Linking coral fluorescence phenotypes to thermal bleaching in the reef-building Galaxea fascicularis from the northern South China Sea.

ABSTRACT: Coral fluorescence phenotypes have been suggested as an adaptation to a broad range of environmental conditions, yet the mechanisms linking thermal bleaching tolerance in reef-building coral populations, associated with fluorescence phenotypes due to GFP-like proteins, remains unclear. In this study, the relationship between the thermal sensitivity and phenotypic plasticity of corals was investigated using two phenotypes of Galaxea fascicularis, green and brown. The results reveal that brown G. fascicularis was more susceptible to bleaching than green G. fascicularis when exposed to a higher growth temperature of 32 °C. Both phenotypes of G. fascicularis were associated with the thermotolerant Symbiodiniaceae symbiont, Durusdinium trenchii. However, the b

SUBMITTER: Gong S 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC10902222 | biostudies-literature | 2024 Feb

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature