Stress memory and epigenome variations: insights into the thermal tolerance potential of Cladocora caespitosa (Linnaeus, 1767), a Mediterranean hermatypic coral
Stress memory is a key ecological and evolutionary response for sessile organisms under changing environmental conditions, but the ubiquity of this phenomenon among coral species and habitat is unknown. We exposed colonies of the Mediterranean coral Cladocora caespitosa to two short-term thermal pro...
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Frontiers Media S.A.
2025-05-01
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| Series: | Frontiers in Marine Science |
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| Online Access: | https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fmars.2025.1579913/full |
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| author | Luca Bisanti Luca Bisanti Claudia La Corte Claudia La Corte Mariano Dara Mariano Dara Federica Bertini Federica Bertini Gabriele Rizzuto Rossella Valenti Flores Naselli Daniela Parrinello Daniela Parrinello Maria Giovanna Parisi Maria Giovanna Parisi Agostino Tomasello Fabio Caradonna Renato Chemello Renato Chemello Matteo Cammarata Matteo Cammarata |
| author_facet | Luca Bisanti Luca Bisanti Claudia La Corte Claudia La Corte Mariano Dara Mariano Dara Federica Bertini Federica Bertini Gabriele Rizzuto Rossella Valenti Flores Naselli Daniela Parrinello Daniela Parrinello Maria Giovanna Parisi Maria Giovanna Parisi Agostino Tomasello Fabio Caradonna Renato Chemello Renato Chemello Matteo Cammarata Matteo Cammarata |
| author_sort | Luca Bisanti |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Stress memory is a key ecological and evolutionary response for sessile organisms under changing environmental conditions, but the ubiquity of this phenomenon among coral species and habitat is unknown. We exposed colonies of the Mediterranean coral Cladocora caespitosa to two short-term thermal profiles (constant high and pulse) and quantified the genome-wide DNA methylation level before stress testing 75 days later. Here we show that a protective effect could be induced using short-term thermal profiles, which significantly improved immune tolerance and bleaching resistance. We found a significant relationship between genomic methylation levels and accumulated thermal stress by corals, preliminarily suggesting an epigenetic regulation dynamic of temperate coral tolerance in response to climate change. Our results represent new mechanistic insights into the stress memory of Mediterranean corals, supporting a role for DNA methylation in crucial cryptic complexity of plasticity avenues. |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj-art-a95465ee7e494ebf8a488afccce4df58 |
| institution | OA Journals |
| issn | 2296-7745 |
| language | English |
| publishDate | 2025-05-01 |
| publisher | Frontiers Media S.A. |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Frontiers in Marine Science |
| spelling | doaj-art-a95465ee7e494ebf8a488afccce4df582025-08-20T02:16:09ZengFrontiers Media S.A.Frontiers in Marine Science2296-77452025-05-011210.3389/fmars.2025.15799131579913Stress memory and epigenome variations: insights into the thermal tolerance potential of Cladocora caespitosa (Linnaeus, 1767), a Mediterranean hermatypic coralLuca Bisanti0Luca Bisanti1Claudia La Corte2Claudia La Corte3Mariano Dara4Mariano Dara5Federica Bertini6Federica Bertini7Gabriele Rizzuto8Rossella Valenti9Flores Naselli10Daniela Parrinello11Daniela Parrinello12Maria Giovanna Parisi13Maria Giovanna Parisi14Agostino Tomasello15Fabio Caradonna16Renato Chemello17Renato Chemello18Matteo Cammarata19Matteo Cammarata20Marine Immunobiology Laboratory, Department of Earth and Marine Sciences, University of Palermo, Palermo, ItalyNBFC, National Biodiversity Future Center, Palermo, ItalyMarine Immunobiology Laboratory, Department of Earth and Marine Sciences, University of Palermo, Palermo, ItalyNBFC, National Biodiversity Future Center, Palermo, ItalyMarine Immunobiology Laboratory, Department of Earth and Marine Sciences, University of Palermo, Palermo, ItalyNBFC, National Biodiversity Future Center, Palermo, ItalyMarine Immunobiology Laboratory, Department of Earth and Marine Sciences, University of Palermo, Palermo, ItalyNBFC, National Biodiversity Future Center, Palermo, ItalyMarine Botany Laboratory, Department of Earth and Marine Sciences, University of Palermo, Palermo, ItalyCell Biology and Genetics Laboratory, Department of Biological, Chemical and Pharmaceutical Sciences and Technologies, University of Palermo, Palermo, ItalyCell Biology and Genetics Laboratory, Department of Biological, Chemical and Pharmaceutical Sciences and Technologies, University of Palermo, Palermo, ItalyMarine Immunobiology Laboratory, Department of Earth and Marine Sciences, University of Palermo, Palermo, ItalyNBFC, National Biodiversity Future Center, Palermo, ItalyMarine Immunobiology Laboratory, Department of Earth and Marine Sciences, University of Palermo, Palermo, ItalyNBFC, National Biodiversity Future Center, Palermo, ItalyMarine Botany Laboratory, Department of Earth and Marine Sciences, University of Palermo, Palermo, ItalyCell Biology and Genetics Laboratory, Department of Biological, Chemical and Pharmaceutical Sciences and Technologies, University of Palermo, Palermo, ItalyNBFC, National Biodiversity Future Center, Palermo, ItalyMarine Conservation Laboratory, Department of Earth and Marine Sciences, University of Palermo, Palermo, ItalyMarine Immunobiology Laboratory, Department of Earth and Marine Sciences, University of Palermo, Palermo, ItalyNBFC, National Biodiversity Future Center, Palermo, ItalyStress memory is a key ecological and evolutionary response for sessile organisms under changing environmental conditions, but the ubiquity of this phenomenon among coral species and habitat is unknown. We exposed colonies of the Mediterranean coral Cladocora caespitosa to two short-term thermal profiles (constant high and pulse) and quantified the genome-wide DNA methylation level before stress testing 75 days later. Here we show that a protective effect could be induced using short-term thermal profiles, which significantly improved immune tolerance and bleaching resistance. We found a significant relationship between genomic methylation levels and accumulated thermal stress by corals, preliminarily suggesting an epigenetic regulation dynamic of temperate coral tolerance in response to climate change. Our results represent new mechanistic insights into the stress memory of Mediterranean corals, supporting a role for DNA methylation in crucial cryptic complexity of plasticity avenues.https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fmars.2025.1579913/fullclimate changeprimingcoral immunityepigeneticsDNA-methylation |
| spellingShingle | Luca Bisanti Luca Bisanti Claudia La Corte Claudia La Corte Mariano Dara Mariano Dara Federica Bertini Federica Bertini Gabriele Rizzuto Rossella Valenti Flores Naselli Daniela Parrinello Daniela Parrinello Maria Giovanna Parisi Maria Giovanna Parisi Agostino Tomasello Fabio Caradonna Renato Chemello Renato Chemello Matteo Cammarata Matteo Cammarata Stress memory and epigenome variations: insights into the thermal tolerance potential of Cladocora caespitosa (Linnaeus, 1767), a Mediterranean hermatypic coral Frontiers in Marine Science climate change priming coral immunity epigenetics DNA-methylation |
| title | Stress memory and epigenome variations: insights into the thermal tolerance potential of Cladocora caespitosa (Linnaeus, 1767), a Mediterranean hermatypic coral |
| title_full | Stress memory and epigenome variations: insights into the thermal tolerance potential of Cladocora caespitosa (Linnaeus, 1767), a Mediterranean hermatypic coral |
| title_fullStr | Stress memory and epigenome variations: insights into the thermal tolerance potential of Cladocora caespitosa (Linnaeus, 1767), a Mediterranean hermatypic coral |
| title_full_unstemmed | Stress memory and epigenome variations: insights into the thermal tolerance potential of Cladocora caespitosa (Linnaeus, 1767), a Mediterranean hermatypic coral |
| title_short | Stress memory and epigenome variations: insights into the thermal tolerance potential of Cladocora caespitosa (Linnaeus, 1767), a Mediterranean hermatypic coral |
| title_sort | stress memory and epigenome variations insights into the thermal tolerance potential of cladocora caespitosa linnaeus 1767 a mediterranean hermatypic coral |
| topic | climate change priming coral immunity epigenetics DNA-methylation |
| url | https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fmars.2025.1579913/full |
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