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Differential stability of photosynthetic membranes and fatty acid composition at elevated temperature in Symbiodinium

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Abstract

Coral reefs are threatened by increasing surface seawater temperatures resulting from climate change. Reef-building corals symbiotic with dinoflagellates in the genus Symbiodinium experience dramatic reductions in algal densities when exposed to temperatures above the long-term local summer average, leading to a phenomenon called coral bleaching. Although the temperature-dependent loss in photosynthetic function of the algal symbionts has been widely recognized as one of the early events leading to coral bleaching, there is considerable debate regarding the actual damage site. We have tested the relative thermal stability and composition of membranes in Symbiodinium exposed to high temperature. Our results show that melting curves of photosynthetic membranes from different symbiotic dinoflagellates substantiate a species-specific sensitivity to high temperature, while variations in fatty acid composition under high temperature rather suggest a complex process in which various modifications in lipid composition may be involved. Our results do not support the role of unsaturation of fatty acids of the thylakoid membrane as being mechanistically involved in bleaching nor as being a dependable tool for the diagnosis of thermal susceptibility of symbiotic reef corals.

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Acknowledgments

We acknowledge Prof. Robert K. Trench for fruitful discussions. ED-A wishes to recognize a scholarship awarded for her Master studies by the Consejo Nacional de Ciencia y Tecnología (CONACyT), México. This study was supported by the Global Environmental Facility through the Coral Reef Targeted Research Program (http://www.gefcoral.org).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Unidad Académica de Sistemas Arrecifales, Instituto de Ciencias del Mar y Limnología, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México, Apartado Postal 1152, 77500, Cancun, Quintana Roo, Mexico

    E. Díaz-Almeyda, P. E. Thomé & R. Iglesias-Prieto

  2. Cardiovascular Biomedicine Department, Instituto Nacional de Cardiología “Ignacio Chávez”, Juan Badiano 1, Sección XVI, 14080, Tlalpan, México DF, Mexico

    M. El Hafidi

Authors
  1. E. Díaz-Almeyda
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  2. P. E. Thomé
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  3. M. El Hafidi
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  4. R. Iglesias-Prieto
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Correspondence to P. E. Thomé.

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Communicated by Biology Editor Dr. Mark Warner

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Díaz-Almeyda, E., Thomé, P.E., El Hafidi, M. et al. Differential stability of photosynthetic membranes and fatty acid composition at elevated temperature in Symbiodinium . Coral Reefs 30, 217–225 (2011). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00338-010-0691-5

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00338-010-0691-5

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