Extensive differences in gene expression between symbiotic and aposymbiotic cnidarians.

ABSTRACT: Coral reefs provide habitats for a disproportionate number of marine species relative to the small area of the oceans that they occupy. The mutualism between the cnidarian animal hosts and their intracellular dinoflagellate symbionts provides the nutritional foundation for coral growth and formation of reef structures, because algal photosynthesis can provide >90% of the total energy of the host. Disruption of this symbiosis ("coral bleaching") is occurring on a large scale due primarily to anthropogenic factors and poses a major threat to the future of coral reefs. Despite the importance of this symbiosis, the cellular mechanisms involved in its establishment, maintenance, and breakdown remain largely unknown. We report our continued development of genomic tools to study these mechanisms

SUBMITTER: Lehnert EM 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC3931562 | biostudies-literature | 2014 Feb

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature