Genome-Based Analyses of Six Hexacorallian Species Reject the "Naked Coral" Hypothesis.

ABSTRACT: Scleractinian corals are the foundation species of the coral-reef ecosystem. Their calcium carbonate skeletons form extensive structures that are home to millions of species, making coral reefs one of the most diverse ecosystems of our planet. However, our understanding of how reef-building corals have evolved the ability to calcify and become the ecosystem builders they are today is hampered by uncertain relationships within their subclass Hexacorallia. Corallimorpharians have been proposed to originate from a complex scleractinian ancestor that lost the ability to calcify in response to increasing ocean acidification, suggesting the possibility for corals to lose and gain the ability to calcify in response to increasing ocean acidification. Here, we employed a phylogenomic approach using

SUBMITTER: Wang X 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC5737686 | biostudies-literature | 2017 Oct

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature