We tested the hypothesis that there is a relation between phylotypes (phylogenetic types, as determined by restriction fragment length polymorphism (RFLP) and partial sequence analysis of the small subunit ribosomal RNA gene (SSUrDNA)) and the synthesis of mycosporine-like amino acids (MAAs) by symbiotic dinoflagellates under the influence of ultraviolet radiation (UV-B/A) and photosyntheticall...

Citation: Röthig T, Costa RM, Simona F, Baumgarten S, Torres AF, Radhakrishnan A, Aranda M and Voolstra CR (2016) Distinct Bacterial Communities Associated with the Coral Model Aiptasia in Aposymbiotic and Symbiotic States with Symbiodinium. Front. Mar. Sci. 3:234. doi: 10.3389/fmars.2016.00234 Distinct Bacterial Communities Associated with the Coral Model Aiptasia in Aposymbiotic and Symbiotic...

Temperature can modify membrane fluidity and thus affects cellular functions and physiological activities. This study examines lipid remodelling in the marine symbiotic organism, Tridacna maxima, during a time series of induced thermal stress, with an emphasis on the morphology of their symbiont Symbiodinium First, we show that the French Polynesian giant clams harbour an important proportion o...

For the dinoflagellates, an important group of single-cell protists, some nuclear rDNA phylogenetic studies have reported the discovery of rDNA pseudogenes. However, it is unknown if these aberrant molecules are confined to free-living taxa or occur in other members of the group. We have cultured a strain of symbiotic dinoflagellate, belonging to the genus Symbiodinium, which produces three dis...

The stability of cnidarian-dinoflagellate (genus Symbiodinium spp.) endosymbioses depends on the regulation of nutrient transport between Symbiodinium populations and their hosts. Previously, we successfully induced the production of lipid droplets in the free-living cultured Symbiodinium (clade B) under the nitrogen-deprivation condition for 5 days. Therefore, the present study aimed at unders...

The spectral light field of Symbiodinium within the tissue of the coral animal host can deviate strongly from the ambient light field on a coral reef and that of artificial light sources used in lab studies on coral photobiology. Here, we used a novel approach involving light microsensor measurements and a programmable light engine to reconstruct the spectral light field that Symbiodinium is ex...

The diversity of symbiotic dinoflagellates (Symbiodinium) in pocilloporid corals originating from various reef habitats surrounding Heron Island, southern Great Barrier Reef, was examined by targeting ribosomal, mitochondrial, and chloroplast genes using six methods that analyse for sequence differences. The ability of each of 13 genetic analyses to characterize eight ecologically distinct Symb...

The symbiotic associations between cnidarians and dinoflagellate algae (Symbiodinium) support productive and diverse ecosystems in coral reefs. Many aspects of this association, including the mechanistic basis of host-symbiont recognition and metabolic interaction, remain poorly understood. The first completed genome sequence for a symbiotic anthozoan is now available (the coral Acropora digiti...

Contemporary cnidarian-algae symbioses are challenged by increasing CO2 concentrations (ocean warming and acidification) affecting organisms' biological performance. We examined the natural variability of carbon and nitrogen isotopes in the symbiotic sea anemone Anemonia viridis to investigate dietary shifts (autotrophy/heterotrophy) along a natural pCO2 gradient at the island of Vulcano, Italy...