From the shallow to the mesophotic: a characterization of Symbiodiniaceae diversity in the Red Sea NEOM region
IntroductionThe northern Red Sea has been coined a refuge for reef corals due to the exceptional thermal tolerance of these organisms. With ocean warming threatening coral reefs worldwide, a panoptic characterization of corals living in extreme conditions may provide insights into future responses o...
| Main Authors: | , , , , , , , , , , , , , |
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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Frontiers Media S.A.
2023-04-01
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| Series: | Frontiers in Marine Science |
| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fmars.2023.1077805/full |
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| author | Tullia I. Terraneo Mustapha Ouhssain Carolina Bocanegra Castano Manuel Aranda Manuel Aranda Benjamin C. C. Hume Fabio Marchese Silvia Vimercati Silvia Vimercati Giovanni Chimienti Giovanni Chimienti Ameer A. Eweida Ameer A. Eweida Christian R. Voolstra Burton H. Jones Burton H. Jones Sam J. Purkis Sam J. Purkis Mattie Rodrigue Francesca Benzoni Francesca Benzoni |
| author_facet | Tullia I. Terraneo Mustapha Ouhssain Carolina Bocanegra Castano Manuel Aranda Manuel Aranda Benjamin C. C. Hume Fabio Marchese Silvia Vimercati Silvia Vimercati Giovanni Chimienti Giovanni Chimienti Ameer A. Eweida Ameer A. Eweida Christian R. Voolstra Burton H. Jones Burton H. Jones Sam J. Purkis Sam J. Purkis Mattie Rodrigue Francesca Benzoni Francesca Benzoni |
| author_sort | Tullia I. Terraneo |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | IntroductionThe northern Red Sea has been coined a refuge for reef corals due to the exceptional thermal tolerance of these organisms. With ocean warming threatening coral reefs worldwide, a panoptic characterization of corals living in extreme conditions may provide insights into future responses of corals to environmental change. Among other factors, the genotype of the endosymbiotic algae in the family Symbiodiniaceae has been shown to have major implications on the distribution and resilience of their coral hosts. In this study, we aim at genotyping the Symbiodiniaceae communities associated with three depth generalist and one depth specialist coral species, characterized by the ability to withstand environmental conditions that are apparently limiting for other corals and occurring in a unique geographical region.MethodsWe sampled 50 corals from the northern Saudi Arabian Red Sea and the Gulf of Aqaba, covering a 97 m bathymetric gradient. We used high-throughput ITS2 gene sequencing and recovered different patterns of host–algal associations.Results and discussionThe majority of the recovered algal genotypes appeared host- and environment-specific, while others were more widely distributed. At large, coral specimens were overwhelmingly associated with symbionts from the genus Cladocopium and specifically with many previously undescribed genotypes. This suggests the selection of specific genotypes, which might confer resistance and/or resilience to their host counterparts. Interestingly, we found a limited association with Durusdinium spp. and other known tolerant taxa in mesophotic corals in the northern Red Sea, but not in the Gulf of Aqaba. The broad absence of Durusdinium spp., typically ascribed to be stress tolerant, warrants further investigation into Symbiodiniaceae species that convey environmental resilience. Our data will serve as a baseline to explore the occurrence of specific symbionts that might be contributing to coral acclimation and adaptation and to assay how biodiversity might be impacted if subjected to increasing stressors. |
| first_indexed | 2024-04-09T18:06:34Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-48747cb0e95c4a798cdbda5094a50177 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2296-7745 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-04-09T18:06:34Z |
| publishDate | 2023-04-01 |
| publisher | Frontiers Media S.A. |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Frontiers in Marine Science |
| spelling | doaj.art-48747cb0e95c4a798cdbda5094a501772023-04-14T05:34:30ZengFrontiers Media S.A.Frontiers in Marine Science2296-77452023-04-011010.3389/fmars.2023.10778051077805From the shallow to the mesophotic: a characterization of Symbiodiniaceae diversity in the Red Sea NEOM regionTullia I. Terraneo0Mustapha Ouhssain1Carolina Bocanegra Castano2Manuel Aranda3Manuel Aranda4Benjamin C. C. Hume5Fabio Marchese6Silvia Vimercati7Silvia Vimercati8Giovanni Chimienti9Giovanni Chimienti10Ameer A. Eweida11Ameer A. Eweida12Christian R. Voolstra13Burton H. Jones14Burton H. Jones15Sam J. Purkis16Sam J. Purkis17Mattie Rodrigue18Francesca Benzoni19Francesca Benzoni20Red Sea Research Center, Biological and Environmental Science and Engineering Division, King Abdullah University of Science and Technology (KAUST), Thuwal, Saudi ArabiaRed Sea Research Center, Biological and Environmental Science and Engineering Division, King Abdullah University of Science and Technology (KAUST), Thuwal, Saudi ArabiaRed Sea Research Center, Biological and Environmental Science and Engineering Division, King Abdullah University of Science and Technology (KAUST), Thuwal, Saudi ArabiaRed Sea Research Center, Biological and Environmental Science and Engineering Division, King Abdullah University of Science and Technology (KAUST), Thuwal, Saudi ArabiaMarine Science Program, Biological and Environmental Science and Engineering Division, King Abdullah University of Science and Technology (KAUST), Thuwal, Saudi ArabiaDepartment of Biology, University of Konstanz, Konstanz, GermanyRed Sea Research Center, Biological and Environmental Science and Engineering Division, King Abdullah University of Science and Technology (KAUST), Thuwal, Saudi ArabiaRed Sea Research Center, Biological and Environmental Science and Engineering Division, King Abdullah University of Science and Technology (KAUST), Thuwal, Saudi ArabiaMarine Science Program, Biological and Environmental Science and Engineering Division, King Abdullah University of Science and Technology (KAUST), Thuwal, Saudi ArabiaDepartment of Biology, University of Bari Aldo Moro, Bari, ItalyCoNISMa, Rome, ItalyMarine Conservation Program, NEOM, Saudi ArabiaCenter for Carbonate Research, Department of Marine Geosciences, Rosenstiel School of Marine and Atmospheric Science, University of Miami, Miami, FL, United StatesDepartment of Biology, University of Bari Aldo Moro, Bari, ItalyRed Sea Research Center, Biological and Environmental Science and Engineering Division, King Abdullah University of Science and Technology (KAUST), Thuwal, Saudi ArabiaMarine Science Program, Biological and Environmental Science and Engineering Division, King Abdullah University of Science and Technology (KAUST), Thuwal, Saudi ArabiaCenter for Carbonate Research, Department of Marine Geosciences, Rosenstiel School of Marine and Atmospheric Science, University of Miami, Miami, FL, United StatesKhaled bin Sultan Living Oceans Foundation, Annapolis, MD, United StatesOceanX, New York, NY, United StatesRed Sea Research Center, Biological and Environmental Science and Engineering Division, King Abdullah University of Science and Technology (KAUST), Thuwal, Saudi ArabiaMarine Science Program, Biological and Environmental Science and Engineering Division, King Abdullah University of Science and Technology (KAUST), Thuwal, Saudi ArabiaIntroductionThe northern Red Sea has been coined a refuge for reef corals due to the exceptional thermal tolerance of these organisms. With ocean warming threatening coral reefs worldwide, a panoptic characterization of corals living in extreme conditions may provide insights into future responses of corals to environmental change. Among other factors, the genotype of the endosymbiotic algae in the family Symbiodiniaceae has been shown to have major implications on the distribution and resilience of their coral hosts. In this study, we aim at genotyping the Symbiodiniaceae communities associated with three depth generalist and one depth specialist coral species, characterized by the ability to withstand environmental conditions that are apparently limiting for other corals and occurring in a unique geographical region.MethodsWe sampled 50 corals from the northern Saudi Arabian Red Sea and the Gulf of Aqaba, covering a 97 m bathymetric gradient. We used high-throughput ITS2 gene sequencing and recovered different patterns of host–algal associations.Results and discussionThe majority of the recovered algal genotypes appeared host- and environment-specific, while others were more widely distributed. At large, coral specimens were overwhelmingly associated with symbionts from the genus Cladocopium and specifically with many previously undescribed genotypes. This suggests the selection of specific genotypes, which might confer resistance and/or resilience to their host counterparts. Interestingly, we found a limited association with Durusdinium spp. and other known tolerant taxa in mesophotic corals in the northern Red Sea, but not in the Gulf of Aqaba. The broad absence of Durusdinium spp., typically ascribed to be stress tolerant, warrants further investigation into Symbiodiniaceae species that convey environmental resilience. Our data will serve as a baseline to explore the occurrence of specific symbionts that might be contributing to coral acclimation and adaptation and to assay how biodiversity might be impacted if subjected to increasing stressors.https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fmars.2023.1077805/fullsymbiotic algaeMCESnext-generation sequencing - NGSITS2SymPortal |
| spellingShingle | Tullia I. Terraneo Mustapha Ouhssain Carolina Bocanegra Castano Manuel Aranda Manuel Aranda Benjamin C. C. Hume Fabio Marchese Silvia Vimercati Silvia Vimercati Giovanni Chimienti Giovanni Chimienti Ameer A. Eweida Ameer A. Eweida Christian R. Voolstra Burton H. Jones Burton H. Jones Sam J. Purkis Sam J. Purkis Mattie Rodrigue Francesca Benzoni Francesca Benzoni From the shallow to the mesophotic: a characterization of Symbiodiniaceae diversity in the Red Sea NEOM region Frontiers in Marine Science symbiotic algae MCES next-generation sequencing - NGS ITS2 SymPortal |
| title | From the shallow to the mesophotic: a characterization of Symbiodiniaceae diversity in the Red Sea NEOM region |
| title_full | From the shallow to the mesophotic: a characterization of Symbiodiniaceae diversity in the Red Sea NEOM region |
| title_fullStr | From the shallow to the mesophotic: a characterization of Symbiodiniaceae diversity in the Red Sea NEOM region |
| title_full_unstemmed | From the shallow to the mesophotic: a characterization of Symbiodiniaceae diversity in the Red Sea NEOM region |
| title_short | From the shallow to the mesophotic: a characterization of Symbiodiniaceae diversity in the Red Sea NEOM region |
| title_sort | from the shallow to the mesophotic a characterization of symbiodiniaceae diversity in the red sea neom region |
| topic | symbiotic algae MCES next-generation sequencing - NGS ITS2 SymPortal |
| url | https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fmars.2023.1077805/full |
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