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How corals adapt to day and night
September 15, 2008Researchers have uncovered a gene in corals that responds to day/night cycles, which provides some tantalizing clues into how symbiotic corals work together with their plankton partners.
Corals are fascinating animals that form the largest biological constructions in the world, sprawling coral reefs that cover less than 0.2 % of the seafloor yet provide habitats for more than 30% of marine life. In shallow waters that don't have abundant food, corals have developed a close relationship with small photosynthetic critters called dinoflagellates. The dinoflagellates use sunlight to produce energy for the coral, which in turn use that energy to construct mineralized skeletons for protection. The mineral production, known as coral calcification, is closely tied with the day/night cycle, though the molecular mechanism behind this synchronization is mysterious.
Aurelie Moya and colleagues have now characterized the first coral gene that responds to the light cycle; this gene, called STPCA, makes an enzyme that converts carbon dioxide to bicarbonate (baking soda) and is twice as active at night compared to daytime. The researchers found that the enzyme concentrates in the watery layer right under the calcified skeleton, which combined with studies showing that STPCA inhibitors lower calcification rates, confirms a direct role for STPCA in this process.
Moya and colleagues propose that STPCA becomes more active at night to cope with acid buildup. The calcification process requires many hydrogen atoms, which during the day can be removed by photosynthesis; at night, however, hydrogen accumulates which increases the acidity of the coral, and therefore STPCA creates extra bicarbonate as a buffer to prevent acid damage.
American Society for Biochemistry and Molecular Biology
Moya and colleagues propose that STPCA becomes more active at night to cope with acid buildup. The calcification process requires many hydrogen atoms, which during the day can be removed by photosynthesis; at night, however, hydrogen accumulates which increases the acidity of the coral, and therefore STPCA creates extra bicarbonate as a buffer to prevent acid damage.
American Society for Biochemistry and Molecular Biology
Corals Current Events and Corals News RSSBiomedical research profits from the exploration of the deep sea
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Biomedical research profits from the exploration of the deep sea
A study published in the scientific journal PLoS ONE highlights how the exploration of the ocean depths can benefit humankind.
Urgent action on international coral reef crisis
Coral reef scientists and policy makers from the world's most prominent coral reef nations are meeting in Australia this week to develop urgent action plans to rescue the world's richest centre of marine biodiversity from gradual decline.
Coral reefs found growing in cold, deep ocean
Imagine descending in a submarine to the ice-cold, ink-black depths of the ocean, 800 metres under the surface of the Atlantic.
Diversity of plant-eating fishes may be key to recovery of coral reefs
For endangered coral reefs, not all plant-eating fish are created equal. A report scheduled to be published this week in the early edition of the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences suggests that maintaining the proper balance of herbivorous fishes may be critical to restoring coral reefs, which are declining dramatically worldwide.
Cranking up the volume-- Sounds travel farther underwater as world's oceans become more acidic
It is common knowledge that the world's oceans and atmosphere are warming as humans release more and more carbon dioxide into the Earth's atmosphere. However, fewer people realize that the chemistry of the oceans is also changing--seawater is becoming more acidic as carbon dioxide from the atmosphere dissolves in the oceans.
Discovered: World's Largest Tsunami Debris
A line of massive boulders on the western shore of Tonga may be evidence of the most powerful volcano-triggered tsunami found to date. Up to 9 meters (30 feet) high and weighing up to 1.6 million kilograms (3.5 million pounds), the seven coral boulders are located 100 to 400 meters (300 to 1,300 feet) from the coast.
Modest CO2 cutbacks may be too little, too late for coral reefs
How much carbon dioxide is too much? According to United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) greenhouse gases in the atmosphere need to be stabilized at levels low enough to "prevent dangerous anthropogenic interference with the climate system." But scientists have come to realize that an even more acute danger than climate change is lurking in the world's oceans-one that is likely to be triggered by CO2 levels that are modest by climate standards.
Protection zones in the wrong place to prevent coral reef collapse
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Protection zones in the wrong place to prevent coral reef collapse
Conservation zones are in the wrong place to protect vulnerable coral reefs from the effects of global warming, an international team of scientists warned today.
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