Coral host transcriptomic states are correlated with Symbiodinium genotypes

A mutualistic relationship between reef-building corals and endosymbiotic dinoflagellates (Symbiodinium spp.) forms the basis for the existence of coral reefs. Genotyping tools for Symbiodinium spp. have added a new level of complexity to studies concerning cnidarian growth, nutrient acquisition, an...

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Published in:Molecular ecology 2010-03, Vol.19 (6), p.1174-1186
Main Authors: De Salvo, M.K, Sunagawa, S, Fisher, P.L, Voolstra, C.R, Iglesias-Prieto, R, Medina, M
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Acclimatization - genetics
Animals
Anthozoa - genetics
coral bleaching
Coral reefs
Dinoflagellida - classification
Dinoflagellida - genetics
Dinoflagellida - physiology
Ecology
gene expression
Gene Expression Profiling
Genotype
Genotype & phenotype
Hot Temperature
Marine
microarray
Molecular biology
Montastraea faveolata
Oligonucleotide Array Sequence Analysis
Symbiodinium
Symbiosis
thermal stress
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Summary:A mutualistic relationship between reef-building corals and endosymbiotic dinoflagellates (Symbiodinium spp.) forms the basis for the existence of coral reefs. Genotyping tools for Symbiodinium spp. have added a new level of complexity to studies concerning cnidarian growth, nutrient acquisition, and stress. For example, the response of the coral holobiont to thermal stress is connected to the host-Symbiodinium genotypic combination, as different partnerships can have different bleaching susceptibilities. In this study, we monitored Symbiodinium physiological parameters and profiled the coral host transcriptional responses in acclimated, thermally stressed, and recovered fragments of the coral Montastraea faveolata using a custom cDNA gene expression microarray. Interestingly, gene expression was more similar among samples with the same Symbiodinium content rather than the same experimental condition. In order to discount for host-genotypic effects, we sampled fragments from a single colony of M. faveolata containing different symbiont types, and found that the host transcriptomic states grouped according to Symbiodinium genotype rather than thermal stress. As the first study that links coral host transcriptomic patterns to the clade content of their Symbiodinium community, our results provide a critical step to elucidating the molecular basis of the apparent variability seen among different coral-Symbiodinium partnerships.
ISSN:0962-1083
1365-294X
DOI:10.1111/j.1365-294X.2010.04534.x