Interspecies differences in the transcriptome response of corals to acute heat stress

Rising sea surface temperatures threaten the survival of corals worldwide, with coral bleaching events becoming more commonplace. However, different coral species are known to exhibit variable levels of susceptibility to thermal stress. To elucidate genetic mechanisms that may underlie these differe...

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Main Authors: Jeric Da-Anoy, Niño Posadas, Cecilia Conaco
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: PeerJ Inc. 2024-12-01
Series:PeerJ
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Online Access:https://peerj.com/articles/18627.pdf
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author Jeric Da-Anoy
Niño Posadas
Cecilia Conaco
author_facet Jeric Da-Anoy
Niño Posadas
Cecilia Conaco
author_sort Jeric Da-Anoy
collection DOAJ
description Rising sea surface temperatures threaten the survival of corals worldwide, with coral bleaching events becoming more commonplace. However, different coral species are known to exhibit variable levels of susceptibility to thermal stress. To elucidate genetic mechanisms that may underlie these differences, we compared the gene repertoire of four coral species, Favites colemani, Montipora digitata, Acropora digitifera, and Seriatopora caliendrum, that were previously demonstrated to have differing responses to acute thermal stress. We found that more tolerant species, like F. colemani and M. digitata, possess a greater abundance of antioxidant protein families and chaperones. Under acute thermal stress conditions, only S. caliendrum showed a significant bleaching response, which was accompanied by activation of the DNA damage response network and drastic upregulation of stress response genes (SRGs). This suggests that differences in SRG orthologs, as well as the mechanisms that control SRG expression response, contribute to the ability of corals to maintain stability of physiological functions required to survive shifts in seawater temperature.
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spelling doaj-art-762021c31a5a44d2a3dd6b8adeaabba02025-08-20T01:59:09ZengPeerJ Inc.PeerJ2167-83592024-12-0112e1862710.7717/peerj.18627Interspecies differences in the transcriptome response of corals to acute heat stressJeric Da-Anoy0Niño Posadas1Cecilia Conaco2Marine Science Institute, University of the Philippines Diliman, Quezon City, PhilippinesMarine Science Institute, University of the Philippines Diliman, Quezon City, PhilippinesMarine Science Institute, University of the Philippines Diliman, Quezon City, PhilippinesRising sea surface temperatures threaten the survival of corals worldwide, with coral bleaching events becoming more commonplace. However, different coral species are known to exhibit variable levels of susceptibility to thermal stress. To elucidate genetic mechanisms that may underlie these differences, we compared the gene repertoire of four coral species, Favites colemani, Montipora digitata, Acropora digitifera, and Seriatopora caliendrum, that were previously demonstrated to have differing responses to acute thermal stress. We found that more tolerant species, like F. colemani and M. digitata, possess a greater abundance of antioxidant protein families and chaperones. Under acute thermal stress conditions, only S. caliendrum showed a significant bleaching response, which was accompanied by activation of the DNA damage response network and drastic upregulation of stress response genes (SRGs). This suggests that differences in SRG orthologs, as well as the mechanisms that control SRG expression response, contribute to the ability of corals to maintain stability of physiological functions required to survive shifts in seawater temperature.https://peerj.com/articles/18627.pdfThermal stressAdaptationDNA damageSeriatopora caliendrum
spellingShingle Jeric Da-Anoy
Niño Posadas
Cecilia Conaco
Interspecies differences in the transcriptome response of corals to acute heat stress
PeerJ
Thermal stress
Adaptation
DNA damage
Seriatopora caliendrum
title Interspecies differences in the transcriptome response of corals to acute heat stress
title_full Interspecies differences in the transcriptome response of corals to acute heat stress
title_fullStr Interspecies differences in the transcriptome response of corals to acute heat stress
title_full_unstemmed Interspecies differences in the transcriptome response of corals to acute heat stress
title_short Interspecies differences in the transcriptome response of corals to acute heat stress
title_sort interspecies differences in the transcriptome response of corals to acute heat stress
topic Thermal stress
Adaptation
DNA damage
Seriatopora caliendrum
url https://peerj.com/articles/18627.pdf
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AT ninoposadas interspeciesdifferencesinthetranscriptomeresponseofcoralstoacuteheatstress
AT ceciliaconaco interspeciesdifferencesinthetranscriptomeresponseofcoralstoacuteheatstress