Relationship between Acropora millepora juvenile fluorescence and composition of newly established Symbiodinium assemblage

• Published in: PeerJ (San Francisco, CA) Vol. 6; p. e5022
• Main Authors: Quigley, Kate M, Strader, Marie E, Matz, Mikhail V
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: United States PeerJ, Inc 15.06.2018; PeerJ Inc
• Subjects: Acropora millepora; Algae; Cell cycle; Coral reefs; Ecology; Fluorescence; Fungia scutaria; Gene expression; Genomics; Green fluorescent protein; ITS-2; Juveniles; Life cycles; Light; Marine Biology; Microorganisms; Pyrrophycophyta; Sediments; Symbiodinium; Symbiosis; Queensland Australia; United States > US; Santa Barbara California; Fluorescence; ITS-2; Symbiodinium; Acropora millepora
• ISSN: 2167-8359; 2167-8359
• DOI: 10.7717/peerj.5022

Coral-dinoflagellate symbiosis is the key biological interaction enabling existence of modern-type coral reefs, but the mechanisms regulating initial host-symbiont attraction, recognition and symbiont proliferation thus far remain largely unclear. A common reef-building coral, displays conspicuous fluorescent polymorphism during all phases of its life cycle, due to the differential expression of fluorescent proteins (FPs) of the green fluorescent protein family. In this study, we examine whether fluorescent variation in young coral juveniles exposed to natural sediments is associated with the uptake of disparate assemblages determined using ITS-2 deep sequencing. We found that assemblages varied significantly when redness values varied, specifically in regards to abundances of clades A and C. Whether fluorescence was quantified as a categorical or continuous trait, clade A was found at higher abundances in redder juveniles. These preliminary results suggest juvenile fluorescence may be associated with uptake, potentially acting as either an attractant to ecologically specific types or as a mechanism to modulate the internal light environment to control physiology within the host.