Heat Stress of Algal Partner Hinders Colonization Success and Alters the Algal Cell Surface Glycome in a Cnidarian-Algal Symbiosis
Shumpei Maruyama, Paige E. Mandelare-Ruiz, Mark McCauley, Wenjing Peng, Byeong Gwan Cho, Junyao Wang, Yehia Mechref, Sandra Loesgen, Virginia M. Weis
Abstract
Coral reefs are under threat from global climate change. Their decline is mainly caused by the fragility of their symbiotic relationship with dinoflagellate algae which they rely upon for their ecological success. To better understand coral biology, researchers used the sea anemone, Aiptasia, a model system for the study of coral-algal symbiosis, and characterized how heat stress can alter the algae's ability to communicate to the coral host. This study found that heat stress caused a decline in algal colonization success and impacted the cell surface molecules of the algae such that it became more like that of nonsymbiotic species of algae. This work adds to our understanding of the molecular signals involved in coral-algal symbiosis and how it breaks down during heat stress.