title: Venturing in coral larval chimerism: a compact functional domain with fostered genotypic diversity.
abstract: The globally distributed coral species Pocillopora damicornis is known to release either sexual or asexual derived planula-larvae in various reef locations. Using microsatellite loci as markers, we documented the release of asexually derived chimeric larvae (CL), originating from mosaicked maternal colonies that were also chimeras, at Thai and Philippines reefs. The CL, each presenting different combinations of maternal genotypic constituents, create genetically-complex sets of asexual propagules. This novel mode of inheritance in corals challenges classical postulations of sexual/asexual reproduction traits, as asexual derived CL represent an alliance between genotypes that significantly sways the recruits' absolute fitness. This type of inherited chimerism, while enhancing intra-entity genetic heterogeneity, is an evolutionary tactic used to increase genetic-heterogeneity, primarily in new areas colonized by a limited number of larvae. Chimerism may also facilitate combat global change impacts by exhibiting adjustable genomic combinations of within-chimera traits that could withstand alterable environmental pressures, helping Pocillopora become a successful cosmopolitan species.
authors.affiliation: Israel Oceanographic and Limnological Research, National Institute of Oceanography, Tel Shikmona, P.O. Box 8030, Haifa 31080, Israel.
authors.forename: Baruch
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Rinkevich
authors.affiliation: Israel Oceanographic and Limnological Research, National Institute of Oceanography, Tel Shikmona, P.O. Box 8030, Haifa 31080, Israel.|Department of Evolutionary and Environmental Biology, Faculty of Natural Sciences, University of Haifa, Mount Carmel, 31905, Israel.
authors.forename: Lee
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Shaish
authors.affiliation: Israel Oceanographic and Limnological Research, National Institute of Oceanography, Tel Shikmona, P.O. Box 8030, Haifa 31080, Israel.
authors.forename: Jacob
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Douek
authors.affiliation: Department of Biology, Faculty of Natural Sciences, University of Haifa-Oranim, Tivon 36006, Israel.
authors.forename: Rachel
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Ben-Shlomo
mesh_terms: D000483:Alleles; D000818:Animals; D037421:Anthozoa / Q000235:genetics*; D046528:Chimerism; D005819:Genetic Markers; D014644:Genetic Variation; D005838:Genotype; D007814:Larva; D018895:Microsatellite Repeats; D017422:Sequence Analysis, DNA
chemical_list: D005819:Genetic Markers