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Niche specialization of reef-building corals in the mesophotic zone: metabolic trade-offs between divergent Symbiodinium types.

ABSTRACT: The photobiology of two reef corals and the distribution of associated symbiont types were investigated over a depth gradient of 0-60 m at Scott Reef, Western Australia. Pachyseris speciosa hosted mainly the same Symbiodinium C type similar to C3 irrespective of sampling depth. By contrast, Seriatopora hystrix hosted predominantly Symbiodinium type D1a or D1a-like at shallow depths while those in deeper water were dominated by a Symbiodinium C type closely related to C1. The photosynthesis/respiration (P/R) ratio increased consistently with depth at the two sampling times (November 2008 and April 2009) for P. speciosa and in November 2008 only for S. hystrix, suggesting a reduction in metabolic energy expended for every unit of energy obtained from photosynthesis. However, in April 2009, shallow colonies of S. hystrix exhibited decreased P/R ratios down to depths of approximately 23 m, below which the ratio increased towards the maximum depth sampled. This pattern was mirrored by changes in tissue biomass determined as total protein content. The depth of change in the direction of the P/R ratio correlated with a shift from Symbiodinium D to C-dominated colonies. We conclude that while photobiological flexibility is vital for persistence in contrasting light regimes, a shift in Symbiodinium type may also confer a functional advantage albeit at a metabolic cost with increased depth.

SUBMITTER: Cooper TF

PROVIDER: S-EPMC3097838 | biostudies-literature | 2011 Jun

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature

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Niche specialization of reef-building corals in the mesophotic zone: metabolic trade-offs between divergent Symbiodinium types.

Cooper Timothy F TF Ulstrup Karin E KE Dandan Sana S SS Heyward Andrew J AJ Kühl Michael M Muirhead Andrew A O'Leary Rebecca A RA Ziersen Bibi E F BE Van Oppen Madeleine J H MJ

Proceedings. Biological sciences 20101124 1713

The photobiology of two reef corals and the distribution of associated symbiont types were investigated over a depth gradient of 0-60 m at Scott Reef, Western Australia. Pachyseris speciosa hosted mainly the same Symbiodinium C type similar to C3 irrespective of sampling depth. By contrast, Seriatopora hystrix hosted predominantly Symbiodinium type D1a or D1a-like at shallow depths while those in deeper water were dominated by a Symbiodinium C type closely related to C1. The photosynthesis/respi ...[more]

PMID: 21106586

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Project description:The capacity of reef-building corals to associate with environmentally-appropriate types of endosymbionts from the dinoflagellate genus Symbiodinium contributes significantly to their success at local scales. Additionally, some corals are able to acclimatize to environmental perturbations by shuffling the relative proportions of different Symbiodinium types hosted. Understanding the dynamics of these symbioses requires a sensitive and quantitative method of Symbiodinium genotyping. Electrophoresis methods, still widely utilized for this purpose, are predominantly qualitative and cannot guarantee detection of a background type below 10% of the total Symbiodinium population. Here, the relative abundances of four Symbiodinium types (A13, C1, C3, and D1) in mixed samples of known composition were quantified using deep sequencing of the internal transcribed spacer of the ribosomal RNA gene (ITS-2) by means of Next Generation Sequencing (NGS) using Roche 454. In samples dominated by each of the four Symbiodinium types tested, background levels of the other three types were detected when present at 5%, 1%, and 0.1% levels, and their relative abundances were quantified with high (A13, C1, D1) to variable (C3) accuracy. The potential of this deep sequencing method for resolving fine-scale genetic diversity within a symbiont type was further demonstrated in a natural symbiosis using ITS-1, and uncovered reef-specific differences in the composition of Symbiodinium microadriaticum in two species of acroporid corals (Acropora digitifera and A. hyacinthus) from Palau. The ability of deep sequencing of the ITS locus (1 and 2) to detect and quantify low-abundant Symbiodinium types, as well as finer-scale diversity below the type level, will enable more robust quantification of local genetic diversity in Symbiodinium populations. This method will help to elucidate the role that background types have in maximizing coral fitness across diverse environments and in response to environmental change.

Dataset Information

Niche specialization of reef-building corals in the mesophotic zone: metabolic trade-offs between divergent Symbiodinium types.

Publications

Niche specialization of reef-building corals in the mesophotic zone: metabolic trade-offs between divergent Symbiodinium types.

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