Transcriptome and genome data from twenty stony coral species and a selection of reference bilaterians were studied to elucidate coral evolutionary history. We identified genes that encode the proteins responsible for the precipitation and aggregation of the aragonite skeleton on which the organisms live, and revealed a network of environmental...
The complement system is an innate immune pathway that in vertebrates, is responsible for initial recognition and ultimately phagocytosis and destruction of microbes. Several complement molecules including C3, Factor B, and mannose binding lectin associated serine proteases (MASP) have been characterized in invertebrates and while most studies have focused on...
The most diverse marine ecosystems, coral reefs, depend upon a functional symbiosis between a cnidarian animal host (the coral) and intracellular photosynthetic dinoflagellate algae. The molecular and cellular mechanisms underlying this endosymbiosis are not well understood, in part because of the difficulties of experimental work with corals. The small sea...
Experimental manipulation of the symbiosis between cnidarians and photosynthetic dinoflagellates (Symbiodinium spp.) is crucial to advancing the understanding of the cellular mechanisms involved in host-symbiont interactions, and overall coral reef ecology. The anemone Aiptasia sp. is a model for cnidarian-dinoflagellate symbiosis, and notably it can be rendered aposymbiotic (i.e. dinoflagellate-free)...
Many nonmodel species exemplify important biological questions but lack the sequence resources required to study the genes and genomic regions underlying traits of interest. Reef-building corals are famously sensitive to rising seawater temperatures, motivating ongoing research into their stress responses and long-term prospects in a changing climate. A comprehensive understanding...
Reproductive timing in corals is associated with environmental variables including temperature, lunar periodicity, and
seasonality. Although it is clear that these variables are interrelated, it remains unknown if one variable in particular acts as
the proximate signaler for gamete and or larval release. Furthermore, in an era of global warming,...
The tropical sea anemone, Aiptasia sp., is a model organism within the phylum cnidaria, a group that includes globally threatened corals which are the bio-engineers of coral reefs.
Aiptasia reproduce both sexually, in a process known as spawning, and asexually, mainly through a process known as pedal laceration. During spawning,...
The “9th Okazaki Biology Conference: Marine Biology II” held at the National Institute for Basic Biology (NIBB) in
Okazaki, Japan and at the Okinawa Institute of Science and Technology (OIST) in Okinawa, Japan (14–19 October
2012) bridged the fields of EvoDevo, symbiosis and coral reef ecology.
Animals must manage interactions with beneficial as well as detrimental microbes. Immunity therefore includes strategies for both resistance to and tolerance of microbial invaders. Transforming growth factor beta (TGFβ) cytokines have many functions in animals including a tolerance-promoting (tolerogenic) role in immunity in vertebrates. TGFβ pathways are present in basal...
The symbiosis between cnidarians (e.g., corals or sea anemones) and intracellular dinoflagellate algae of the genus Symbiodinium is of immense ecological importance. In particular, this symbiosis promotes the growth and survival of reef corals in nutrient-poor tropical waters; indeed, coral reefs could not exist without this symbiosis. However, our fundamental...