title: Comparative genomics explains the evolutionary success of reef-forming corals.
abstract: Transcriptome and genome data from twenty stony coral species and a selection of reference bilaterians were studied to elucidate coral evolutionary history. We identified genes that encode the proteins responsible for the precipitation and aggregation of the aragonite skeleton on which the organisms live, and revealed a network of environmental sensors that coordinate responses of the host animals to temperature, light, and pH. Furthermore, we describe a variety of stress-related pathways, including apoptotic pathways that allow the host animals to detoxify reactive oxygen and nitrogen species that are generated by their intracellular photosynthetic symbionts, and determine the fate of corals under environmental stress. Some of these genes arose through horizontal gene transfer and comprise at least 0.2% of the animal gene inventory. Our analysis elucidates the evolutionary strategies that have allowed symbiotic corals to adapt and thrive for hundreds of millions of years.
authors.affiliation: Department of Ecology, Evolution and Natural Resources, Rutgers University, New Brunswick, United States.|Department of Marine and Coastal Sciences, Rutgers University, New Brunswick, United States.
authors.forename: Debashish
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Bhattacharya
authors.affiliation: Red Sea Research Center, Biological and Environmental Sciences and Engineering Division, King Abdullah University of Science and Technology (KAUST), Thuwal, Saudi Arabia.
authors.forename: Shobhit
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Agrawal
authors.affiliation: Red Sea Research Center, Biological and Environmental Sciences and Engineering Division, King Abdullah University of Science and Technology (KAUST), Thuwal, Saudi Arabia.
authors.forename: Manuel
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Aranda
authors.affiliation: Red Sea Research Center, Biological and Environmental Sciences and Engineering Division, King Abdullah University of Science and Technology (KAUST), Thuwal, Saudi Arabia.
authors.forename: Sebastian
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Baumgarten
authors.affiliation: Hawaii Institute of Marine Biology, Kaneohe, United States.
authors.forename: Mahdi
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Belcaid
authors.affiliation: Environmental Biophysics and Molecular Ecology Program, Department of Marine and Coastal Sciences, Rutgers University, New Brunswick, United States.
authors.forename: Jeana L
authors.initials: JL
authors.lastname: Drake
authors.affiliation: Smithsonian Institution, National Museum of Natural History, Washington, United States.
authors.forename: Douglas
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Erwin
authors.affiliation: ARC Centre of Excellence for Coral Reef Studies, James Cook University, Townsville, Australia.|Research School of Biology, Australian National University, Canberra, Australia.
authors.forename: Sylvian
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Foret
authors.affiliation: Hawaii Institute of Marine Biology, Kaneohe, United States.
authors.forename: Ruth D
authors.initials: RD
authors.lastname: Gates
authors.affiliation: American Museum of Natural History, Sackler Institute for Comparative Genomics, New York, United States.|Department of Natural Sciences, City University of New York, Baruch College and The Graduate Center, New York, United States.
authors.forename: David F
authors.initials: DF
authors.lastname: Gruber
authors.affiliation: Department of Biology, Mueller Lab, Penn State University, University Park, United States.
authors.forename: Bishoy
authors.identifier: 0000-0003-2934-3827
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Kamel
authors.affiliation: School of Marine Science and Ocean Engineering, University of New Hampshire, Durham, United States.
authors.forename: Michael P
authors.initials: MP
authors.lastname: Lesser
authors.affiliation: The Mina and Everard Goodman Faculty of Life Sciences, Bar-Ilan University, Ramat Gam, Israel.
authors.forename: Oren
authors.initials: O
authors.lastname: Levy
authors.affiliation: Red Sea Research Center, Biological and Environmental Sciences and Engineering Division, King Abdullah University of Science and Technology (KAUST), Thuwal, Saudi Arabia.
authors.forename: Yi Jin
authors.initials: YJ
authors.lastname: Liew
authors.affiliation: Department of Molecular, Cellular and Biomedical Sciences, University of New Hampshire, Durham, United States.
authors.forename: Matthew
authors.identifier: 0000-0002-2368-6960
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: MacManes
authors.affiliation: Environmental Biophysics and Molecular Ecology Program, Department of Marine and Coastal Sciences, Rutgers University, New Brunswick, United States.|Marine Biology Department, The Leon H. Charney School of Marine Sciences, University of Haifa, Mt. Carmel, Israel.
authors.forename: Tali
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Mass
authors.affiliation: Department of Biology, Mueller Lab, Penn State University, University Park, United States.
authors.forename: Monica
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Medina
authors.affiliation: American Museum of Natural History, Sackler Institute for Comparative Genomics, New York, United States.|Biological Science Department, State University of New York, College at Old Westbury, New York, United States.
authors.forename: Shaadi
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Mehr
authors.affiliation: Department of Integrative Biology, Oregon State University, Corvallis, United States.
authors.forename: Eli
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Meyer
authors.affiliation: Department of Plant Biology and Pathology, Rutgers University, New Brunswick, United States.
authors.forename: Dana C
authors.initials: DC
authors.lastname: Price
authors.affiliation: Hawaii Institute of Marine Biology, Kaneohe, United States.
authors.forename: Hollie M
authors.initials: HM
authors.lastname: Putnam
authors.affiliation: Department of Ecology, Evolution and Natural Resources, Rutgers University, New Brunswick, United States.
authors.forename: Huan
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Qiu
authors.affiliation: Marine Genomics Unit, Okinawa Institute of Science and Technology Graduate University, Okinawa, Japan.
authors.forename: Chuya
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Shinzato
authors.affiliation: Marine Genomics Unit, Okinawa Institute of Science and Technology Graduate University, Okinawa, Japan.
authors.forename: Eiichi
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Shoguchi
authors.affiliation: Laboratory of Experimental Medicine and Department of Cell and Molecular Biology, John A. Burns School of Medicine, Honolulu, United States.|Chaminade University, Honolulu, United States.
authors.forename: Alexander J
authors.identifier: 0000-0002-3526-4685
authors.initials: AJ
authors.lastname: Stokes
authors.affiliation: Centre Scientifique de Monaco, Quai Antoine Ier, Monaco.
authors.forename: Sylvie
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Tambutté
authors.affiliation: Marine Biology Department, The Leon H. Charney School of Marine Sciences, University of Haifa, Mt. Carmel, Israel.
authors.forename: Dan
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Tchernov
authors.affiliation: Red Sea Research Center, Biological and Environmental Sciences and Engineering Division, King Abdullah University of Science and Technology (KAUST), Thuwal, Saudi Arabia.
authors.forename: Christian R
authors.identifier: 0000-0003-4555-3795
authors.initials: CR
authors.lastname: Voolstra
authors.affiliation: Department of Ecology, Evolution and Natural Resources, Rutgers University, New Brunswick, United States.
authors.forename: Nicole
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Wagner
authors.affiliation: Department of Molecular, Cellular and Biomedical Sciences, University of New Hampshire, Durham, United States.
authors.forename: Charles W
authors.initials: CW
authors.lastname: Walker
authors.affiliation: Institute of Plant Biochemistry, Heinrich-Heine-Universität, Düsseldorf, Germany.
authors.forename: Andreas Pm
authors.initials: AP
authors.lastname: Weber
authors.affiliation: Department of Integrative Biology, Oregon State University, Corvallis, United States.
authors.forename: Virginia
authors.initials: V
authors.lastname: Weis
authors.affiliation: Department of Ecology, Evolution and Natural Resources, Rutgers University, New Brunswick, United States.
authors.forename: Ehud
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Zelzion
authors.affiliation: Centre Scientifique de Monaco, Quai Antoine Ier, Monaco.
authors.forename: Didier
authors.identifier: 0000-0002-1524-8098
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Zoccola
authors.affiliation: Environmental Biophysics and Molecular Ecology Program, Department of Marine and Coastal Sciences, Rutgers University, New Brunswick, United States.|Department of Earth and Planetary Sciences, Rutgers University, New Jersey, United States.
authors.forename: Paul G
authors.identifier: 0000-0002-2353-1969
authors.initials: PG
authors.lastname: Falkowski
mesh_terms: D000222:Adaptation, Physiological / Q000235:genetics*; D000818:Animals; D037421:Anthozoa / Q000145:classification / Q000235:genetics* / Q000254:growth & development / Q000378:metabolism; D005075:Biological Evolution; D002113:Calcification, Physiologic / Q000235:genetics*; D002119:Calcium Carbonate / Q000737:chemistry / Q000378:metabolism; D057894:Coral Reefs; D022761:Gene Transfer, Horizontal; D016678:Genome; D023281:Genomics / Q000379:methods*; D006863:Hydrogen-Ion Concentration; D008027:Light; D053858:Metabolic Networks and Pathways / Q000235:genetics*; D010788:Photosynthesis / Q000502:physiology; D010802:Phylogeny; D026361:Reactive Nitrogen Species / Q000378:metabolism; D017382:Reactive Oxygen Species / Q000378:metabolism; D013312:Stress, Physiological; D013559:Symbiosis / Q000502:physiology; D013696:Temperature
chemical_list: D026361:Reactive Nitrogen Species; D017382:Reactive Oxygen Species; D002119:Calcium Carbonate
keywords: biomineralization; corals; ecology; evolutionary biology; genomics; horizontal gene transfer; stress response; symbiosis