Lineage dynamics of the endosymbiotic cell type in the soft coral Xenia.

ABSTRACT: Many corals harbour symbiotic dinoflagellate algae. The algae live inside coral cells in a specialized membrane compartment known as the symbiosome, which shares the photosynthetically fixed carbon with coral host cells while host cells provide inorganic carbon to the algae for photosynthesis¹. This endosymbiosis-which is critical for the maintenance of coral reef ecosystems-is increasingly threatened by environmental stressors that lead to coral bleaching (that is, the disruption of endosymbiosis), which in turn leads to coral death and the degradation of marine ecosystems². The molecular pathways that orchestrate the recognition, uptake and maintenance of algae in coral cells remain poorly understood. Here we report the chromosome-level genome assembly of a Xenia sp

SUBMITTER: Hu M 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC7332420 | biostudies-literature | 2020 Jun

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature