Intracellular competition for nitrogen controls dinoflagellate population density in corals.

ABSTRACT: The density of dinoflagellate microalgae in the tissue of symbiotic corals is an important determinant for health and productivity of the coral animal. Yet, the specific mechanism for their regulation and the consequence for coral nutrition are insufficiently understood due to past methodological limitations to resolve the fine-scale metabolic consequences of fluctuating densities. Here, we characterized the physiological and nutritional consequences of symbiont density variations on the colony and tissue level in Stylophora pistillata from the Red Sea. Alterations in symbiont photophysiology maintained coral productivity and host nutrition across a broad range of symbiont densities. However, we demonstrate that density-dependent nutrient competition between individual symbiont cells, mani

SUBMITTER: Krueger T 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC7126079 | biostudies-literature | 2020 Mar

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature