Relationship between Acropora millepora juvenile fluorescence and composition of newly established Symbiodinium assemblage

Abstract

Coral-dinoflagellate symbiosis is the key biological interaction enabling existence of modern-type coral reefs, but the mechanisms regulating initial host-symbiont attraction, recognition and symbiont proliferation thus far remain largely unclear. A common reef-building coral, Acropora millepora, displays conspicuous fluorescent polymorphism during all phases of its life cycle, due to the differential expression of fluorescent proteins (FPs) of the green fluorescent protein family. In this study, we examine whether fluorescent variation in young coral juveniles exposed to natural sediments is associated with the uptake of disparate Symbiodinium assemblages determined using ITS-2 deep sequencing. We found that Symbiodinium assemblages varied significantly when redness values varied, specifically in regards to abundances of clades A and C. Whether fluorescence was quantified as a categorical or continuous trait, clade A was found at higher abundances in redder juveniles. These preliminary results suggest juvenile fluorescence may be associated with Symbiodinium uptake, potentially acting as either an attractant to ecologically specific types or as a mechanism to modulate the internal light environment to control Symbiodinium physiology within the host.

Keywords: Acropora millepora; Fluorescence; ITS-2; Symbiodinium.

Figure 1. Variation in juvenile fluorescence.

(A) Fluorescence as a categorical trait (x-axis) and as a continuous trait (y- axis). (B) A red morph. (C) A green morph.

Figure 2. Non-metric multidimensional scaling (NMDS) using Bray Curtis distance matrix of variance normalized Symbiodinium abundances.

(A) Fluorescence as a categorical variable (red or green), and (B) as a continuous variable (redness). (C) Discriminant analysis of principle components (DAPC) with fluorescence as a categorical variable. Symbol shapes correspond to clade designations with multiple types (A, circular shapes; C, squares; D, star/varied shapes; F, line based shapes; Uncultured/OTUs, cross shapes).