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Cloning and Use of a Coral 36B4 Gene to Study the Differential Expression of Coral Genes Between Light and Dark Conditions

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Abstract

This paper aims to validate reference genes for gene expression studies between light and dark conditions in the scleractinian coral Stylophora pistillata for future gene expression studies of the “light-enhanced calcification” phenomenon. For this purpose, we cloned, sequenced, and characterized a candidate reference gene, the 36B4 gene from the coral S. pistillata, and validated 36B4 and β-actin as reference genes. To illustrate the future applications of these reference genes, we tested the dark and light expression of two photosynthetic genes (Rubisco and D1 protein of the photosystem II) and two genes encoding proteins involved in calcium transport for coral calcification (a calcium ATPase and a calcium channel). Results show that both photosynthetic genes are enhanced during the light when standardized against 36B4 and β-actin, whereas the two genes encoding proteins involved in calcium transport are not differentially expressed between light and dark conditions. The characterization of a coral 36B4 and the establishment of such valid reference genes will be useful for future gene expression studies between diverse conditions (aposymbiotic/symbiotic, stress/control, light/dark conditions) in scleractinian corals.

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Abbreviations

36B4 = RPLP0:

acidic ribosomal phosphoprotein P0

STP36B4:

acidic ribosomal phosphoprotein P0 of the scleractinian coral Stylophora pistillata

C T :

threshold cycle

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Acknowledgments

We thank the three referees for their helpful comments on this manuscript. We are grateful to Dr. Didier Forcioli for his help in phylogenetic analyses and to Dominique Desgré for coral maintenance. Aurélie Moya was supported by a fellowship from the Scientific Center of Monaco. This study was conducted as part of the Centre Scientifique de Monaco Research Program, supported by the Government of the Principality of Monaco.

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Author notes

  1. Guillaume Béranger

    Present address: IMP–Research Institute of Molecular Pathology, Dr Bohr-Gasse 7, 1030, Vienna, Austria

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Centre Scientifique de Monaco, Avenue Saint-Martin, MC-98000, Monaco, Principality of Monaco

    Aurélie Moya, Sylvie Tambutté, Béatrice Gaume, Denis Allemand & Didier Zoccola

  2. GéPITOs UMR6235 CNRS/UNSA, Université de Nice Sophia-Antipolis, CNRS; Faculté de Medecine, 28 av. de Valombrose, 06107, Nice Cedex 2, France

    Guillaume Béranger & Jean-Claude Scimeca

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  1. Aurélie Moya
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  2. Sylvie Tambutté
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  3. Guillaume Béranger
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  4. Béatrice Gaume
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  6. Denis Allemand
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  7. Didier Zoccola
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Didier Zoccola.

Additional information

Nucleotide sequence of the coral 36B4 gene cloned in this study is available in the Genbank database under the accession number EU069460.

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Moya, A., Tambutté, S., Béranger, G. et al. Cloning and Use of a Coral 36B4 Gene to Study the Differential Expression of Coral Genes Between Light and Dark Conditions. Mar Biotechnol 10, 653–663 (2008). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10126-008-9101-1

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10126-008-9101-1

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