Transcriptome Analyses of Immune System Behaviors in Primary Polyp of Coral Acropora digitifera Exposed to the Bacterial Pathogen Vibrio coralliilyticus under Thermal Loading

• Published in: Marine biotechnology (New York, N.Y.) Vol. 22; no. 6; pp. 748 - 759
• Main Authors: Takagi, Toshiyuki, Yoshioka, Yuki, Zayasu, Yuna, Satoh, Noriyuki, Shinzato, Chuya
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: New York Springer US 01.12.2020; Springer Nature B.V
• Subjects: Acropora; Acropora digitifera; Bacteria; Biomedical and Life Sciences; biotechnology; Bleaching; Climate change; Coral reefs; Corals; Defence mechanisms; Engineering; exosomes; Extracellular; Extracellular matrix; Freshwater & Marine Ecology; Gene expression; Global warming; High temperature; Immune response; Immune system; Immunity; Immunity (Disease); Infections; Innate immunity; Life Sciences; Lysis; Metabolism; Microbiology; Mitochondria; Original Article; Pathogens; Polyps; Polyps (organisms); Protein metabolism; Protein synthesis; Protein turnover; Sea surface; Sea surface temperature; surface water temperature; Thermal stress; transcriptome; transcriptomics; Vibrio; Vibrio coralliilyticus; Waterborne diseases; Zoology; Thermal stress; Innate immunity; Transcriptome analysis; Immunosuppression; Coral
• ISSN: 1436-2228; 1436-2236; 1436-2236
• DOI: 10.1007/s10126-020-09984-1

Elevated sea surface temperature associated with global warming is a serious threat to coral reefs. Elevated temperatures directly or indirectly alter the distribution of coral-pathogen interactions and thereby exacerbate infectious coral diseases. The pathogenic bacterium Vibrio coralliilyticus is well-known as a causative agent of infectious coral disease. Rising sea surface temperature promotes the infection of corals by this bacterium, which causes several coral pathologies, such as bacterial bleaching, tissue lysis, and white syndrome. However, the effects of thermal stress on coral immune responses to the pathogen are poorly understood. To delineate the effects of thermal stress on coral immunity, we performed transcriptome analysis of aposymbiotic primary polyps of the reef-building coral Acropora digitifera exposed to V. coralliilyticus under thermal stress conditions. V. coralliilyticus infection of coral that was under thermal stress had negative effects on various molecular processes, including suppression of gene expression related to the innate immune response. In response to the pathogen, the coral mounted various responses including changes in protein metabolism, exosome release delivering signal molecules, extracellular matrix remodeling, and mitochondrial metabolism changes. Based on these results, we provide new insights into innate immunity of A. digitifera against pathogen infection under thermal stress conditions.