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Dynamics of lipid and fatty acid composition of shallow-water corals under thermal stress: an experimental approach

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Abstract

Coral bleaching induces changes in lipid and fatty acid composition that result in low lipid content, reducing the likelihood of coral survival. Species-specific differences in the metabolism of lipid reserves may contribute to the differential resistance of corals under acute heat exposures. Here, we examined the dynamics of lipids and fatty acid abundance in corals subjected to short-term heat stress. The stony corals Acropora intermedia, Montipora digitata, and the soft coral Sinularia capitalis all showed a 60–75% decline in both storage and structural lipids. However, S. capitalis and M. digitata exhibited no significant change in the percentages of structural lipids (i.e., polar lipids and sterols) until they had lost 90–95% of their endosymbionts, whereas A. intermedia showed a rapid decline in structural lipids after a 50% loss of symbionts. After a 90–95% loss of symbionts under heat stress, all three corals showed a relative depletion of polyunsaturated fatty acids that had symbiont biomarkers, suggesting that polyunsaturated fatty acids were translocated from the symbiont to the coral host tissue.

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Acknowledgments

This research was supported by the Russian Foundation of Basic Research (09-04-01040, 09-04-90304, and 09-04-98542), the project “The study of biochemical resistance factors of the bleaching of Vietnamese Coral reefs” (NAFOSTED 2009-2011). The authors are grateful to the staff of Nhatrang Institute of Technology Research and Application VAST and the Open Russian-Vietnamese Laboratory of Biochemistry for use of facilities and hospitality.

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  1. A. V. Zhirmunsky Institute of Marine Biology, Far Eastern Branch of the Russian Academy of Sciences, Palchevskogo 17, 690041, Vladivostok, Russia

    A. B. Imbs & I. M. Yakovleva

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  1. A. B. Imbs
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  2. I. M. Yakovleva
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Correspondence to A. B. Imbs.

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Communicated by Environment Editor Prof. Rob van Woesik

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Imbs, A.B., Yakovleva, I.M. Dynamics of lipid and fatty acid composition of shallow-water corals under thermal stress: an experimental approach. Coral Reefs 31, 41–53 (2012). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00338-011-0817-4

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