A stony coral cell atlas illuminates the molecular and cellular basis of coral symbiosis, calcification, and immunity

• Published in: Cell 2021-05, Vol.184 (11), p.2973-2987.e18
• Main Authors: Levy, Shani, Elek, Anamaria, Grau-Bové, Xavier, Menéndez-Bravo, Simón, Iglesias, Marta, Tanay, Amos, Mass, Tali, Sebé-Pedrós, Arnau
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Animals; Anthozoa - genetics; Anthozoa - growth & development; Anthozoa - metabolism; biomineralization; Biomineralization - genetics; Biomineralization - physiology; Calcinosis - genetics; Calcinosis - metabolism; cell type diversity; Cnidaria; Coral Reefs; dinoflagellates; Ecosystem; evolution; Immunity - genetics; invertebrate immunity; Phylogeny; scRNA-seq; Sequence Analysis, RNA - methods; Single-Cell Analysis - methods; Symbiosis - genetics
• ISSN: 0092-8674; 1097-4172
• DOI: 10.1016/j.cell.2021.04.005

Stony corals are colonial cnidarians that sustain the most biodiverse marine ecosystems on Earth: coral reefs. Despite their ecological importance, little is known about the cell types and molecular pathways that underpin the biology of reef-building corals. Using single-cell RNA sequencing, we define over 40 cell types across the life cycle of Stylophora pistillata. We discover specialized immune cells, and we uncover the developmental gene expression dynamics of calcium-carbonate skeleton formation. By simultaneously measuring the transcriptomes of coral cells and the algae within them, we characterize the metabolic programs involved in symbiosis in both partners. We also trace the evolution of these coral cell specializations by phylogenetic integration of multiple cnidarian cell type atlases. Overall, this study reveals the molecular and cellular basis of stony coral biology. [Display omitted] •Whole-organism single-cell analysis of the stony coral Stylophora pistillata•Skeleton formation and symbiosis-associated gene expression dynamics•Identification of immune cell programs in Stylophora pistillata•Conserved broad cell type identities across cnidarian lineages Over 40 cell types across the life cycle of Stylophora pistillata, a stony coral, are identified through the use of single-cell RNA sequencing. From this reference atlas, the molecular pathways underpinning coral reef building, specialized immune cells, and the metabolic programs involved in symbiosis between coral and algae partners are described.