symbionts. Once a density threshold was reached, carbon acquisition decreased with increasing proportions of S. microadriaticum. In hosts dominated by B. minutum, nitrogen uptake was density independent and intermediate. Conversely, for those corals dominated by S. microadriaticum, nitrogen uptake decreased as densities increased, and as a result, these hosts had the overall highest (at low density) and lowest (at high density) nitrogen enrichment. CONCLUSIONS Our findings show that the uptake and sharing of nutrients was strongly dependent on both the density of symbionts within the host, as well as which symbiont species was dominant. Together, these complex interactive effects suggest that host regulation and the repression of in hospite symbiont competition can ultimately lead to a more productive mutualism. Video Abstract.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Shelby E McIlroy
- School of Biological Sciences, Swire Institute of Marine Science, The University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong SAR, China.
- Graduate Program in Evolution, Ecology and Behaviour, University at Buffalo, Buffalo, NY, 14260, USA.
| | - Casey P terHorst
- Department of Biology, California State University, Northridge, CA, 91330, USA
| | - Mark Teece
- Department of Chemistry, State University of New York College of Environmental Science and Forestry, Syracuse, NY, 13210, USA
| | - Mary Alice Coffroth
- Graduate Program in Evolution, Ecology and Behaviour, University at Buffalo, Buffalo, NY, 14260, USA
- Department of Geology University at Buffalo, Buffalo, NY, 14260, USA
| |
Collapse
|
9
|
Kannan MR, Balakrishnan R, Thillaichidambaram M, Natesan S, Paramasamy G, Prakash S, Muthiah RC. Probing the thermo tolerant endosymbiont genus Durusdinium (Clade D) in the scleractinian corals of Palk Bay, Southeast coast of India. Biologia (Bratisl) 2022. [DOI: 10.1007/s11756-022-01235-z] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/30/2022]
|
10
|
Influence of temperature changes on symbiotic Symbiodiniaceae and bacterial communities’ structure: an experimental study on soft coral Sarcophyton trocheliophorum (Anthozoa: Alcyoniidae). JOURNAL OF TROPICAL ECOLOGY 2021. [DOI: 10.1017/s0266467421000109] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/05/2022]
Abstract
AbstractIt is well concluded that microbial composition and diversity of coral species can be affected under temperature alterations. However, the interaction of environmental accumulation of corals and temperature stress on symbiotic Symbiodiniaceae and bacterial communities are rarely studied. In this study, two groups of soft coral Sarcophyton trocheliophorum were cultured under constant (26 °C) and inconstant (22 °C to 26 °C) temperature conditions for 30 days as control treatments. After that, water was cooled rapidly to decrease to 20 °C in 24 h. The results of diversity analysis showed that symbiotic Symbiodiniaceae and bacterial communities had a significant difference between the two accumulated groups. The principal coordinate analyses confirmed that symbiotic Symbiodiniaceae and bacterial communities of both control treatments were clustered into two groups. Our results evidenced that rapid cooling stress could not change symbiotic Symbiodiniaceae and bacterial communities’ composition. On the other hand, cooling stress could alter only bacterial communities in constant group. In conclusion, our study represents a clear relationship between environmental accumulation and the impact of short-term cooling stress in which microbial composition structure can be affected by early adaptation conditions.
Collapse
|
11
|
Marchioro GM, Glasl B, Engelen AH, Serrão EA, Bourne DG, Webster NS, Frade PR. Microbiome dynamics in the tissue and mucus of acroporid corals differ in relation to host and environmental parameters. PeerJ 2020; 8:e9644. [PMID: 32874778 PMCID: PMC7439960 DOI: 10.7717/peerj.9644] [Citation(s) in RCA: 15] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/07/2020] [Accepted: 07/10/2020] [Indexed: 12/19/2022] Open
Abstract
Corals are associated with diverse microbial assemblages; however, the spatial-temporal dynamics of intra-species microbial interactions are poorly understood. The coral-associated microbial community varies substantially between tissue and mucus microhabitats; however, the factors controlling the occurrence, abundance, and distribution of microbial taxa over time have rarely been explored for different coral compartments simultaneously. Here, we test (1) differentiation in microbiome diversity and composition between coral compartments (surface mucus and tissue) of two Acropora hosts (A. tenuis and A. millepora) common along inshore reefs of the Great Barrier Reef, as well as (2) the potential linkage between shifts in individual coral microbiome families and underlying host and environmental parameters. Amplicon based 16S ribosomal RNA gene sequencing of 136 samples collected over 14 months, revealed significant differences in bacterial richness, diversity and community structure among mucus, tissue and the surrounding seawater. Seawater samples were dominated by members of the Synechococcaceae and Pelagibacteraceae bacterial families. The mucus microbiome of Acropora spp. was dominated by members of Flavobacteriaceae, Synechococcaceae and Rhodobacteraceae and the tissue was dominated by Endozoicimonaceae. Mucus microbiome in both Acropora species was primarily correlated with seawater parameters including levels of chlorophyll a, ammonium, particulate organic carbon and the sum of nitrate and nitrite. In contrast, the correlation of the tissue microbiome to the measured environmental (i.e., seawater parameters) and host health physiological factors differed between host species, suggesting host-specific modulation of the tissue-associated microbiome to intrinsic and extrinsic factors. Furthermore, the correlation between individual coral microbiome members and environmental factors provides novel insights into coral microbiome-by-environment dynamics and hence has potential implications for current reef restoration and management efforts (e.g. microbial monitoring and observatory programs).
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Giulia M Marchioro
- University of Algarve, Faro, Portugal.,CCMAR - Centre of Marine Sciences, University of Algarve, Faro, Portugal.,AIMS@JCU, Townsville, Queensland, Australia
| | - Bettina Glasl
- AIMS@JCU, Townsville, Queensland, Australia.,Australian Institute of Marine Science, Townsville, Queensland, Australia.,College of Science and Engineering, James Cook University, Queensland, Townsville, Australia
| | - Aschwin H Engelen
- CCMAR - Centre of Marine Sciences, University of Algarve, Faro, Portugal
| | - Ester A Serrão
- CCMAR - Centre of Marine Sciences, University of Algarve, Faro, Portugal
| | - David G Bourne
- AIMS@JCU, Townsville, Queensland, Australia.,Australian Institute of Marine Science, Townsville, Queensland, Australia.,College of Science and Engineering, James Cook University, Queensland, Townsville, Australia
| | - Nicole S Webster
- AIMS@JCU, Townsville, Queensland, Australia.,Australian Institute of Marine Science, Townsville, Queensland, Australia.,Australian Centre for Ecogenomics, University of Queensland, Brisbane, Queensland, Australia
| | - Pedro R Frade
- CCMAR - Centre of Marine Sciences, University of Algarve, Faro, Portugal
| |
Collapse
|
12
|
Fuller ZL, Mocellin VJL, Morris LA, Cantin N, Shepherd J, Sarre L, Peng J, Liao Y, Pickrell J, Andolfatto P, Matz M, Bay LK, Przeworski M. Population genetics of the coral Acropora millepora: Toward genomic prediction of bleaching. Science 2020; 369:369/6501/eaba4674. [PMID: 32675347 DOI: 10.1126/science.aba4674] [Citation(s) in RCA: 97] [Impact Index Per Article: 24.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/05/2019] [Accepted: 06/01/2020] [Indexed: 12/11/2022]
Abstract
Although reef-building corals are declining worldwide, responses to bleaching vary within and across species and are partly heritable. Toward predicting bleaching response from genomic data, we generated a chromosome-scale genome assembly for the coral Acropora millepora We obtained whole-genome sequences for 237 phenotyped samples collected at 12 reefs along the Great Barrier Reef, among which we inferred little population structure. Scanning the genome for evidence of local adaptation, we detected signatures of long-term balancing selection in the heat-shock co-chaperone sacsin We conducted a genome-wide association study of visual bleaching score for 213 samples, incorporating the polygenic score derived from it into a predictive model for bleaching in the wild. These results set the stage for genomics-based approaches in conservation strategies.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Zachary L Fuller
- Department of Biological Sciences, Columbia University, New York, NY, USA.
| | | | - Luke A Morris
- Australian Institute of Marine Science, Townsville, QLD, Australia.,AIMS@JCU, Australian Institute of Marine Science, College of Science and Engineering, James Cook University, Townsville, QLD, Australia.,College of Science and Engineering, James Cook University, Townsville, QLD, Australia
| | - Neal Cantin
- Australian Institute of Marine Science, Townsville, QLD, Australia
| | - Jihanne Shepherd
- Department of Biological Sciences, Columbia University, New York, NY, USA
| | - Luke Sarre
- Department of Biological Sciences, Columbia University, New York, NY, USA
| | - Julie Peng
- Lewis-Sigler Institute for Integrative Genomics, Princeton University, Princeton, NJ, USA
| | - Yi Liao
- Department of Integrative Biology, University of Texas at Austin, Austin, TX, USA.,Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, University of California, Irvine, Irvine, CA, USA
| | | | - Peter Andolfatto
- Department of Biological Sciences, Columbia University, New York, NY, USA
| | - Mikhail Matz
- Department of Integrative Biology, University of Texas at Austin, Austin, TX, USA
| | - Line K Bay
- Australian Institute of Marine Science, Townsville, QLD, Australia.
| | - Molly Przeworski
- Department of Biological Sciences, Columbia University, New York, NY, USA. .,Department of Systems Biology, Columbia University, New York, NY, USA.,Program for Mathematical Genomics, Columbia University, New York, NY, USA
| |
Collapse
|
13
|
Xu H, Feng B, Xie M, Ren Y, Xia J, Zhang Y, Wang A, Li X. Physiological Characteristics and Environment Adaptability of Reef-Building Corals at the Wuzhizhou Island of South China Sea. Front Physiol 2020; 11:390. [PMID: 32411015 PMCID: PMC7201098 DOI: 10.3389/fphys.2020.00390] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/25/2019] [Accepted: 04/01/2020] [Indexed: 01/01/2023] Open
Abstract
The health of coral reef has declined significantly around the world due to the impact of human activities and natural environment changes, and corals have to develop effective resistance mechanisms to survive. In this study, we examined the physiological characteristics and Symbiodiniaceae types of four dominant scleractinian corals in the reefs at the Wuzhizhou Island (WZZ) in South China Sea. The water environmental conditions are complex on the north side of WZZ due to regional geography and tourism development, and all corals had their unique physiological conditions and Symbiodiniaceae types. For all corals of this study, the rETRm ax and protein content were significantly lower and the SOD enzyme activity was significantly higher in the north than in the south. Interestingly, ITS2 genotyping showed that Galaxea fascicularis contained dominant Symbiodiniaceae either genotype C21 or D1a depending on the regional environmental stress, and had stronger heterotrophy than the other three coral species. In addition, the light use efficiency of the dominant Symbiodiniaceae type C1 for Pocillopora verrucosa was significantly lower in the north and the half saturating irradiance was stable. Besides, Montipora truncata and P. verrucosa increased their density of the symbiotic zooxanthella C1 in the north to offset the decline of photosynthetic efficiency and thus supply energy. For Porites lutea and G. fascicularis, their half saturating irradiance declined sharply in the north, where P. lutea resorted to heterotrophic feeding to balance the energy budget when the number of zooxanthellas fell short and G. fascicularis reduced its energy reserve significantly when the energy source was limited. We thus demonstrated the differences in the physiological responses and energy metabolism strategies between the zooxanthella and the host coral of the four reef-building coral species under the stress of complex water environment on the north side of WZZ. The corals were found to cope with natural and anthropogenic stressors by adjusting the nutrient input sources and the energy structure metabolism of coral hosts or adapting to more sustainable relationship with Symbiodiniaceae clades. The corals exhibited their capacity against long-term disturbances by developing their own successful resistance mechanisms at symbiotic relationship and energy metabolism level.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Huili Xu
- State Key Laboratory of Marine Resource Utilization in South China Sea, Hainan University, Haikou, China
- College of Marine Science, Hainan University, Haikou, China
| | - Boxuan Feng
- College of Marine Science, Hainan University, Haikou, China
| | - Minrui Xie
- College of Marine Science, Hainan University, Haikou, China
| | - Yuxiao Ren
- College of Marine Science, Hainan University, Haikou, China
| | - Jingquan Xia
- College of Marine Science, Hainan University, Haikou, China
| | - Yu Zhang
- College of Marine Science, Hainan University, Haikou, China
| | - Aimin Wang
- State Key Laboratory of Marine Resource Utilization in South China Sea, Hainan University, Haikou, China
- College of Marine Science, Hainan University, Haikou, China
| | - Xiubao Li
- State Key Laboratory of Marine Resource Utilization in South China Sea, Hainan University, Haikou, China
- College of Marine Science, Hainan University, Haikou, China
| |
Collapse
|
14
|
Tong H, Cai L, Zhou G, Zhang W, Huang H, Qian PY. Correlations Between Prokaryotic Microbes and Stress-Resistant Algae in Different Corals Subjected to Environmental Stress in Hong Kong. Front Microbiol 2020; 11:686. [PMID: 32390975 PMCID: PMC7191007 DOI: 10.3389/fmicb.2020.00686] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/03/2019] [Accepted: 03/24/2020] [Indexed: 02/06/2023] Open
Abstract
Coral reefs are extremely vulnerable to global climate change, as evidenced by increasing bleaching events. Previous studies suggest that both algal and microbial partners benefit coral hosts, but the nature of interactions between Symbiodiniaceae and prokaryotic microbes and their effects on coral hosts remains unclear. In the present study, we examined correlations between Symbiodiniaceae and prokaryotic microbes in Montipora spp. and Porites lutea sampled from two sites in Hong Kong with contrasting environmental conditions in March and October 2014. The results showed that the prokaryotic microbial communities had adaptable structures in both Montipora spp. and P. lutea, and environmental conditions had greater effects on the algal/microbial communities in Montipora spp. than in P. lutea. Further network analysis revealed a greater number of prokaryotic microbes were significantly correlated with potentially stress-resistant Symbiodiniaceae in P. lutea than in Montipora spp. Stress-resistant Symbiodiniaceae played more important roles in the community and in the algal–microbial correlations in P. lutea than in Montipora spp. Since P. lutea is faring better in Hong Kong as the seawater temperature gradually increases, the results suggest that the correlations between stress-resistant algae and prokaryotic microbes could provide a compensation mechanism allowing coral hosts to adapt to higher temperatures, particularly as the prokaryotic microbes correlated with Symbiodiniaceae provide the ecological functions of photosynthesis and nitrogen fixation.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Haoya Tong
- Department of Ocean Science, Division of Life Science and Hong Kong Branch of the Southern Marine Science and Engineering Guangdong Laboratory (Guangzhou), The Hong Kong University of Science and Technology, Hong Kong, China
| | - Lin Cai
- Department of Ocean Science, Division of Life Science and Hong Kong Branch of the Southern Marine Science and Engineering Guangdong Laboratory (Guangzhou), The Hong Kong University of Science and Technology, Hong Kong, China
| | - Guowei Zhou
- Department of Ocean Science, Division of Life Science and Hong Kong Branch of the Southern Marine Science and Engineering Guangdong Laboratory (Guangzhou), The Hong Kong University of Science and Technology, Hong Kong, China.,Key Laboratory of Tropical Marine Bio-resources and Ecology, South China Sea Institute of Oceanology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Guangzhou, China.,CAS-HKUST Sanya Joint Laboratory of Marine Science Research, Hainan Key Laboratory of Tropical Marine Biotechnology, Tropical Marine Biological Research Station in Hainan, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Sanya, China
| | - Weipeng Zhang
- Department of Ocean Science, Division of Life Science and Hong Kong Branch of the Southern Marine Science and Engineering Guangdong Laboratory (Guangzhou), The Hong Kong University of Science and Technology, Hong Kong, China
| | - Hui Huang
- Key Laboratory of Tropical Marine Bio-resources and Ecology, South China Sea Institute of Oceanology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Guangzhou, China.,CAS-HKUST Sanya Joint Laboratory of Marine Science Research, Hainan Key Laboratory of Tropical Marine Biotechnology, Tropical Marine Biological Research Station in Hainan, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Sanya, China
| | - Pei-Yuan Qian
- Department of Ocean Science, Division of Life Science and Hong Kong Branch of the Southern Marine Science and Engineering Guangdong Laboratory (Guangzhou), The Hong Kong University of Science and Technology, Hong Kong, China
| |
Collapse
|
15
|
Guibert I, Lecellier G, Torda G, Pochon X, Berteaux-Lecellier V. Metabarcoding reveals distinct microbiotypes in the giant clam Tridacna maxima. MICROBIOME 2020; 8:57. [PMID: 32317019 PMCID: PMC7175534 DOI: 10.1186/s40168-020-00835-8] [Citation(s) in RCA: 12] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/12/2019] [Accepted: 03/24/2020] [Indexed: 06/11/2023]
Abstract
BACKGROUND Giant clams and scleractinian (reef-building) corals are keystone species of coral reef ecosystems. The basis of their ecological success is a complex and fine-tuned symbiotic relationship with microbes. While the effect of environmental change on the composition of the coral microbiome has been heavily studied, we know very little about the composition and sensitivity of the microbiome associated with clams. Here, we explore the influence of increasing temperature on the microbial community (bacteria and dinoflagellates from the family Symbiodiniaceae) harbored by giant clams, maintained either in isolation or exposed to other reef species. We created artificial benthic assemblages using two coral species (Pocillopora damicornis and Acropora cytherea) and one giant clam species (Tridacna maxima) and studied the microbial community in the latter using metagenomics. RESULTS Our results led to three major conclusions. First, the health status of giant clams depended on the composition of the benthic species assemblages. Second, we discovered distinct microbiotypes in the studied T. maxima population, one of which was disproportionately dominated by Vibrionaceae and directly linked to clam mortality. Third, neither the increase in water temperature nor the composition of the benthic assemblage had a significant effect on the composition of the Symbiodiniaceae and bacterial communities of T. maxima. CONCLUSIONS Altogether, our results suggest that at least three microbiotypes naturally exist in the studied clam populations, regardless of water temperature. These microbiotypes plausibly provide similar functions to the clam host via alternate molecular pathways as well as microbiotype-specific functions. This redundancy in functions among microbiotypes together with their specificities provides hope that giant clam populations can tolerate some levels of environmental variation such as increased temperature. Importantly, the composition of the benthic assemblage could make clams susceptible to infections by Vibrionaceae, especially when water temperature increases. Video abstract.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Isis Guibert
- Swire Institute of Marine Science, The University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong, SAR China
- UMR250/9220 ENTROPIE IRD-CNRS-UR, Promenade Roger-Laroque, Sorbonne Université, Noumea Cedex, New Caledonia France
- USR3278 PSL CRIOBE CNRS-EPHE-UPVD, Papetoai, Moorea, French Polynesia
| | - Gael Lecellier
- UMR250/9220 ENTROPIE IRD-CNRS-UR, Promenade Roger-Laroque, Sorbonne Université, Noumea Cedex, New Caledonia France
- UVSQ, Université de Paris-Saclay, 45 Avenue des Etats-Unis, Versailles Cedex, France
| | - Gergely Torda
- ARC, Centre of Excellence for Coral Reef Studies, James Cook University, QLD, Townsville, 4811 Australia
| | - Xavier Pochon
- Coastal and Freshwater Group, Cawthron Institute, Private Bag 2, Nelson, 7042 New Zealand
- Institute of Marine Science, University of Auckland, Private Bag 349, Warkworth, 0941 New Zealand
| | - Véronique Berteaux-Lecellier
- UMR250/9220 ENTROPIE IRD-CNRS-UR, Promenade Roger-Laroque, Sorbonne Université, Noumea Cedex, New Caledonia France
| |
Collapse
|
16
|
Su Y, Zhang K, Zhou Z, Wang J, Yang X, Tang J, Li H, Lin S. Microplastic exposure represses the growth of endosymbiotic dinoflagellate Cladocopium goreaui in culture through affecting its apoptosis and metabolism. CHEMOSPHERE 2020; 244:125485. [PMID: 31809929 DOI: 10.1016/j.chemosphere.2019.125485] [Citation(s) in RCA: 57] [Impact Index Per Article: 14.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/26/2019] [Revised: 10/29/2019] [Accepted: 11/26/2019] [Indexed: 06/10/2023]
Abstract
Microplastics are widespread emerging marine pollutants that have been found in the coral reef ecosystem. In the present study, using Cladocopium goreaui as a symbiont representative, we investigated cytological, physiological, and molecular responses of a Symbiodiniaceae species to weeklong microplastic exposure (Polystyrene, diameter 1.0 μm, 9.0 × 109 particles L-1). The density and size of algal cells decreased significantly at 7 d and 6-7 d of microplastic exposure, respectively. Chlorophyll a content increased significantly at 7 d of exposure, whereas Fv/Fm did not change significantly during the entire exposure period. We observed significant increases in superoxide dismutase activity and caspase3 activation level, significant decrease in glutathione S-transferase activity, but no change in catalase activity during the whole exposure period. Transcriptomic analysis revealed 191 significantly upregulated and 71 significantly downregulated genes at 7 d after microplastic exposure. Fifteen GO terms were overrepresented for these significantly upregulated genes, which were grouped into four categories including transmembrane ion transport, substrate-specific transmembrane transporter activity, calcium ion binding, and calcium-dependent cysteine-type endopeptidase activity. Thirteen of the significantly upregulated genes encode metal ion transporter and ammonium transporter, and five light-harvesting protein genes were among the significantly downregulated genes. These results demonstrate that microplastics can act as an exogenous stressor, suppress detoxification activity, nutrient uptake, and photosynthesis, elevate oxidative stress, and raise the apoptosis level through upregulating ion transport and apoptotic enzymes to repress the growth of C. goreaui. These effects have implications in negative impacts of microplastics on coral-Symbiodiniaceae symbiosis that involves C. goreaui.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Yilu Su
- State Key Laboratory of Marine Resource Utilization in South China Sea, Hainan University, Haikou, Hainan, China
| | - Kaidian Zhang
- State Key Laboratory of Marine Environmental Science, Xiamen University, Xiamen, Fujian, China; Department of Marine Sciences, University of Connecticut, Groton, CT, USA
| | - Zhi Zhou
- State Key Laboratory of Marine Resource Utilization in South China Sea, Hainan University, Haikou, Hainan, China; Department of Marine Sciences, University of Connecticut, Groton, CT, USA.
| | - Jierui Wang
- State Key Laboratory of Marine Environmental Science, Xiamen University, Xiamen, Fujian, China
| | - Xiaohong Yang
- State Key Laboratory of Marine Environmental Science, Xiamen University, Xiamen, Fujian, China
| | - Jia Tang
- State Key Laboratory of Marine Resource Utilization in South China Sea, Hainan University, Haikou, Hainan, China
| | - Hongfei Li
- State Key Laboratory of Marine Environmental Science, Xiamen University, Xiamen, Fujian, China
| | - Senjie Lin
- Department of Marine Sciences, University of Connecticut, Groton, CT, USA.
| |
Collapse
|
17
|
Claar DC, Tietjen KL, Cox KD, Gates RD, Baum JK. Chronic disturbance modulates symbiont (Symbiodiniaceae) beta diversity on a coral reef. Sci Rep 2020; 10:4492. [PMID: 32161299 PMCID: PMC7066189 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-020-60929-z] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/27/2019] [Accepted: 01/30/2020] [Indexed: 11/09/2022] Open
Abstract
Chronic disturbance can disrupt ecological interactions including the foundational symbiosis between reef-building corals and the dinoflagellate family Symbiodiniaceae. Symbiodiniaceae are photosynthetic endosymbionts necessary for coral survival, but many Symbiodiniaceae can also be found free-living in the environment. Since most coral species acquire new Symbiodiniaceae from the environment each generation, free-living Symbiodiniaceae represent important pools for coral symbiont acquisition. Yet, little is known about the diversity of, or impacts of disturbance on, free-living Symbiodiniaceae. To determine how chronic and pulse disturbances influence Symbiodiniaceae communities, we sampled three reef habitat compartments - sediment, water, and coral (Pocillopora grandis, Montipora aequituberculata, Porites lobata) - at sites exposed to different levels of chronic anthropogenic disturbance, before, during, and after a major storm. Almost no (4%) Symbiodiniaceae amplicon sequence variants (ASVs) were found in all three compartments, and over half were found uniquely in coral. Sites experiencing chronic disturbance were typically associated with higher symbiont beta diversity (i.e., variability and turnover) across reef habitat compartments. Pulse stress, from the storm, exhibited some influence on symbiont beta diversity but the effect was inconsistent. This suggests that in this ecosystem, the effects of chronic disturbance are more prominent than temporal variability during a pulse disturbance for shaping symbiont communities.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Danielle C Claar
- Department of Biology, University of Victoria, Victoria, British Columbia, V8W 2Y2, Canada. .,University of Washington, School of Aquatic and Fisheries Science, 1122 NE Boat St, Seattle, WA, 98105, USA.
| | - Kristina L Tietjen
- Department of Biology, University of Victoria, Victoria, British Columbia, V8W 2Y2, Canada
| | - Kieran D Cox
- Department of Biology, University of Victoria, Victoria, British Columbia, V8W 2Y2, Canada.,Hakai Institute, Calvert Island, British Columbia, Canada
| | - Ruth D Gates
- Hawaii Institute of Marine Biology, Kaneohe, HI, 96744, USA
| | - Julia K Baum
- Department of Biology, University of Victoria, Victoria, British Columbia, V8W 2Y2, Canada. .,Hawaii Institute of Marine Biology, Kaneohe, HI, 96744, USA.
| |
Collapse
|
18
|
Wall CB, Kaluhiokalani M, Popp BN, Donahue MJ, Gates RD. Divergent symbiont communities determine the physiology and nutrition of a reef coral across a light-availability gradient. ISME JOURNAL 2020; 14:945-958. [PMID: 31900444 PMCID: PMC7082336 DOI: 10.1038/s41396-019-0570-1] [Citation(s) in RCA: 34] [Impact Index Per Article: 8.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/22/2019] [Revised: 11/25/2019] [Accepted: 12/11/2019] [Indexed: 11/21/2022]
Abstract
Reef corals are mixotrophic organisms relying on symbiont-derived photoautotrophy and water column heterotrophy. Coral endosymbionts (Family: Symbiodiniaceae), while typically considered mutualists, display a range of species-specific and environmentally mediated opportunism in their interactions with coral hosts, potentially requiring corals to rely more on heterotrophy to avoid declines in performance. To test the influence of symbiont communities on coral physiology (tissue biomass, symbiont density, photopigmentation) and nutrition (δ13C, δ15N), we sampled Montipora capitata colonies dominated by a specialist symbiont Cladocopium spp. or a putative opportunist Durusdinium glynnii (hereafter, C- or D-colonies) from Kāne‘ohe Bay, Hawai‘i, across gradients in photosynthetically active radiation (PAR) during summer and winter. We report for the first time that isotope values of reef corals are influenced by Symbiodiniaceae communities, indicative of different autotrophic capacities among symbiont species. D-colonies had on average 56% higher symbiont densities, but lower photopigments per symbiont cell and consistently lower δ13C values in host and symbiont tissues; this pattern in isotope values is consistent with lower symbiont carbon assimilation and translocation to the host. Neither C- nor D-colonies showed signs of greater heterotrophy or nutritional plasticity; instead changes in δ13C values were driven by PAR availability and photoacclimation attributes that differed between symbiont communities. Together, these results reveal Symbiodiniaceae functional diversity produces distinct holobionts with different capacities for autotrophic nutrition, and energy tradeoffs from associating with opportunist symbionts are not met with increased heterotrophy.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Christopher B Wall
- Hawai'i Institute of Marine Biology, University of Hawai'i at Mānoa, PO Box 1346, Kāne'ohe, HI, 96744, USA. .,Pacific Biosciences Research Center, University of Hawai'i at Mānoa, 1993 East-West Road, Honolulu, HI, 96822, USA.
| | - Mario Kaluhiokalani
- Hawai'i Institute of Marine Biology, University of Hawai'i at Mānoa, PO Box 1346, Kāne'ohe, HI, 96744, USA
| | - Brian N Popp
- Department of Earth Sciences, University of Hawai'i at Mānoa, 1680 East-West Rd, POST 701, Honolulu, HI, 96822, USA
| | - Megan J Donahue
- Hawai'i Institute of Marine Biology, University of Hawai'i at Mānoa, PO Box 1346, Kāne'ohe, HI, 96744, USA
| | - Ruth D Gates
- Hawai'i Institute of Marine Biology, University of Hawai'i at Mānoa, PO Box 1346, Kāne'ohe, HI, 96744, USA
| |
Collapse
|
19
|
Quigley KM, Alvarez Roa C, Torda G, Bourne DG, Willis BL. Co-dynamics of Symbiodiniaceae and bacterial populations during the first year of symbiosis with Acropora tenuis juveniles. Microbiologyopen 2019; 9:e959. [PMID: 31670480 PMCID: PMC7002099 DOI: 10.1002/mbo3.959] [Citation(s) in RCA: 19] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/17/2019] [Revised: 10/04/2019] [Accepted: 10/08/2019] [Indexed: 02/04/2023] Open
Abstract
Interactions between corals and their associated microbial communities (Symbiodiniaceae and prokaryotes) are key to understanding corals' potential for and rate of acclimatory and adaptive responses. However, the establishment of microalgal and bacterial communities is poorly understood during coral ontogeny in the wild. We examined the establishment and co-occurrence between multiple microbial communities using 16S rRNA (bacterial) and ITS2 rDNA (Symbiodiniaceae) gene amplicon sequencing in juveniles of the common coral, Acropora tenuis, across the first year of development. Symbiodiniaceae communities in juveniles were dominated by Durusdinium trenchii and glynnii (D1 and D1a), with lower abundances of Cladocopium (C1, C1d, C50, and Cspc). Bacterial communities were more diverse and dominated by taxa within Proteobacteria, Cyanobacteria, and Planctomycetes. Both communities were characterized by significant changes in relative abundance and diversity of taxa throughout the year. D1, D1a, and C1 were significantly correlated with multiple bacterial taxa, including Alpha-, Deltra-, and Gammaproteobacteria, Planctomycetacia, Oxyphotobacteria, Phycisphaerae, and Rhizobiales. Specifically, D1a tended to associate with Oxyphotobacteria and D1 with Alphaproteobacteria, although these associations may represent correlational and not causal relationships. Bioenergetic modeling combined with physiological measurements of coral juveniles (surface area and Symbiodiniaceae cell densities) identified key periods of carbon limitation and nitrogen assimilation, potentially coinciding with shifts in microbial community composition. These results demonstrate that Symbiodiniaceae and bacterial communities are dynamic throughout the first year of ontology and may vary in tandem, with important fitness effects on host juveniles.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Kate M Quigley
- College of Marine and Environmental Sciences, James Cook University, Townsville, QLD, Australia.,AIMS@JCU, Australian Institute of Marine Science and James Cook University, Townsville, QLD, Australia.,Australian Institute of Marine Science, Townsville, QLD, Australia
| | | | - Greg Torda
- ARC Centre of Excellence for Coral Reef Studies, James Cook University, Townsville, QLD, Australia
| | - David G Bourne
- College of Marine and Environmental Sciences, James Cook University, Townsville, QLD, Australia.,AIMS@JCU, Australian Institute of Marine Science and James Cook University, Townsville, QLD, Australia.,Australian Institute of Marine Science, Townsville, QLD, Australia
| | - Bette L Willis
- College of Marine and Environmental Sciences, James Cook University, Townsville, QLD, Australia.,AIMS@JCU, Australian Institute of Marine Science and James Cook University, Townsville, QLD, Australia.,ARC Centre of Excellence for Coral Reef Studies, James Cook University, Townsville, QLD, Australia
| |
Collapse
|
20
|
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.
Collapse
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
| |
Collapse
|
21
|
Carballo-Bolaños R, Denis V, Huang YY, Keshavmurthy S, Chen CA. Temporal variation and photochemical efficiency of species in Symbiodinaceae associated with coral Leptoria phrygia (Scleractinia; Merulinidae) exposed to contrasting temperature regimes. PLoS One 2019; 14:e0218801. [PMID: 31251761 PMCID: PMC6599219 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0218801] [Citation(s) in RCA: 14] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/04/2018] [Accepted: 06/10/2019] [Indexed: 11/19/2022] Open
Abstract
The Symbiodinaceae are paradoxical in that they play a fundamental role in the success of scleractinian corals, but also in their dismissal when under stress. In the past decades, the discovery of the endosymbiont's genetic and functional diversity has led people to hope that some coral species can survive bleaching events by associating with a stress-resistant symbiont that can become dominant when seawater temperatures increase. The variety of individual responses encouraged us to scrutinize each species individually to gauge its resilience to future changes. Here, we analyse the temporal variation in the Symbiodinaceae community associated with Leptoria phrygia, a common scleractinian coral from the Indo-Pacific. Coral colonies were sampled from two distant reef sites located in southern Taiwan that differ in temperature regimes, exemplifying a 'variable site' (VS) and a 'steady site' (SS). We investigated changes in the relative abundance of the dominant symbiont and its physiology every 3-4 months from 2016-2017. At VS, 11 of the 12 colonies were dominated by the stress-resistant Durusdinium spp. (>90% dominance) and only one colony exhibited co-dominance between Durusdinium spp. and Cladocopium spp. Every colony displayed high photochemical efficiency across all sampling periods, while showing temporal differences in symbiont density and chlorophyll a concentration. At SS, seven colonies out of 13 were dominated by Cladocopium spp., five presented co-dominance between Durusdinium spp./Cladocopium spp. and only one was dominated by Durusdinium spp. Colonies showed temporal differences in photochemical efficiency and chlorophyll a concentration during the study period. Our results suggest that VS colonies responded physiologically better to high temperature variability by associating with Durusdinium spp., while in SS there is still inter-colonial variability, a feature that might be advantageous for coping with different environmental changes.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Rodrigo Carballo-Bolaños
- Biodiversity Program, Taiwan International Graduate Program, Academia Sinica and National Taiwan Normal University, Taipei, Taiwan
- Biodiversity Research Center, Academia Sinica, Taipei, Taiwan
- Department of Life Science, National Taiwan Normal University, Taipei, Taiwan
| | - Vianney Denis
- Institute of Oceanography, National Taiwan University, Taipei, Taiwan
| | - Ya-Yi Huang
- Biodiversity Research Center, Academia Sinica, Taipei, Taiwan
| | | | - Chaolun Allen Chen
- Biodiversity Program, Taiwan International Graduate Program, Academia Sinica and National Taiwan Normal University, Taipei, Taiwan
- Biodiversity Research Center, Academia Sinica, Taipei, Taiwan
- Department of Life Science, National Taiwan Normal University, Taipei, Taiwan
- Institute of Oceanography, National Taiwan University, Taipei, Taiwan
- Department of Life Science, Tunghai University, Taichung, Taiwan
| |
Collapse
|
22
|
Unique quantitative Symbiodiniaceae signature of coral colonies revealed through spatio-temporal survey in Moorea. Sci Rep 2019; 9:7921. [PMID: 31138834 PMCID: PMC6538640 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-019-44017-5] [Citation(s) in RCA: 13] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/14/2018] [Accepted: 04/25/2019] [Indexed: 12/20/2022] Open
Abstract
One of the mechanisms of rapid adaptation or acclimatization to environmental changes in corals is through the dynamics of the composition of their associated endosymbiotic Symbiodiniaceae community. The various species of these dinoflagellates are characterized by different biological properties, some of which can confer stress tolerance to the coral host. Compelling evidence indicates that the corals’ Symbiodiniaceae community can change via shuffling and/or switching but the ecological relevance and the governance of these processes remain elusive. Using a qPCR approach to follow the dynamics of Symbiodiniaceae genera in tagged colonies of three coral species over a 10–18 month period, we detected putative genus-level switching of algal symbionts, with coral species-specific rates of occurrence. However, the dynamics of the corals’ Symbiodiniaceae community composition was not driven by environmental parameters. On the contrary, putative shuffling event were observed in two coral species during anomalous seawater temperatures and nutrient concentrations. Most notably, our results reveal that a suit of permanent Symbiodiniaceae genera is maintained in each colony in a specific range of quantities, giving a unique ‘Symbiodiniaceae signature’ to the host. This individual signature, together with sporadic symbiont switching may account for the intra-specific differences in resistance and resilience observed during environmental anomalies.
Collapse
|
23
|
Diversity of endosymbiotic Symbiodiniaceae in giant clams at Dongsha Atoll, northern South China Sea. Symbiosis 2019. [DOI: 10.1007/s13199-019-00615-5] [Citation(s) in RCA: 14] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 10/27/2022]
|
24
|
Barfield SJ, Aglyamova GV, Bay LK, Matz MV. Contrasting effects of
Symbiodinium
identity on coral host transcriptional profiles across latitudes. Mol Ecol 2018; 27:3103-3115. [DOI: 10.1111/mec.14774] [Citation(s) in RCA: 20] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/11/2017] [Accepted: 05/29/2018] [Indexed: 01/08/2023]
Affiliation(s)
- Sarah J. Barfield
- Department of Integrative Biology University of Texas at Austin Austin Texas
| | - Galina V. Aglyamova
- Department of Integrative Biology University of Texas at Austin Austin Texas
| | - Line K. Bay
- Australian Institute of Marine Science Townsville QLD Australia
| | - Mikhail V. Matz
- Department of Integrative Biology University of Texas at Austin Austin Texas
| |
Collapse
|
25
|
Kennedy EV, Tonk L, Foster NL, Chollett I, Ortiz JC, Dove S, Hoegh-Guldberg O, Mumby PJ, Stevens JR. Symbiodinium biogeography tracks environmental patterns rather than host genetics in a key Caribbean reef-builder, Orbicella annularis. Proc Biol Sci 2017; 283:rspb.2016.1938. [PMID: 27807263 PMCID: PMC5124097 DOI: 10.1098/rspb.2016.1938] [Citation(s) in RCA: 19] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/01/2016] [Accepted: 10/07/2016] [Indexed: 11/23/2022] Open
Abstract
The physiological performance of a reef-building coral is a combined outcome of both the coral host and its algal endosymbionts, Symbiodinium. While Orbicella annularis—a dominant reef-building coral in the Wider Caribbean—is known to be a flexible host in terms of the diversity of Symbiodinium types it can associate with, it is uncertain how this diversity varies across the Caribbean, and whether spatial variability in the symbiont community is related to either O. annularis genotype or environment. Here, we target the Symbiodinium-ITS2 gene to characterize and map dominant Symbiodinium hosted by O. annularis at an unprecedented spatial scale. We reveal northwest–southeast partitioning across the Caribbean, both in terms of the dominant symbiont taxa hosted and in assemblage diversity. Multivariate regression analyses incorporating a suite of environmental and genetic factors reveal that observed spatial patterns are predominantly explained by chronic thermal stress (summer temperatures) and are unrelated to host genotype. Furthermore, we were able to associate the presence of specific Symbiodinium types with local environmental drivers (for example, Symbiodinium C7 with areas experiencing cooler summers, B1j with nutrient loading and B17 with turbidity), associations that have not previously been described.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Emma V Kennedy
- College of Life and Environmental Sciences, University of Exeter, Stocker Road, Exeter EX4 4QD, UK .,Australian Rivers Institute, Griffith University, Nathan, 4111 Queensland, Australia
| | - Linda Tonk
- Coral Reef Ecosystems Lab, School of Biological Sciences, University of Queensland, St Lucia, 4072 Queensland, Australia
| | - Nicola L Foster
- College of Life and Environmental Sciences, University of Exeter, Stocker Road, Exeter EX4 4QD, UK.,School of Marine Science and Engineering, Plymouth University, Drake Circus, Plymouth PL4 8AA, UK
| | - Iliana Chollett
- Smithsonian Marine Station, Smithsonian Institution, Fort Pierce, FL 34949, USA
| | - Juan-Carlos Ortiz
- Marine Spatial Ecology Lab, School of Biological Sciences, University of Queensland, St Lucia, 4072 Queensland, Australia
| | - Sophie Dove
- Coral Reef Ecosystems Lab, School of Biological Sciences, University of Queensland, St Lucia, 4072 Queensland, Australia
| | - Ove Hoegh-Guldberg
- Coral Reef Ecosystems Lab, School of Biological Sciences, University of Queensland, St Lucia, 4072 Queensland, Australia
| | - Peter J Mumby
- College of Life and Environmental Sciences, University of Exeter, Stocker Road, Exeter EX4 4QD, UK.,Marine Spatial Ecology Lab, School of Biological Sciences, University of Queensland, St Lucia, 4072 Queensland, Australia
| | - Jamie R Stevens
- College of Life and Environmental Sciences, University of Exeter, Stocker Road, Exeter EX4 4QD, UK
| |
Collapse
|
26
|
Intraspecific differences in molecular stress responses and coral pathobiome contribute to mortality under bacterial challenge in Acropora millepora. Sci Rep 2017; 7:2609. [PMID: 28572677 PMCID: PMC5454005 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-017-02685-1] [Citation(s) in RCA: 55] [Impact Index Per Article: 7.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/30/2016] [Accepted: 04/18/2017] [Indexed: 11/13/2022] Open
Abstract
Disease causes significant coral mortality worldwide; however, factors responsible for intraspecific variation in disease resistance remain unclear. We exposed fragments of eight Acropora millepora colonies (genotypes) to putatively pathogenic bacteria (Vibrio spp.). Genotypes varied from zero to >90% mortality, with bacterial challenge increasing average mortality rates 4–6 fold and shifting the microbiome in favor of stress-associated taxa. Constitutive immunity and subsequent immune and transcriptomic responses to the challenge were more prominent in high-mortality individuals, whereas low-mortality corals remained largely unaffected and maintained expression signatures of a healthier condition (i.e., did not launch a large stress response). Our results suggest that lesions appeared due to changes in the coral pathobiome (multiple bacterial species associated with disease) and general health deterioration after the biotic disturbance, rather than the direct activity of any specific pathogen. If diseases in nature arise because of weaknesses in holobiont physiology, instead of the virulence of any single etiological agent, environmental stressors compromising coral condition might play a larger role in disease outbreaks than is currently thought. To facilitate the diagnosis of compromised individuals, we developed and independently cross-validated a biomarker assay to predict mortality based on genes whose expression in asymptomatic individuals coincides with mortality rates.
Collapse
|
27
|
Tonk L, Sampayo EM, Chai A, Schrameyer V, Hoegh-Guldberg O. Symbiodinium (Dinophyceae) community patterns in invertebrate hosts from inshore marginal reefs of the southern Great Barrier Reef, Australia. JOURNAL OF PHYCOLOGY 2017; 53:589-600. [PMID: 28196275 DOI: 10.1111/jpy.12523] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/09/2016] [Accepted: 01/03/2017] [Indexed: 06/06/2023]
Abstract
The broad range in physiological variation displayed by Symbiodinium spp. has proven imperative during periods of environmental change and contribute to the survival of their coral host. Characterizing how host and Symbiodinium community assemblages differ across environmentally distinct habitats provides useful information to predict how corals will respond to major environmental change. Despite the extensive characterizations of Symbiodinium diversity found amongst reef cnidarians on the Great Barrier Reef (GBR) substantial biogeographic gaps exist, especially across inshore habitats. Here, we investigate Symbiodinium community patterns in invertebrates from inshore and mid-shelf reefs on the southern GBR, Australia. Dominant Symbiodinium types were characterized using denaturing gradient gel electrophoresis fingerprinting and sequencing of the ITS2 region of the ribosomal DNA. Twenty one genetically distinct Symbiodinium types including four novel types were identified from 321 reef-invertebrate samples comprising three sub-generic clades (A, C, and D). A range of host genera harbored C22a, which is normally rare or absent from inshore or low latitude reefs in the GBR. Multivariate analysis showed that host identity and sea surface temperature best explained the variation in symbiont communities across sites. Patterns of changes in Symbiodinium community assemblage over small geographic distances (100s of kilometers or less) indicate the likelihood that shifts in Symbiodinium distributions and associated host populations, may occur in response to future climate change impacting the GBR.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Linda Tonk
- ARC Centre of Excellence for Coral Reef Studies and School of Biological Sciences, The University of Queensland, St. Lucia, Queensland, 4072, Australia
| | - Eugenia M Sampayo
- ARC Centre of Excellence for Coral Reef Studies and School of Biological Sciences, The University of Queensland, St. Lucia, Queensland, 4072, Australia
| | - Aaron Chai
- ARC Centre of Excellence for Coral Reef Studies and School of Biological Sciences, The University of Queensland, St. Lucia, Queensland, 4072, Australia
| | - Verena Schrameyer
- Plant Functional Biology & Climate Change Cluster, University of Technology Sydney, Broadway, New South Wales, 2007, Australia
| | - Ove Hoegh-Guldberg
- ARC Centre of Excellence for Coral Reef Studies and School of Biological Sciences, The University of Queensland, St. Lucia, Queensland, 4072, Australia
- Global Change Institute, The University of Queensland, St. Lucia, Queensland, 4072, Australia
| |
Collapse
|
28
|
ISA TANZIL JANITHUAIBAH, NG ABIGAYLEPEKKAYE, TEY YIQING, TAN BEVERLYHSINYI, YUN ERICYAO, HUANG DANWEI. A PRELIMINARY CHARACTERISATION OFSYMBIODINIUMDIVERSITY IN SOME COMMON CORALS FROM SINGAPORE. ACTA ACUST UNITED AC 2017. [DOI: 10.1142/s0219607716500014] [Citation(s) in RCA: 19] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/18/2022]
Abstract
The symbiosis between corals and Symbiodinium dinoflagellates is considered a major driver of the distribution and health of reefs worldwide. This study investigated the genetic identities and diversity of Symbiodinium in seven coral species (Porites lutea, Porites lobata, Acropora millepora, Merulina ampliata, Diploastrea heliopora, Pachyseris speciosa, Pocillopora acuta) from three shallow reefs around Singapore (Kusu Island, Pulau Tekukor, Pulau Satumu). Analyses of 31 colonies using denaturing gradient gel electrophoresis of the nuclear internal transcribed spacer region indicated the dominance of C and D Symbiodinium clades. The latter clade was the predominant symbiont in Pachyseris speciosa collected from Pulau Tekukor but those sampled from Pulau Satumu hosted C27, providing evidence for variable symbiosis in this species. The prevalence of the D clade – noted for their stress tolerance (e.g. to elevated temperatures and sedimentation) – in three of seven coral species examined could underlie the importance of this particular symbiotic relationship for the persistence of Singapore’s impacted reefs. Further characterisation of Symbiodinium communities may provide insights into corals’ response to stress and their bleaching patterns in the future.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- JANI THUAIBAH ISA TANZIL
- Earth Observatory of Singapore, Nanyang Technological University, Singapore
- Asian School of the Environment, Nanyang Technological University, Singapore
| | | | - YI QING TEY
- Raffles Science Institute, Raffles Institution, Singapore
| | | | - ERIC YAO YUN
- Raffles Science Institute, Raffles Institution, Singapore
| | - DANWEI HUANG
- Department of Biological Sciences, National University of Singapore, Singapore
- Tropical Marine Science Institute, National University of Singapore, Singapore
| |
Collapse
|
29
|
Tong H, Cai L, Zhou G, Yuan T, Zhang W, Tian R, Huang H, Qian PY. Temperature shapes coral-algal symbiosis in the South China Sea. Sci Rep 2017; 7:40118. [PMID: 28084322 PMCID: PMC5234030 DOI: 10.1038/srep40118] [Citation(s) in RCA: 36] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/16/2016] [Accepted: 12/02/2016] [Indexed: 12/31/2022] Open
Abstract
With the increase in sea surface temperature (SST), scleractinian corals are exposed to bleaching threats but may possess certain flexibilities in terms of their associations with symbiotic algae. Previous studies have shown a close symbiosis between coral the and Symbiodinium; however, the spatial variation of the symbiosis and the attribution underlying are not well understood. In the present study, we examined coral-algal symbiosis in Galaxea fascicularis and Montipora spp. from three biogeographic regions across ~10° of latitude in the South China Sea. Analysis of similarities (ANOSIM) indicated a highly flexible coral-algal symbiosis in both G. fascicularis and Montipora spp. and canonical correspondence analysis (CCA) showed that temperature explained 83.2% and 60.1% of the explanatory subclade variations in G. fascicularis and Montipora spp., respectively, which suggested that temperature was the main environmental factor contributing to the diversity of Symbiodinium across the three regions. The geographic specificity of the Symbiodinium phylogeny was identified, revealing possible environmental selection across the three regions. These results suggest that scleractinian corals may have the ability to regulate Symbiodinium community structures under different temperatures and thus be able to adapt to gradual climate change.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Haoya Tong
- HKUST Shenzhen Research Institute and Division of Life Science, Hong Kong University of Science and Technology, Clear Water Bay, Hong Kong SAR, China
| | - Lin Cai
- HKUST Shenzhen Research Institute and Division of Life Science, Hong Kong University of Science and Technology, Clear Water Bay, Hong Kong SAR, China
| | - Guowei Zhou
- HKUST Shenzhen Research Institute and Division of Life Science, Hong Kong University of Science and Technology, Clear Water Bay, Hong Kong SAR, China.,Key Laboratory of Tropical Marine Bio-resources and Ecology, South China Sea Institute of Oceanology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, China.,Tropical Marine Biological Research Station in Hainan, Chinese Academy of Sciences, China
| | - Tao Yuan
- Key Laboratory of Tropical Marine Bio-resources and Ecology, South China Sea Institute of Oceanology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, China
| | - Weipeng Zhang
- HKUST Shenzhen Research Institute and Division of Life Science, Hong Kong University of Science and Technology, Clear Water Bay, Hong Kong SAR, China
| | - Renmao Tian
- HKUST Shenzhen Research Institute and Division of Life Science, Hong Kong University of Science and Technology, Clear Water Bay, Hong Kong SAR, China
| | - Hui Huang
- Key Laboratory of Tropical Marine Bio-resources and Ecology, South China Sea Institute of Oceanology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, China.,Tropical Marine Biological Research Station in Hainan, Chinese Academy of Sciences, China
| | - Pei-Yuan Qian
- HKUST Shenzhen Research Institute and Division of Life Science, Hong Kong University of Science and Technology, Clear Water Bay, Hong Kong SAR, China
| |
Collapse
|
30
|
Rouzé H, Lecellier GJ, Saulnier D, Planes S, Gueguen Y, Wirshing HH, Berteaux-Lecellier V. An updated assessment of Symbiodinium spp. that associate with common scleractinian corals from Moorea (French Polynesia) reveals high diversity among background symbionts and a novel finding of clade B. PeerJ 2017; 5:e2856. [PMID: 28168100 PMCID: PMC5289445 DOI: 10.7717/peerj.2856] [Citation(s) in RCA: 20] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/20/2016] [Accepted: 12/02/2016] [Indexed: 12/27/2022] Open
Abstract
The adaptative bleaching hypothesis (ABH) states that, depending on the symbiotic flexibility of coral hosts (i.e., the ability of corals to “switch” or “shuffle” their algal symbionts), coral bleaching can lead to a change in the composition of their associated Symbiodinium community and, thus, contribute to the coral’s overall survival. In order to determine the flexibility of corals, molecular tools are required to provide accurate species delineations and to detect low levels of coral-associated Symbiodinium. Here, we used highly sensitive quantitative (real-time) PCR (qPCR) technology to analyse five common coral species from Moorea (French Polynesia), previously screened using only traditional molecular methods, to assess the presence of low-abundance (background) Symbiodinium spp. Similar to other studies, each coral species exhibited a strong specificity to a particular clade, irrespective of the environment. In addition, however, each of the five species harboured at least one additional Symbiodinium clade, among clades A–D, at background levels. Unexpectedly, and for the first time in French Polynesia, clade B was detected as a coral symbiont. These results increase the number of known coral-Symbiodinium associations from corals found in French Polynesia, and likely indicate an underestimation of the ability of the corals in this region to associate with and/or “shuffle” different Symbiodinium clades. Altogether our data suggest that corals from French Polynesia may favor a trade-off between optimizing symbioses with a specific Symbiodinium clade(s), maintaining associations with particular background clades that may play a role in the ability of corals to respond to environmental change.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Héloïse Rouzé
- PSL CRIOBE USR3278 CNRS-EPHE-UPVD, Labex CORAIL , Papetoai , Moorea , French Polynesia
| | - Gaël J Lecellier
- PSL CRIOBE USR3278 CNRS-EPHE-UPVD, Labex CORAIL, Papetoai, Moorea, French Polynesia; Université de Paris Saclay, Departement de Biologie, Versailles-Saint Quentin, Paris, Versailles Cedex, France; Current affiliation: UMR250/9220 ENTROPIE IRD-CNRS-UR, Labex CORAIL, Promenade Roger-Laroque, Noumea cedex, New Caledonia, France
| | - Denis Saulnier
- UMR241 EIO Ifremer-ILM-IRD-UPF, Labex CORAIL , Taravao , French Polynesia
| | - Serge Planes
- PSL CRIOBE USR3278 CNRS-EPHE-UPVD, Labex CORAIL , Papetoai , Moorea , French Polynesia
| | - Yannick Gueguen
- UMR5244 IHPE, CNRS-Ifremer-UM-UPVD, Université de Montpellier , Montpellier , France
| | - Herman H Wirshing
- Department of Invertebrate Zoology, Smithsonian National Museum of Natural History , Washington, D.C. , USA
| | - Véronique Berteaux-Lecellier
- PSL CRIOBE USR3278 CNRS-EPHE-UPVD, Labex CORAIL, Papetoai, Moorea, French Polynesia; Current affiliation: UMR250/9220 ENTROPIE IRD-CNRS-UR, Labex CORAIL, Promenade Roger-Laroque, Noumea cedex, New Caledonia, France
| |
Collapse
|
31
|
Bay LK, Doyle J, Logan M, Berkelmans R. Recovery from bleaching is mediated by threshold densities of background thermo-tolerant symbiont types in a reef-building coral. ROYAL SOCIETY OPEN SCIENCE 2016; 3:160322. [PMID: 27429786 PMCID: PMC4929921 DOI: 10.1098/rsos.160322] [Citation(s) in RCA: 39] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/11/2016] [Accepted: 05/27/2016] [Indexed: 05/24/2023]
Abstract
Sensitive molecular analyses show that most corals host a complement of Symbiodinium genotypes that includes thermo-tolerant types in low abundance. While tolerant symbiont types are hypothesized to facilitate tolerance to temperature and recovery from bleaching, empirical data on their distribution and relative abundance in corals under ambient and stress conditions are still rare. We quantified visual bleaching and mortality of coral hosts, along with relative abundance of C- and D-type Symbiodinium cells in 82 Acropora millepora colonies from three locations on the Great Barrier Reef transplanted to a central inshore site over a 13 month period. Our analyses reveal dynamic change in symbiont associations within colonies and among populations over time. Coral bleaching and declines in C- but not D-type symbionts were observed in transplanted corals. Survival and recovery of 25% of corals from one population was associated with either initial D-dominance or an increase in D-type symbionts that could be predicted by a minimum pre-stress D : C ratio of 0.003. One-third of corals from this population became D dominated at the bleached stage despite no initial detection of this symbiont type, but failed to recover and died in mid to late summer. These results provide a predictive threshold minimum density of background D-type symbionts in A. millepora, above which survival following extreme thermal stress is increased.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Line K. Bay
- Adaptation and Resilience of Coral Reefs to Climate Change, Australian Institute of Marine Science, PMB 3 Townsville MC, Townsville, Queensland 4810, Australia
- ARC Centre of Excellence for Coral Reef Studies, James Cook University, Townsville, Queensland 4811, Australia
| | - Jason Doyle
- Adaptation and Resilience of Coral Reefs to Climate Change, Australian Institute of Marine Science, PMB 3 Townsville MC, Townsville, Queensland 4810, Australia
| | - Murray Logan
- Adaptation and Resilience of Coral Reefs to Climate Change, Australian Institute of Marine Science, PMB 3 Townsville MC, Townsville, Queensland 4810, Australia
| | - Ray Berkelmans
- Adaptation and Resilience of Coral Reefs to Climate Change, Australian Institute of Marine Science, PMB 3 Townsville MC, Townsville, Queensland 4810, Australia
| |
Collapse
|
32
|
Howells EJ, Willis BL, Bay LK, van Oppen MJH. Microsatellite allele sizes alone are insufficient to delineate species boundaries inSymbiodinium. Mol Ecol 2016; 25:2719-23. [DOI: 10.1111/mec.13631] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/08/2015] [Revised: 02/10/2016] [Accepted: 03/29/2016] [Indexed: 11/29/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- E. J. Howells
- Center for Genomics and Systems Biology; New York University Abu Dhabi; Saadiyat Island Abu Dhabi United Arab Emirates
| | - B. L. Willis
- ARC Centre of Excellence for Coral Reef Studies and College of Marine and Environmental Sciences; James Cook University; Townsville Qld 4811 Australia
| | - L. K. Bay
- Australian Institute of Marine Science; PMB 3 MC Townsville Qld 4810 Australia
| | - M. J. H. van Oppen
- Australian Institute of Marine Science; PMB 3 MC Townsville Qld 4810 Australia
- School of Biosciences; The University of Melbourne; Parkville Vic. 3052 Australia
| |
Collapse
|
33
|
Coral community response to bleaching on a highly disturbed reef. Sci Rep 2016; 6:20717. [PMID: 26876092 PMCID: PMC4753424 DOI: 10.1038/srep20717] [Citation(s) in RCA: 83] [Impact Index Per Article: 10.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/11/2015] [Accepted: 01/06/2016] [Indexed: 11/15/2022] Open
Abstract
While many studies of coral bleaching report on broad, regional scale responses, fewer examine variation in susceptibility among coral taxa and changes in community structure, before, during and after bleaching on individual reefs. Here we report in detail on the response to bleaching by a coral community on a highly disturbed reef site south of mainland Singapore before, during and after a major thermal anomaly in 2010. To estimate the capacity for resistance to thermal stress, we report on: a) overall bleaching severity during and after the event, b) differences in bleaching susceptibility among taxa during the event, and c) changes in coral community structure one year before and after bleaching. Approximately two thirds of colonies bleached, however, post-bleaching recovery was quite rapid and, importantly, coral taxa that are usually highly susceptible were relatively unaffected. Although total coral cover declined, there was no significant change in coral taxonomic community structure before and after bleaching. Several factors may have contributed to the overall high resistance of corals at this site including Symbiodinium affiliation, turbidity and heterotrophy. Our results suggest that, despite experiencing chronic anthropogenic disturbances, turbid shallow reef communities may be remarkably resilient to acute thermal stress.
Collapse
|
34
|
Rouzé H, Lecellier G, Saulnier D, Berteaux‐Lecellier V. Symbiodinium clades A and D differentially predispose Acropora cytherea to disease and Vibrio spp. colonization. Ecol Evol 2016; 6:560-72. [PMID: 26843939 PMCID: PMC4729262 DOI: 10.1002/ece3.1895] [Citation(s) in RCA: 37] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/24/2015] [Accepted: 11/24/2015] [Indexed: 12/30/2022] Open
Abstract
Coral disease outbreaks have increased over the last three decades, but their causal agents remain mostly unclear (e.g., bacteria, viruses, fungi, protists). This study details a 14-month-long survey of coral colonies in which observations of the development of disease was observed in nearly half of the sampled colonies. A bimonthly qPCR method was used to quantitatively and qualitatively evaluate Symbiodinium assemblages of tagged colonies, and to detect the presence of Vibrio spp. Firstly, our data showed that predisposition to disease development in general, and, more specifically, infection by Vibrio spp. in Acropora cytherea depended on which clades of Symbiodinium were harbored. In both cases, harboring clade D rather than A was beneficial to the coral host. Secondly, the detection of Vibrio spp. in only colonies that developed disease strongly suggests opportunistic traits of the bacteria. Finally, even if sporadic cases of switching and probably shuffling were observed, this long-term survey does not suggest specific-clade recruitment in response to stressors. Altogether, our results demonstrate that the fitness of the coral holobiont depends on its initial consortium of Symbiodinium, which is distinct among colonies, rather than a temporary adaptation achieved through acquiring different Symbiodinium clades.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Héloïse Rouzé
- USR3278 CRIOBE CNRS‐EPHE‐UPVDBP 1013 PapetoaiMoorea98729Polynésie française
- Laboratoire d'Excellence “CORAIL”58 Avenue Paul AlduyPerpignan Cedex66860France
| | - Gaël Lecellier
- USR3278 CRIOBE CNRS‐EPHE‐UPVDBP 1013 PapetoaiMoorea98729Polynésie française
- Laboratoire d'Excellence “CORAIL”58 Avenue Paul AlduyPerpignan Cedex66860France
- Université de Versailles‐Saint Quentin en Yvelines55 Avenue de ParisVersailles Cedex78035France
| | - Denis Saulnier
- Laboratoire d'Excellence “CORAIL”58 Avenue Paul AlduyPerpignan Cedex66860France
- UMR241 EIO Ifremer‐ILM‐IRD‐UPFB.P 7004Taravao98719Polynésie française
| | - Véronique Berteaux‐Lecellier
- USR3278 CRIOBE CNRS‐EPHE‐UPVDBP 1013 PapetoaiMoorea98729Polynésie française
- Laboratoire d'Excellence “CORAIL”58 Avenue Paul AlduyPerpignan Cedex66860France
| |
Collapse
|
35
|
Blackall LL, Wilson B, van Oppen MJH. Coral-the world's most diverse symbiotic ecosystem. Mol Ecol 2015; 24:5330-47. [DOI: 10.1111/mec.13400] [Citation(s) in RCA: 118] [Impact Index Per Article: 13.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/24/2015] [Revised: 09/21/2015] [Accepted: 09/24/2015] [Indexed: 12/22/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- Linda L. Blackall
- Department of Chemistry and Biotechnology; Faculty of Science, Engineering & Technology; Swinburne University of Technology; Melbourne Vic. 3122 Australia
| | - Bryan Wilson
- Marine Microbiology Research Group; Department of Biology; University of Bergen; Thormøhlensgate 53B 5020 Bergen Norway
| | - Madeleine J. H. van Oppen
- Australian Institute of Marine Science; PMB No. 3 Townsville MC Qld. 4810 Australia
- School of BioSciences; The University of Melbourne; Parkville Vic. 3010 Australia
| |
Collapse
|
36
|
van Dam JW, Uthicke S, Beltran VH, Mueller JF, Negri AP. Combined thermal and herbicide stress in functionally diverse coral symbionts. ENVIRONMENTAL POLLUTION (BARKING, ESSEX : 1987) 2015; 204:271-279. [PMID: 25989453 DOI: 10.1016/j.envpol.2015.05.013] [Citation(s) in RCA: 18] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/23/2015] [Revised: 04/29/2015] [Accepted: 05/08/2015] [Indexed: 06/04/2023]
Abstract
Most reef building corals rely on symbiotic microalgae (genus Symbiodinium) to supply a substantial proportion of their energy requirements. Functional diversity of different Symbiodinium genotypes, endorsing the host with physiological advantages, has been widely reported. Yet, the influence of genotypic specificity on the symbiont's susceptibility to contaminants or cumulative stressors is unknown. Cultured Symbiodinium of presumed thermal-tolerant clade D tested especially vulnerable to the widespread herbicide diuron, suggesting important free-living populations may be at risk in areas subjected to terrestrial runoff. Co-exposure experiments where cultured Symbiodinium were exposed to diuron over a thermal stress gradient demonstrated how fast-growing clade C1 better maintained photosynthetic capability than clade D. The mixture toxicity model of Independent Action, considering combined thermal stress and herbicide contamination, revealed response additivity for inhibition of photosynthetic yield in both tested cultures, emphasizing the need to account for cumulative stressor impacts in ecological risk assessment and resource management.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- J W van Dam
- Australian Institute of Marine Science, PO Box 41775, Casuarina, NT 0811, Australia; The University of Queensland, School of Biological Sciences, St. Lucia, QLD 4072, Australia; Australian Institute of Marine Science, PMB 3, Townsville MC, Townsville, QLD 4810, Australia.
| | - S Uthicke
- Australian Institute of Marine Science, PMB 3, Townsville MC, Townsville, QLD 4810, Australia.
| | - V H Beltran
- Australian Institute of Marine Science, PMB 3, Townsville MC, Townsville, QLD 4810, Australia.
| | - J F Mueller
- The University of Queensland, National Research Centre for Environmental Toxicology, 39 Kessels Road, Coopers Plains, QLD 4108, Australia.
| | - A P Negri
- Australian Institute of Marine Science, PMB 3, Townsville MC, Townsville, QLD 4810, Australia.
| |
Collapse
|
37
|
Thomas L, Kendrick GA, Kennington WJ, Richards ZT, Stat M. ExploringSymbiodiniumdiversity and host specificity inAcroporacorals from geographical extremes of Western Australia with 454 amplicon pyrosequencing. Mol Ecol 2014; 23:3113-26. [DOI: 10.1111/mec.12801] [Citation(s) in RCA: 62] [Impact Index Per Article: 6.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/05/2014] [Revised: 05/12/2014] [Accepted: 05/16/2014] [Indexed: 01/09/2023]
Affiliation(s)
- L. Thomas
- The Oceans Institute (M470); The University of Western Australia; Crawley Perth WA 6009 Australia
- School of Plant Biology (M084); The University of Western Australia; Crawley Perth WA 6009 Australia
| | - G. A. Kendrick
- The Oceans Institute (M470); The University of Western Australia; Crawley Perth WA 6009 Australia
- School of Plant Biology (M084); The University of Western Australia; Crawley Perth WA 6009 Australia
| | - W. J. Kennington
- Centre for Evolutionary Biology (M092); School of Animal Biology; The University of Western Australia; Crawley Perth WA 6009 Australia
| | - Z. T. Richards
- Department of Aquatic Biology; Western Australian Museum; Welshpool Perth WA 6106 Australia
| | - M. Stat
- The Oceans Institute (M470); The University of Western Australia; Crawley Perth WA 6009 Australia
- Centre for Microscopy; Characterisation and Analysis (M010); The University of Western Australia; Crawley Perth WA 6009 Australia
- Australian Institute of Marine Science; Crawley Perth WA 6009 Australia
- CSIRO Marine and Atmospheric Research; Mount Claremont Perth WA 6010 Australia
| |
Collapse
|
38
|
Tonk L, Sampayo EM, LaJeunesse TC, Schrameyer V, Hoegh-Guldberg O. Symbiodinium (Dinophyceae) diversity in reef-invertebrates along an offshore to inshore reef gradient near Lizard Island, Great Barrier Reef. JOURNAL OF PHYCOLOGY 2014; 50:552-63. [PMID: 26988327 DOI: 10.1111/jpy.12185] [Citation(s) in RCA: 25] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/23/2013] [Accepted: 02/13/2014] [Indexed: 05/22/2023]
Abstract
Despite extensive work on the genetic diversity of reef invertebrate-dinoflagellate symbioses on the Great Barrier Reef (GBR; Australia), large information gaps exist from northern and inshore regions. Therefore, a broad survey was done comparing the community of inshore, mid-shelf and outer reefs at the latitude of Lizard Island. Symbiodinium (Freudenthal) diversity was characterized using denaturing gradient gel electrophoresis fingerprinting and sequencing of the ITS2 region of the ribosomal DNA. Thirty-nine distinct Symbiodinium types were identified from four subgeneric clades (B, C, D, and G). Several Symbiodinium types originally characterized from the Indian Ocean were discovered as well as eight novel types (C1kk, C1LL, C3nn, C26b, C161a, C162, C165, C166). Multivariate analyses on the Symbiodinium species diversity data showed a strong link with host identity, consistent with previous findings. Of the four environmental variables tested, mean austral winter sea surface temperature (SST) influenced Symbiodinium distribution across shelves most significantly. A similar result was found when the analysis was performed on Symbiodinium diversity data of genera with an open symbiont transmission mode separately with chl a and PAR explaining additional variation. This study underscores the importance of SST and water quality related variables as factors driving Symbiodinium distribution on cross-shelf scales. Furthermore, this study expands our knowledge on Symbiodinium species diversity, ecological partitioning (including host-specificity) and geographic ranges across the GBR. The accelerating rate of environmental change experienced by coral reef ecosystems emphasizes the need to comprehend the full complexity of cnidarian symbioses, including the biotic and abiotic factors that shape their current distributions.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Linda Tonk
- ARC Centre of Excellence for Coral Reef Studies and School of Biological Sciences, The University of Queensland, St. Lucia, Queensland, 4072, Australia
| | - Eugenia M Sampayo
- ARC Centre of Excellence for Coral Reef Studies and School of Biological Sciences, The University of Queensland, St. Lucia, Queensland, 4072, Australia
| | - Todd C LaJeunesse
- Department of Biology, The Pennsylvania State University, University Park, Pennsylvania, 16802, USA
| | - Verena Schrameyer
- Plant Functional Biology & Climate Change Cluster, University of Technology Sydney, Ultimo, New South Wales, 2007, Australia
| | - Ove Hoegh-Guldberg
- ARC Centre of Excellence for Coral Reef Studies and School of Biological Sciences, The University of Queensland, St. Lucia, Queensland, 4072, Australia
- Global Change Institute, The University of Queensland, St. Lucia, Queensland, 4072, Australia
| |
Collapse
|
39
|
Tonk L, Sampayo EM, Weeks S, Magno-Canto M, Hoegh-Guldberg O. Host-specific interactions with environmental factors shape the distribution of symbiodinium across the Great Barrier Reef. PLoS One 2013; 8:e68533. [PMID: 23844217 PMCID: PMC3701053 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0068533] [Citation(s) in RCA: 51] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/20/2013] [Accepted: 05/30/2013] [Indexed: 11/19/2022] Open
Abstract
Background The endosymbiotic dinoflagellates (genus Symbiodinium) within coral reef invertebrates are critical to the survival of the holobiont. The genetic variability of Symbiodinium may contribute to the tolerance of the symbiotic association to elevated sea surface temperatures (SST). To assess the importance of factors such as the local environment, host identity and biogeography in driving Symbiodinium distributions on reef-wide scales, data from studies on reef invertebrate-Symbiodinium associations from the Great Barrier Reef (GBR) were compiled. Methodology/Principal Findings The resulting database consisted of 3717 entries from 26 studies. It was used to explore ecological patterns such as host-specificity and environmental drivers structuring community complexity using a multi-scalar approach. The data was analyzed in several ways: (i) frequently sampled host species were analyzed independently to investigate the influence of the environment on symbiont distributions, thereby excluding the influence of host specificity, (ii) host species distributions across sites were added as an environmental variable to determine the contribution of host identity on symbiont distribution, and (iii) data were pooled based on clade (broad genetic groups dividing the genus Symbiodinium) to investigate factors driving Symbiodinium distributions using lower taxonomic resolution. The results indicated that host species identity plays a dominant role in determining the distribution of Symbiodinium and environmental variables shape distributions on a host species-specific level. SST derived variables (especially SSTstdev) most often contributed to the selection of the best model. Clade level comparisons decreased the power of the predictive model indicating that it fails to incorporate the main drivers behind Symbiodinium distributions. Conclusions/Significance Including the influence of different host species on Symbiodinium distributional patterns improves our understanding of the drivers behind the complexity of Symbiodinium-invertebrate symbioses. This will increase our ability to generate realistic models estimating the risk reefs are exposed to and their resilience in response to a changing climate.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Linda Tonk
- ARC Centre of Excellence for Coral Reef Studies and School of Biological Sciences, The University of Queensland, St Lucia, Queensland, Australia.
| | | | | | | | | |
Collapse
|
40
|
Howells EJ, Willis BL, Bay LK, van Oppen MJH. Spatial and temporal genetic structure of Symbiodinium populations within a common reef-building coral on the Great Barrier Reef. Mol Ecol 2013; 22:3693-708. [PMID: 23730715 DOI: 10.1111/mec.12342] [Citation(s) in RCA: 29] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/28/2011] [Revised: 03/15/2013] [Accepted: 03/27/2013] [Indexed: 11/28/2022]
Abstract
The dinoflagellate photosymbiont Symbiodinium plays a fundamental role in defining the physiological tolerances of coral holobionts, but little is known about the dynamics of these endosymbiotic populations on coral reefs. Sparse data indicate that Symbiodinium populations show limited spatial connectivity; however, no studies have investigated temporal dynamics for in hospite Symbiodinium populations following significant mortality and recruitment events in coral populations. We investigated the combined influences of spatial isolation and disturbance on the population dynamics of the generalist Symbiodinium type C2 (ITS1 rDNA) hosted by the scleractinian coral Acropora millepora in the central Great Barrier Reef. Using eight microsatellite markers, we genotyped Symbiodinium in a total of 401 coral colonies, which were sampled from seven sites across a 12-year period including during flood plume-induced coral bleaching. Genetic differentiation of Symbiodinium was greatest within sites, explaining 70-86% of the total genetic variation. An additional 9-27% of variation was explained by significant differentiation of populations among sites separated by 0.4-13 km, which is consistent with low levels of dispersal via water movement and historical disturbance regimes. Sampling year accounted for 6-7% of total genetic variation and was related to significant coral mortality following severe bleaching in 1998 and a cyclone in 2006. Only 3% of the total genetic variation was related to coral bleaching status, reflecting generally small (8%) reductions in allelic diversity within bleached corals. This reduction probably reflected a loss of genotypes in hospite during bleaching, although no site-wide changes in genetic diversity were observed. Combined, our results indicate the importance of disturbance regimes acting together with limited oceanographic transport to determine the genetic composition of Symbiodinium types within reefs.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Emily J Howells
- School of Marine and Tropical Biology, James Cook University, Townsville, Qld, 4811, Australia.
| | | | | | | |
Collapse
|
41
|
Noonan SHC, Fabricius KE, Humphrey C. Symbiodinium community composition in scleractinian corals is not affected by life-long exposure to elevated carbon dioxide. PLoS One 2013; 8:e63985. [PMID: 23717522 PMCID: PMC3661590 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0063985] [Citation(s) in RCA: 24] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/03/2012] [Accepted: 04/12/2013] [Indexed: 12/22/2022] Open
Abstract
Ocean acidification (OA) is expected to negatively affect coral reefs, however little is known about how OA will change the coral-algal symbiosis on which reefs ultimately depend. This study investigated whether there would be differences in coral Symbiodinium types in response to OA, potentially improving coral performance. We used denaturing gradient gel electrophoresis (DGGE) of the internal transcribed spacer 2 (ITS2) region of ribosomal DNA to investigate the dominant types of Symbiodinium associating with six species of scleractinian coral that were exposed to elevated partial pressures of carbon dioxide (pCO2) in situ from settlement and throughout their lives. The study was conducted at three naturally occurring volcanic CO2 seeps (pCO2 ∼500 to 900 ppm, pHTotal 7.8 - 7.9) and adjacent control areas (pCO2 ∼390 ppm, pHTotal ∼8.0 - 8.05) in Papua New Guinea. The Symbiodinium associated with corals living in an extreme seep site (pCO2 >1000 ppm) were also examined. Ten clade C types and three clade D types dominated the 443 coral samples. Symbiodinium types strongly contrasted between coral species, however, no differences were observed due to CO2 exposure. Within five species, 85 - 95% of samples exhibited the same Symbiodinium type across all sites, with remaining rare types having no patterns attributable to CO2 exposure. The sixth species of coral displayed site specific differences in Symbiodinium types, unrelated to CO2 exposure. Symbiodinium types from the coral inhabiting the extreme CO2 seep site were found commonly throughout the moderate seeps and control areas. Our finding that symbiotic associations did not change in response to CO2 exposure suggest that, within the six coral hosts, none of the investigated 13 clade C and D Symbiodinium types had a selective advantage at high pCO2. Acclimatisation through changing symbiotic association therefore does not seem to be an option for Indo-Pacific corals to deal with future OA.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Sam H C Noonan
- Australian Institute of Marine Science, Townsville, Queensland, Australia.
| | | | | |
Collapse
|
42
|
Stat M, Pochon X, Franklin EC, Bruno JF, Casey KS, Selig ER, Gates RD. The distribution of the thermally tolerant symbiont lineage (Symbiodinium clade D) in corals from Hawaii: correlations with host and the history of ocean thermal stress. Ecol Evol 2013; 3:1317-29. [PMID: 23762518 PMCID: PMC3678486 DOI: 10.1002/ece3.556] [Citation(s) in RCA: 37] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/26/2012] [Revised: 03/06/2013] [Accepted: 03/08/2013] [Indexed: 11/23/2022] Open
Abstract
Spatially intimate symbioses, such as those between scleractinian corals and unicellular algae belonging to the genus Symbiodinium, can potentially adapt to changes in the environment by altering the taxonomic composition of their endosymbiont communities. We quantified the spatial relationship between the cumulative frequency of thermal stress anomalies (TSAs) and the taxonomic composition of Symbiodinium in the corals Montipora capitata, Porites lobata, and Porites compressa across the Hawaiian archipelago. Specifically, we investigated whether thermally tolerant clade D Symbiodinium was in greater abundance in corals from sites with high frequencies of TSAs. We recovered 2305 Symbiodinium ITS2 sequences from 242 coral colonies in lagoonal reef habitats at Pearl and Hermes Atoll, French Frigate Shoals, and Kaneohe Bay, Oahu in 2007. Sequences were grouped into 26 operational taxonomic units (OTUs) with 12 OTUs associated with Montipora and 21 with Porites. Both coral genera associated with Symbiodinium in clade C, and these co-occurred with clade D in M. capitata and clade G in P. lobata. The latter represents the first report of clade G Symbiodinium in P. lobata. In M. capitata (but not Porites spp.), there was a significant correlation between the presence of Symbiodinium in clade D and a thermal history characterized by high cumulative frequency of TSAs. The endogenous community composition of Symbiodinium and an association with clade D symbionts after long-term thermal disturbance appear strongly dependent on the taxa of the coral host.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Michael Stat
- The UWA Oceans Institute and Centre for Microscopy, Characterisation and Analysis, The University of Western Australia 35 Stirling Hwy, Crawley, Western Australia, Australia, 6009 ; Australian Institute of Marine Science 35 Stirling Hwy, Crawley, Western Australia, Australia, 6009 ; CSIRO Marine and Atmospheric Research Private Mail Bag 5, Wembley, Western Australia, Australia, 6913
| | | | | | | | | | | | | |
Collapse
|
43
|
Nitrate competition in a coral symbiosis varies with temperature among Symbiodinium clades. ISME JOURNAL 2013; 7:1248-51. [PMID: 23407311 DOI: 10.1038/ismej.2013.12] [Citation(s) in RCA: 89] [Impact Index Per Article: 8.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/08/2022]
Abstract
Many reef-building corals form symbioses with dinoflagellates from the diverse genus Symbiodinium. There is increasing evidence of functional significance to Symbiodinium diversity, which affects the coral holobiont's response to changing environmental conditions. For example, corals hosting Symbiodinium from the clade D taxon exhibit greater resistance to heat-induced coral bleaching than conspecifics hosting the more common clade C. Yet, the relatively low prevalence of clade D suggests that this trait is not advantageous in non-stressful environments. Thus, clade D may only be able to out-compete other Symbiodinium types within the host habitat when conditions are chronically stressful. Previous studies have observed enhanced photosynthesis and fitness by clade C holobionts at non-stressful temperatures, relative to clade D. Yet, carbon-centered metrics cannot account for enhanced growth rates and patterns of symbiont succession to other genetic types when nitrogen often limits reef productivity. To investigate the metabolic costs of hosting thermally tolerant symbionts, we examined the assimilation and translocation of inorganic (15)N and (13)C in the coral Acropora tenuis experimentally infected with either clade C (sub-type C1) or D Symbiodinium at 28 and 30 °C. We show that at 28 °C, C1 holobionts acquired 22% more (15)N than clade D. However, at 30 °C, C1 symbionts acquired equivalent nitrogen and 16% less carbon than D. We hypothesize that C1 competitively excludes clade D in hospite via enhanced nitrogen acquisition and thus dominates coral populations despite warming oceans.
Collapse
|