Transcriptomic differences between day and night in Acropora millepora provide new insights into metabolite exchange and light-enhanced calcification in corals

Acropora millepora transcriptome from the National Center for Biotechnology Information, BioProject PRJNA288809. Submitted by ARC Centre of Excellence for Coral Reef Studies, James Cook University.

Experiment type: Expression profiling by high throughput sequencing.

Summary: The metabolic bases of the interaction between the coral Acropora millepora and its dinoflagellate symbiont were investigated by comparing gene expression levels under light and dark conditions at the whole transcriptome level. Among the differentially expressed genes identified, a suite of genes involved in cholesterol transport was found to be up-regulated under light conditions, confirming the significance of this compound in the coral symbiosis. Although ion transporters likely to have roles in calcification were not differentially expressed in this study, expression levels of many genes associated with skeletal organic matrix composition and organization were higher in light conditions. This implies that the rate of organic matrix synthesis is one factor limiting calcification at night. Thus, LEC during the day is likely to be a consequence of increases in both matrix synthesis and the supply of precursor molecules as a result of photosynthetic activity.

Overall design:  Branch tips from three adult colonies of Acropora millepora were sampled at midday and midnight.

Abstract [Related Publication]: The evolutionary success of reef-building corals is often attributed to their symbiotic relationship with photosynthetic dinoflagellates of the genus Symbiodinium, but metabolic interactions between the partners and the molecular bases of light-enhanced calcification (LEC) are not well understood. Here, the metabolic bases of the interaction between the coral Acropora millepora and its dinoflagellate symbiont were investigated by comparing gene expression levels under light and dark conditions at the whole transcriptome level. Among the 497 differentially expressed genes identified, a suite of genes involved in cholesterol transport was found to be upregulated under light conditions, confirming the significance of this compound in the coral symbiosis. Although ion transporters likely to have roles in calcification were not differentially expressed in this study, expression levels of many genes associated with skeletal organic matrix composition and organization were higher in light conditions. This implies that the rate of organic matrix synthesis is one factor limiting calcification at night. Thus, LEC during the day is likely to be a consequence of increases in both matrix synthesis and the supply of precursor molecules as a result of photosynthetic activity.

 

 

    Data Record Details
    Data record related to this publication Transcriptomic differences between day and night in Acropora millepora provide new insights into metabolite exchange and light-enhanced calcification in corals
    Data Publication title Transcriptomic differences between day and night in Acropora millepora provide new insights into metabolite exchange and light-enhanced calcification in corals
  • Description

    Acropora millepora transcriptome from the National Center for Biotechnology Information, BioProject PRJNA288809. Submitted by ARC Centre of Excellence for Coral Reef Studies, James Cook University.

    Experiment type: Expression profiling by high throughput sequencing.

    Summary: The metabolic bases of the interaction between the coral Acropora millepora and its dinoflagellate symbiont were investigated by comparing gene expression levels under light and dark conditions at the whole transcriptome level. Among the differentially expressed genes identified, a suite of genes involved in cholesterol transport was found to be up-regulated under light conditions, confirming the significance of this compound in the coral symbiosis. Although ion transporters likely to have roles in calcification were not differentially expressed in this study, expression levels of many genes associated with skeletal organic matrix composition and organization were higher in light conditions. This implies that the rate of organic matrix synthesis is one factor limiting calcification at night. Thus, LEC during the day is likely to be a consequence of increases in both matrix synthesis and the supply of precursor molecules as a result of photosynthetic activity.

    Overall design:  Branch tips from three adult colonies of Acropora millepora were sampled at midday and midnight.

    Abstract [Related Publication]: The evolutionary success of reef-building corals is often attributed to their symbiotic relationship with photosynthetic dinoflagellates of the genus Symbiodinium, but metabolic interactions between the partners and the molecular bases of light-enhanced calcification (LEC) are not well understood. Here, the metabolic bases of the interaction between the coral Acropora millepora and its dinoflagellate symbiont were investigated by comparing gene expression levels under light and dark conditions at the whole transcriptome level. Among the 497 differentially expressed genes identified, a suite of genes involved in cholesterol transport was found to be upregulated under light conditions, confirming the significance of this compound in the coral symbiosis. Although ion transporters likely to have roles in calcification were not differentially expressed in this study, expression levels of many genes associated with skeletal organic matrix composition and organization were higher in light conditions. This implies that the rate of organic matrix synthesis is one factor limiting calcification at night. Thus, LEC during the day is likely to be a consequence of increases in both matrix synthesis and the supply of precursor molecules as a result of photosynthetic activity.

     

     

  • Other Descriptors
  • Data type dataset
  • Keywords
    • transcriptome
    • Symbiodinium
    • gene expression
    • biomineralization
    • cholesterol
    • light-enhanced calcification
    • organic matrix
    • symbiosis
    • ARC Centre of Excellence for Coral Reef Studies
  • Funding source
  • Research grant(s)/Scheme name(s)
  • Research themes
    Tropical Ecosystems, Conservation and Climate Change
    FoR Codes (*)
    SEO Codes
    Specify spatial or temporal setting of the data
    Temporal (time) coverage
  • Start Date
  • End Date
  • Time Period
    Spatial (location) coverage
  • Locations
    • Adult colonies collected from the reef adjacent to Orpheus Island on the northern Great Barrier Reef (18.60°S, 146.49°E) and transported to Orpheus Island Research Station
    Data Locations
    The Data Manager is: Anthony Bertucci
    College or Centre
    Access conditions Open: free access under license
  • Alternative access conditions
  • Data record size
  • Related publications
      Name Bertucci, A., Forêt, S., Ball, E.E., and Miller, D.J. (2015) Transcriptomic differences between day and night in Acropora millepora provide new insights into metabolite exchange and light-enhanced calcification in corals. Molecular Ecology, 24 (17). pp. 4489-4504.
    • URL http://dx.doi.org/10.1111/mec.13328
    • Notes
  • Related websites
      Name
    • URL
    • Notes
  • Related metadata (including standards, codebooks, vocabularies, thesauri, ontologies)
  • Related data
      Name
    • URL
    • Notes
  • Related services
      Name
    • URL
    • Notes
    Select or add a licence for the data
    The data will be licensed under
  • Other Licence
  • Statement of rights in data
  • Data owners
      James Cook University
    Citation Bertucci, Anthony; Miller, David (2015): Transcriptomic differences between day and night in Acropora millepora provide new insights into metabolite exchange and light-enhanced calcification in corals. James Cook University. https://research.jcu.edu.au/data/published/97a5604ac82af953b313595097028535