Mutualistic symbioses between scleractinian corals and endosymbiotic dinoflagellates (Symbiodinium spp.) are the foundation of coral reef ecosystems. For many coral-algal symbioses, prolonged episodes of thermal stress damage the symbiont's photosynthetic capability, resulting in its expulsion from the host. Despite the link between photosynthetic competency and symbiont expulsion, little is kn...

The adaptative bleaching hypothesis (ABH) states that, depending on the symbiotic flexibility of coral hosts (i.e., the ability of corals to "switch" or "shuffle" their algal symbionts), coral bleaching can lead to a change in the composition of their associated Symbiodinium community and, thus, contribute to the coral's overall survival. In order to determine the flexibility of corals, molecul...

Anemones of genus Exaiptasia are used as model organisms for the study of cnidarian-dinoflagellate (genus Symbiodinium) endosymbiosis. However, while most reef-building corals harbor Symbiodinium of clade C, Exaiptasia spp. anemones mainly harbor clade B Symbiodinium (ITS2 type B1) populations. In this study, we reveal for the first time that bleached Exaiptasia pallida anemones can establish a...

Coral reefs have evolved with a crucial symbiosis between photosynthetic dinoflagellates (genus Symbiodinium) and their cnidarian hosts (Scleractinians). Most coral larvae take up Symbiodinium from their environment; however, the earliest steps in this process have been elusive. Here we demonstrate that the disaccharide trehalose may be an important signal from the symbiont to potential larval ...

Flexibility in biological systems is seen as an important driver of macro-ecosystem function and stability. Spatially constrained endosymbiotic settings, however, are less studied, although environmental thresholds of symbiotic corals are linked to the function of their endosymbiotic dinoflagellate communities. Symbiotic flexibility is a hypothesized mechanism that corals may exploit to adapt t...

Increases in seawater temperature impair photosynthesis (photoinhibition) in the symbiotic dinoflagellate Symbiodinium within cnidarian hosts, such as corals and sea anemones, and may destroy their symbiotic relationship. Although the degree of photoinhibition in Symbiodinium under heat stress differs among strains, the differences in their responses to increased temperatures, including cyclic ...

Symbiodinium is an indispensable endosymbiont in corals and the most important primary producer in coral reef ecosystems. During the past decades, coral bleaching attributed to the disruption of the symbiosis has frequently occurred resulting in reduction of coral reef coverage globally. Growth and proliferation of corals require some specific trace metals that are essential components of perti...

Symbiodinium is a dinoflagellate that plays an important role in the physiology of the symbiotic relationships of Cnidarians such as corals and sea anemones. However, it is very difficult to cultivate free-living dinoflagellates after being isolated from the host, as they are very sensitive to environmental changes. How these symbiont cells are supported by the host tissue is still unclear. Thi...

The success of coral reef ecosystems largely depends on mutualistic symbiosis between scleractinian corals and the dinoflagellate photosymbiont Symbiodinium spp. However, further investigation is needed to elucidate the flexibility of coral-algae associations in response to environmental changes. In this study, we applied a molecular method (high-throughput internal transcribed spacer 2 region ...

Symbiodinium, a large group of dinoflagellates, live in symbiosis with marine protists, invertebrate metazoans, and free-living in the environment. Symbiodinium are functionally variable and play critical energetic roles in symbiosis. Our knowledge of Symbiodinium has been historically constrained by the limited number of molecular markers available to study evolution in the genus. Here we comp...