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Occurrence of the putatively heat-tolerant Symbiodinium phylotype D in high-latitudinal outlying coral communities

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Abstract

Biogeographic investigations have suggested that coral-symbiont associations can adapt to higher temperatures by hosting a heat-tolerant Symbiodinium, phylotype D. It is hypothesized that phylotype D is absent in high latitudes due to its heat-tolerant characteristics. In this study, this hypothesis was tested by examining the symbiont diversity in a scleractinian coral, Oulastrea crispata, throughout its entire latitudinal distribution range in the West Pacific. Molecular phylotyping of the 5′-end of the nuclear large subunit of ribosomal DNA (lsu rDNA) indicated that phylotype D was the dominant Symbiodinium in O. crispata from the tropical reefs to the marginal non-reefal coral communities. Several colonies of tropical populations were associated with phylotype C, either alone or simultaneously with phylotype D. Analysis of the polymerase chain reaction products using single-strand conformation polymorphism (SSCP) detected relatively low densities of phylotype C in most of the O. crispata colonies surveyed. These results provide evidence for the occurrence of phylotype D in cold-water outlying coral communities. The dominant occurrence of phylotype C in some O. crispata colonies on tropical reefs and the relatively low densities of phylotype C identified by SSCP in subtropical and temperate populations show that the dominant symbiont type can vary in this coral species and that multiple symbionts can co-occur in the same host.

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Acknowledgments

Many thanks to K. K. Lam, Q.-C. Chen, X.-C. Song, and P. Jarayabhand for hosting our field trips and for their coral collections. Special thanks to the Evolutionary Biology Group, Research Centre for Biodiversity, Academia Sinica (RCBAS), the three anonymous reviewers and Dr. M. van Oppen for the constructive comments. This work was supported by Academia Sinica Thematic grants (2002–2004, 2006–2007) to C.A.C, and by the RCBAS travel funds for field collections at Hainan and Weijhou Islands, China, and Si-Chiang, Bu-Lun and Sa-Tun, Thailand. This is the Evolution and Ecology Group, RCBAS contribution no. 41.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Research Center for Biodiversity, Academia Sinica, Nangang, 115, Taipei, Taiwan

    Yi-T. Lien & C. A. Chen

  2. Sesoko Station, Tropical Biosphere Research Center, University of Ryukyus, Okinawa, Japan

    Yi-T. Lien & Y. Nakano

  3. Department of Biology, Prince of Songkla University, Songkla, Thailand

    S. Plathong

  4. Seto Marine Biological Station, The Kyoto University, Shirayama, Japan

    H. Fukami

  5. Department of Biotechnology, Tajen University of Science and Technology, Yanpu, Pingtung, Taiwan

    Jih-T. Wang

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  1. Yi-T. Lien
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  2. Y. Nakano
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  5. Jih-T. Wang
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  6. C. A. Chen
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Correspondence to C. A. Chen.

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Communicated by Biology Editor M. van Oppen.

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Lien, YT., Nakano, Y., Plathong, S. et al. Occurrence of the putatively heat-tolerant Symbiodinium phylotype D in high-latitudinal outlying coral communities. Coral Reefs 26, 35–44 (2007). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00338-006-0185-7

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00338-006-0185-7

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