Effects of Trace Metal Concentrations on the Growth of the Coral Endosymbiont Symbiodinium kawagutii.

ABSTRACT: 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 pertinent biochemical processes, such as in photosynthetic systems and electron transport chains. In addition, trace metals are vital in the survival of corals against oxidative stress because these metals serve as enzymatic cofactors in antioxidative defense mechanisms. The basic knowledge about trace metal requirements of Symbiodinium is lacking. Here we show that the requirement of Symbiodinium kawagut

SUBMITTER: Rodriguez IB 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC4744903 | biostudies-literature | 2016

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature