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The distribution of intra-genomically variable dinoflagellate symbionts at Lord Howe Island, Australia

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Abstract

The symbiotic dinoflagellates of corals and other marine invertebrates (Symbiodinium) are essential to the development of shallow-water coral reefs. This genus contains considerable genetic diversity and a corresponding range of physiological and ecological traits. Most genetic variation arises through the accumulation of somatic mutations that arise during asexual reproduction. Yet growing evidence suggests that occasional sexual reproductive events also occur within, and perhaps between, Symbiodinium lineages, further contributing to the pool of genetic variation available for evolutionary adaptation. Intra-genomic variation can therefore arise from both sexual and asexual reproductive processes, making it difficult to discern its underlying causes and consequences. We used quantitative PCR targeting the ITS2 locus to estimate proportions of genetically homogeneous symbionts and intra-genomically variable Symbiodinium (IGV Symbiodinium) in the reef-building coral Pocillopora damicornis at Lord Howe Island, Australia. We then sampled colonies through time and at a variety of spatial scales to find out whether the distribution of these symbionts followed patterns consistent with niche partitioning. Estimated ratios of homogeneous to IGV Symbiodinium varied between colonies within sites (metres to tens of metres) and between sites separated by hundreds to thousands of metres, but remained stable within colonies through time. Symbiont ratios followed a temperature gradient, with the local thermal maximum emerging as a negative predictor for the estimated proportional abundance of IGV Symbiodinium. While this pattern may result from fine-scale spatial population structure, it is consistent with an increased susceptibility to thermal stress, suggesting that the evolutionary processes that generate IGV (such as inter-lineage recombination and the accumulation of somatic mutations at the ITS2 locus) may have important implications for the fitness of the symbiont and that of the coral host.

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Acknowledgments

S.P.W. was supported by a Victoria University of Wellington Vice Chancellor’s Strategic Ph.D. Scholarship, J.L. Stewart Scholarship, and a Royal Society Marsden Fund Grant awarded to S.K.D. and P.L.F. (Contract Number VUW0902). Corals were collected under New South Wales Department of Primary Industries permit number P10/0042-1.1. This work was made possible with the help of the Lord Howe Island Marine Parks Authority (Sallyann Gudge, Jimmy Maher, Tas Douglass and Ian Kerr) and the efforts of several Lord Howe Island residents including Brian Busteed, Ian Fitzgerald, Rebecca Moran and Tim Solomon.

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  1. Paul L. Fisher

    Present address: School of Civil Engineering, The University of Queensland, St Lucia, QLD, 4072, Australia

Authors and Affiliations

  1. School of Biological Sciences, Victoria University of Wellington, Kelburn Parade, Wellington, 6012, New Zealand

    Shaun P. Wilkinson, Stefanie Pontasch, Paul L. Fisher & Simon K. Davy

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  1. Shaun P. Wilkinson
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Correspondence to Shaun P. Wilkinson.

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Wilkinson, S.P., Pontasch, S., Fisher, P.L. et al. The distribution of intra-genomically variable dinoflagellate symbionts at Lord Howe Island, Australia. Coral Reefs 35, 565–576 (2016). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00338-015-1357-0

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