In addition to experimental studies, computational models provide valuable information about colony development in scleractinian corals. Using our simulation model, we show how environmental factors such as nutrient distribution and light availability affect growth patterns of coral colonies. To compare the simulated coral growth forms with those of real coral colonies, we quantitatively compar...

The advent of fluorescent proteins (FPs) has redefined the use of fluorescence microscopy in every biological discipline. Green fluorescent protein (GFP) and its variants are commonly used in celluar imaging studies. Recently, a novel fluorescent protein, named vivid Verde Fluorescent Protein (VFP), was isolated from Cyphastrea microphthalma, a scleractinian coral found in the warmer waters of ...

The advent of fluorescent proteins (FPs) has redefined the use of fluorescence microscopy in every biological discipline. Green fluorescent protein (GFP) and its variants are commonly used in celluar imaging studies. Recently, a novel fluorescent protein, named vivid Verde Fluorescent Protein (VFP), was isolated from Cyphastrea microphthalma, a scleractinian coral found in the warmer waters of ...

The advent of fluorescent proteins (FPs) has redefined the use of fluorescence microscopy in every biological discipline. Green fluorescent protein (GFP) and its variants are commonly used in celluar imaging studies. Recently, a novel fluorescent protein, named vivid Verde Fluorescent Protein (VFP), was isolated from Cyphastrea microphthalma, a scleractinian coral found in the warmer waters of ...

Tropical scleractinian corals are particularly vulnerable to global warming as elevated sea surface temperatures (SSTs) disrupt the delicate balance between the coral host and their algal endosymbionts, leading to symbiont expulsion, mass bleaching and mortality. While satellite sensing of SST has proved a reliable predictor of coral bleaching at the regional scale, there are large deviations i...

Coral reefs which form some of the most diverse ecosystems on Earth support many symbiotic relationships. Symbiodinium can provide up to 90% of a coral.s energy requirements. Temperature rise, turbid water and high salinity in the Persian Gulf were among the factors separating zooxanthellae from corals and result in bleaching phenomenon. Therefore, it is crucial to identify Symbiodinium of the ...

Larvae of the nudibranch mollusc Phestilla sibogae metamorphose in response to a small organic compound released into seawater by their adult prey, the scleractinian coral Porites compressa. The transformations that occur during metamorphosis, including loss of the ciliated velum (swimming organ), evacuation of the shell, and bodily elongation, are thought to be controlled by a combination of n...

Scleractinian corals are essential constituents of tropical reef ecological diversity. They live in close association with diazotrophs [dinitrogen (N2)-fixing microbes], which can fix high rates of N2. Whether corals benefit from this extrinsic nitrogen source is still under debate. Until now, N2 fixation rates have been indirectly estimated using the acetylene reduction assay, which does not p...