Host transcriptomic plasticity and photosymbiotic fidelity underpin Pocillopora acclimatization across thermal regimes in the Pacific Ocean.

ABSTRACT: Heat waves are causing declines in coral reefs globally. Coral thermal responses depend on multiple, interacting drivers, such as past thermal exposure, endosymbiont community composition, and host genotype. This makes the understanding of their relative roles in adaptive and/or plastic responses crucial for anticipating impacts of future warming. Here, we extracted DNA and RNA from 102 Pocillopora colonies collected from 32 sites on 11 islands across the Pacific Ocean to characterize host-photosymbiont fidelity and to investigate patterns of gene expression across a historical thermal gradient. We report high host-photosymbiont fidelity and show that coral and microalgal gene expression respond to different drivers. Differences in photosymbiotic association had only weak impacts on host g

SUBMITTER: Armstrong EJ 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC10235041 | biostudies-literature | 2023 Jun

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature