Symbiont shuffling induces differential DNA methylation responses to thermal stress in the coral <i>Montastraea cavernosa</i>

Rodríguez-Casariego, Javier; Cunning, Ross; Baker, Andrew C.; Eirín‐López, José M.

doi:10.1111/mec.16246

Cited by 18 publications

(12 citation statements)

References 66 publications

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“…Genotypic differences of this magnitude demonstrate very high heritability and variance in this trait, supporting the concept of adaptive plasticity previously examined across coral populations from divergent environments 57 . Interestingly, we also note that the broad-sense heritability of acclimatization potential is elevated in Cladocopium- dominated corals, providing further evidence for dramatic host-derived differences based on symbiont community 23 , 58 .…”

Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 54%

“…Intragenerational plasticity in the coral response to thermal stress can arise from shifts in algal symbiont community 14 , microbiome composition 15 and host gene expression patterns 16 , allowing corals to exhibit plasticity in growth, morphology, skeletal characteristics, and bleaching tolerance 17 – 19 . Marine invertebrates exposed to environmental stress also exhibit a range of epigenetic marks, including methylation, which impact gene expression and phenotype 20 – 22 and are impacted by symbiont dynamics 23 .…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Expression plasticity regulates intraspecific variation in the acclimatization potential of a reef-building coral

et al. 2022

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Phenotypic plasticity is an important ecological and evolutionary response for organisms experiencing environmental change, but the ubiquity of this capacity within coral species and across symbiont communities is unknown. We exposed ten genotypes of the reef-building coral Montipora capitata with divergent symbiont communities to four thermal pre-exposure profiles and quantified gene expression before stress testing 4 months later. Here we show two pre-exposure profiles significantly enhance thermal tolerance despite broadly different expression patterns and substantial variation in acclimatization potential based on coral genotype. There was no relationship between a genotype’s basal thermal sensitivity and ability to acquire heat tolerance, including in corals harboring naturally tolerant symbionts, which illustrates the potential for additive improvements in coral response to climate change. These results represent durable improvements from short-term stress hardening of reef-building corals and substantial cryptic complexity in the capacity for plasticity.

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Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 54%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Expression plasticity regulates intraspecific variation in the acclimatization potential of a reef-building coral

et al. 2022

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“…Such responses are mediated through transcriptional changes that are known to be regulated via epigenetic mechanisms in other organisms [9,[12][13][14][15], and some endosymbionts have even been shown to evoke such responses by directly modifying the epigenome of their hosts [9,10]. However, while many recent studies have highlighted the importance of epigenetic mechanisms in maintaining symbiotic relationships in plants and animals [16][17][18], only one study looking at the role of DNA methylation in symbiosis has been conducted in zooxanthellate cnidarians [6,19].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Histone modifications and DNA methylation act cooperatively in regulating symbiosis genes in the sea anemone Aiptasia

et al. 2022

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Background The symbiotic relationship between cnidarians and dinoflagellates is one of the most widespread endosymbiosis in our oceans and provides the ecological basis of coral reef ecosystems. Although many studies have been undertaken to unravel the molecular mechanisms underlying these symbioses, we still know little about the epigenetic mechanisms that control the transcriptional responses to symbiosis. Results Here, we used the model organism Exaiptasia diaphana to study the genome-wide patterns and putative functions of the histone modifications H3K27ac, H3K4me3, H3K9ac, H3K36me3, and H3K27me3 in symbiosis. While we find that their functions are generally conserved, we observed that colocalization of more than one modification and or DNA methylation correlated with significantly higher gene expression, suggesting a cooperative action of histone modifications and DNA methylation in promoting gene expression. Analysis of symbiosis genes revealed that activating histone modifications predominantly associated with symbiosis-induced genes involved in glucose metabolism, nitrogen transport, amino acid biosynthesis, and organism growth while symbiosis-suppressed genes were involved in catabolic processes. Conclusions Our results provide new insights into the mechanisms of prominent histone modifications and their interaction with DNA methylation in regulating symbiosis in cnidarians.

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“…Currently, gene expression responses of corals to the combined effects of global change and microplastics remain underexplored. Corals have been shown to shuffle their algal symbionts in response to a variety of stressors (Ros et al, 2021; Rodriguez-Casariego et al, 2022), representing a potential acclimation strategy for corals under stress. In addition to their obligate, intracellular photosymbionts (Symbiodiniaceae), corals maintain diverse but specific microbiomes consisting of of bacteria, archaea, fungi, viruses, and protists (Bourne et al, 2016; van Oppen and Blackall, 2019).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Exposure to global change and microplastics elicits an immune response in an endangered coral

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Greene

Sugierski

et al. 2022

Preprint

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Global change is increasing seawater temperatures and decreasing oceanic pH, driving declines of coral reefs globally. Coral ecosystems are also impacted by local stressors, including microplastics, which are ubiquitous on reefs. While the independent effects of these global and local stressors are well-documented, their interactions remain less explored. Here, we examine the independent and combined effects of global change (ocean warming and acidification) and microplastics exposures on gene expression (GE) and microbial community composition in the endangered coral Acropora cervicornis. Nine genotypes were fragmented and maintained in one of four experimental treatments: 1) ambient conditions (ambient seawater, no microplastics; AMB); 2) microplastics treatment (ambient seawater, microplastics; MP); 3) global change conditions (warm and acidic conditions, no microplastics; OAW); and 4) multistressor treatment (warm and acidic conditions with microplastics; OAW+MP) for 22 days, after which corals were sampled for genome-wide GE profiling and ITS and 16S metabarcoding. Overall A. cervicornis GE responses to all treatments were subtle; however, corals in the multistressor treatment exhibited the strongest GE responses, and genes associated with innate immunity were overrepresented in this treatment, according to gene ontology enrichment analyses. 16S analyses revealed stable microbiomes dominated by the bacterial associate Aquarickettsia, suggesting that these A. cervicornis fragments exhibited remarkably low variability in bacterial community composition. Future work should focus on functional differences across microbiomes, especially Aquarickettsia and viruses, in these responses. Overall, results suggest that local stressors present a unique challenge to endangered coral species under global change.

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Symbiont shuffling induces differential DNA methylation responses to thermal stress in the coral Montastraea cavernosa

Cited by 18 publications

References 66 publications

Expression plasticity regulates intraspecific variation in the acclimatization potential of a reef-building coral

Expression plasticity regulates intraspecific variation in the acclimatization potential of a reef-building coral

Histone modifications and DNA methylation act cooperatively in regulating symbiosis genes in the sea anemone Aiptasia

Exposure to global change and microplastics elicits an immune response in an endangered coral

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