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Symbiodiniaceae conduct under natural bleaching stress during advanced gametogenesis stages of a mesophotic coral

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Abstract

The mesophotic coral Alveopora allingi from the northern Gulf of Eilat/Aqaba, Red Sea, is affected by year-round partial coral-bleaching events. During these events, the migration of Symbiodiniaceae takes place from the coral-host mesoglea to the developed oocytes in bleached parts of colonies of A. allingi but not in the non-bleached parts. Additionally, these oocytes are abnormal, missing part of the structural material of the peripheral areas, and are also significantly larger in the bleached areas of the colonies. Hence, we suggest a parasitic behavior of the symbionts or a commensalism relationship which enhance symbionts' needs during bleaching periods and may boost the gametogenesis development in these corals. We propose that evolutionarily, this behavior may greatly contribute to the symbiont community survival throughout the bleaching period, and it can also be beneficial for the host's persistence and adaptation to bleaching through the acquisition of a specific symbiont community following the bleaching event.

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Acknowledgements

We thank the Interuniversity Institute for Marine Sciences in Eilat for the logistical support, and Barbara Colorni for help with the histological work. The comments of two anonymous reviewers greatly improved the manuscript. This study was supported by the Israel Science Foundation (ISF) No. 1191/16 to YL and by the European Union’s Horizon 2020 research and innovation program under the Marie Skłodowska-Curie post-doctoral grant agreement No. 796025 to GE.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. ARC Centre of Excellence for Coral Reef Studies, School of Biological Sciences, The University of Queensland, St Lucia, QLD, 4072, Australia

    Gal Eyal

  2. The Mina & Everard Goodman Faculty of Life Sciences, Bar-Ilan University, 5290002, Ramat Gan, Israel

    Gal Eyal

  3. School of Zoology, Tel-Aviv University, 6997801, Ramat Aviv, Israel

    Lee Eyal-Shaham & Yossi Loya

  4. The Interuniversity Institute for Marine Sciences of Eilat, 88103, Eilat, Israel

    Lee Eyal-Shaham

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  1. Gal Eyal
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Correspondence to Gal Eyal.

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All samples were collected and treated according to the Israeli Nature and Parks Authority permit no. 2011/38249.

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Eyal, G., Eyal-Shaham, L. & Loya, Y. Symbiodiniaceae conduct under natural bleaching stress during advanced gametogenesis stages of a mesophotic coral. Coral Reefs 40, 959–964 (2021). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00338-021-02082-1

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