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General Session 3: Biological oceanography & global change |
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High throughput pyrosequencing unravels hidden diversity of algal symbionts in scleractinian corals along China's southeast coast
Tuesday 10th @ 1425-1445
Multi-function Hall
Tuo Shi* , Xiamen University
Presenter Email: tuoshi@xmu.edu.cn
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| Collectively called zooxanthellae, photosynthetic dinoflagellates in the genus Symbiodinium are typical coral endosymbionts containing at least nine phylogenetically distinct clades (A–I). The study of Symbiodinium diversity offers critical insight into the flexibility and specificity of coral-algal symbiosis. In order to better understand the community structure and functional diversity of algal symbionts in reef corals off the coast of Southeast China, we collected widely distributed and region-specific corals from geographically contrasting regions. Using high throughput Next-Gen Sequencing (NGS) technology, we genotyped PCR-amplified chloroplast 23S rDNA (cp23S) and full-length ITS of nuclear rDNA of Symbiodinium components from the coral samples. Our survey reveals Symbiodinium diversity and host specificity at an extraordinarily fine scale, which enables the distinction of Symbiodinium community structure through subclade profiling despite its single-clade (mainly C) dominance and stability among various hosts across geographic distances. This study provides a means of evaluating the coral-zooxanthellae diversity and plasticity with improved sensitivity and resolution, expanding our understanding of the genetic basis underlying coral responses to environmental change. |
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