Flexibility in Algal Endosymbioses Shapes Growth in Reef Corals

Little, Angela F.; Oppen, Madeleine J. H. van; Willis, Bette L.

doi:10.1126/science.1095733

Cited by 536 publications

(584 citation statements)

References 17 publications

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“…However, clade D may not be the perfect symbiotic partner all the time. In juvenile coral stages, corals infected with clade D grew slower than those with clade C (Little et al, 2004), suggesting that members of clade C may provide other growth benefits than clade D algae despite their greater temperature sensitivity (Rowen, 2004). It should also be noted that not all subgroups of clade D confer temperature tolerance in corals (Abrego et al, 2008).…”

Section: The Fluctuation Of the Symbiotic Algal Compositionmentioning

confidence: 99%

The dynamics of microbial partnerships in the coral Isopora palifera

et al. 2010

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Both bacteria and algal symbionts (genus Symbiodinium), the two major microbial partners in the coral holobiont, respond to fluctuations in the environment, according to current reports; however, little evidence yet indicates that both populations have any direct interaction with each other in seasonal fluctuation. In this study, we present field observations of a compositional change in bacteria and Symbiodinium in the coral Isopora palifera in three separate coral colonies following monthly sampling from February to November in 2008. Using massively parallel pyrosequencing, over 200 000 bacterial V6 sequences were classified to build the bacterial community profile; in addition, the relative composition and quantity of Symbiodinium clades C and D were determined by real-time PCR. The results showed that coral-associated bacterial and Symbiodinium communities were highly dynamic and dissimilar among the tagged coral colonies, suggesting that the effect of host specificity was insignificant. The coral-associated bacterial community was more diverse (Shannon index up to 6.71) than previous estimates in other corals and showed rapid seasonal changes. The population ratios between clade C and D groups of Symbiodinium varied in the tagged coral colonies through the different seasons; clade D dominated in most of the samples. Although significant association between bacteria and symbiont was not detected, this study presents a more detailed picture of changes in these two major microbial associates of the coral at the same time, using the latest molecular approaches.

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Section: The Fluctuation Of the Symbiotic Algal Compositionmentioning

confidence: 99%

The dynamics of microbial partnerships in the coral Isopora palifera

et al. 2010

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“…Hosting these symbionts, however, likely represents a trade-off in terms of growth rate and/or reduced carbon uptake in juveniles (Little et al 2004, Cantin et al 2009 Higher abundance of D1a may have resulted from (1) changes in symbiont communities as a result of severe physiological stress resulting in bleaching (e.g. Baker et al 2004, Jones et al 2008), (2) differential survival and/or reproduction (e.g.…”

Section: Biogeographic and Environmental Patterns Inmentioning

confidence: 99%

Novel algal symbiont (Symbiodinium spp.) diversity in reef corals of Western Australia

Silverstein

Correa

LaJeunesse³

et al. 2011

Mar. Ecol. Prog. Ser.

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The identity and diversity of algal symbionts (Symbiodinium spp.) in reef corals is thought to influence to the resilience of reef ecosystems to climate change, and varies depending on coral species, environmental conditions, and biogeography. We examined these factors by surveying corals along a latitudinal gradient in Western Australia on reefs connected north to south by the warm-water Leeuwin Current. We used the internal transcribed spacer-2 (ITS-2) region of ribosomal DNA to characterize Symbiodinium communities in 19 species of reef coral (in 16 genera) from tropical Dampier (20.5°S) to temperate Dunsborough (33.5°S). We documented a high number of novel ITS-2 types in Symbiodinium clades B (1 type) and C (14 types) as well as 7 previously reported ITS-2 types in clades B, C, and D. In addition, we compared symbiont distributions with Giovanni's OBIG MODIS-Aqua satellite temperature data set and found that the putatively thermotolerant Symbiodinium ITS-2 type D1a was more frequently detected in 'chronically warm' tropical sites than at 'chronically cool' temperate sites, while clade B symbiont types showed the reverse pattern, being found in certain corals at the southernmost sites. Symbiodinium type D1a was generally most abundant at Dampier, where bleaching had occurred 1 mo prior to sampling, although some variation by host taxa was observed. The diverse and novel Symbiodinium communities documented here may be a result of (1) the variable environmental histories of the study sites, (2) the apparent genetic divergence within this genus resulting from the relative isolation of Western Australian reefs, and/or (3) the frequent transport of symbionts (in hospite or free-living) from Indo-Malay reefs to Western Australia via the Leeuwin Current. These results indicate that understudied reefs in remote and isolated areas may contain Symbiodinium diversity that has not been reported previously.

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“…Partner-switching following a bleaching event may occur by recovery with different symbionts that are better suited to the prevailing conditions [4,11], an idea termed the Adaptive Bleaching Hypothesis (ABH; 'adaptive' referring to a beneficial trait that can be positively selected for; [12]). In particular, recovery with heat-tolerant symbionts can increase resistance to future thermal bleaching [8], but at a potential energetic cost [13][14][15][16]. Investigations of the ABH have revealed that, although corals sometimes change their symbionts [8,9,[17][18][19][20][21], this does not always occur: sometimes corals recover with the same symbiont community they had prior to stress [22][23][24][25][26].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Because symbiont types differ not only in heat tolerance, but also in photosynthetic performance [14,30], energetics [31] and associated coral growth rates [13,15], overall symbiosis function should be determined by the contributions of all symbionts [32]. However, the functional consequences of variation in symbiont community composition are poorly understood, in part because molecular methods to quantify mixed assemblages have only recently been developed [33,34].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Investigating the causes and consequences of symbiont shuffling in a multi-partner reef coral symbiosis under environmental change

2015

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Dynamic symbioses may critically mediate impacts of climate change on diverse organisms, with repercussions for ecosystem persistence in some cases. On coral reefs, increases in heat-tolerant symbionts after thermal bleaching can reduce coral susceptibility to future stress. However, the relevance of this adaptive response is equivocal owing to conflicting reports of symbiont stability and change. We help reconcile this conflict by showing that change in symbiont community composition (symbiont shuffling) in Orbicella faveolata depends on the disturbance severity and recovery environment. The proportion of heat-tolerant symbionts dramatically increased following severe experimental bleaching, especially in a warmer recovery environment, but tended to decrease if bleaching was less severe. These patterns can be explained by variation in symbiont performance in the changing microenvironments created by differentially bleached host tissues. Furthermore, higher proportions of heat-tolerant symbionts linearly increased bleaching resistance but reduced photochemical efficiency, suggesting that any change in community structure oppositely impacts performance and stress tolerance. Therefore, even minor symbiont shuffling can adaptively benefit corals, although fitness effects of resulting trade-offs are difficult to predict. This work helps elucidate causes and consequences of dynamism in symbiosis, which is critical to predicting responses of multi-partner symbioses such as O. faveolata to environmental change.

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Flexibility in Algal Endosymbioses Shapes Growth in Reef Corals

Cited by 536 publications

References 17 publications

The dynamics of microbial partnerships in the coral Isopora palifera

The dynamics of microbial partnerships in the coral Isopora palifera

Novel algal symbiont (Symbiodinium spp.) diversity in reef corals of Western Australia

Investigating the causes and consequences of symbiont shuffling in a multi-partner reef coral symbiosis under environmental change

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