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Dynamics of Dipsastraea pallida-symbiont association following bleaching events across the northern Persian Gulf and Gulf of Oman

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Abstract

Reef-building corals are in obligate symbiosis with dinoflagellates of the family Symbiodiniaceae. The partnership, however, is prone to breakdown as a result of thermal stress, which leads to coral bleaching. According to the Adaptive Bleaching Hypothesis, corals’ recovery from bleaching is profoundly influenced by forming stable associations with thermotolerant algal strains during bleaching. Consequently, the knowledge of the diversity of host-symbiont associations during this period is substantial. Since the extent of symbiont shuffling varies among different host taxa, we investigated the diversity of dominant Symbiodiniaceae in association with the scleractinian coral Dipsastraea pallida before and after massive bleaching events of 2017 in the Persian Gulf and 2018 in the Gulf of Oman. We observed a flexible association between D. pallida and five lineages of Symbiodiniaceae (i.e., ITS2-types A1.4, C3, C39, D1a, D5) with a clear regional pattern. However, the pattern of these associations was changed following bleaching events, with the complete replacement of Cladocopium-C39 by Durusdinium-D1a in the Gulf of Oman, and increased proportion of Durusdinium-D1a and disappearance of Symbiodinium-A1.4 in the northeastern Persian Gulf. In the westernmost Persian Gulf, on the other hand, a stable D. pallida-Cladocopium-C3 partnership was observed. These findings convey the potential of D. pallida to shift the prevalence of its symbiont communities within a population in response to bleaching, which may reflect symbiont shuffling and/or differential mortality and partly explain the predominance of Dipsastraea corals in the Persian Gulf and Gulf of Oman.

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Acknowledgments

Authors wish to express their gratitude towards Dr. Mohammad Reza Shokri for his valuable comments on the manuscript. They also thank all reviewers for their critical comments on the earlier version of this manuscript. Appreciation is extended to Nasim Zarei Polgardani, Mohammad Ghaedzadeh, and Salman Ahrari for their generous and wholehearted support during the field samplings.

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The datasets generated and/or analyzed during the current study are available from the first author on reasonable request.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Faculty of Life Sciences and Biotechnology, Shahid Beheshti University, G. C., Tehran, Iran

    Mahshid Oladi & Soudabeh Rouzbehani

  2. Environmental Sciences Research Institute, Shahid Beheshti University, G. C., Tehran, Iran

    Faraham Ahmadzadeh

  3. Iranian National Institute for Oceanography and Atmospheric Science, No. 3, Etemadzadeh St., Fatemi Ave, Tehran, 1411813389, Iran

    Amir Ghazilou

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  1. Mahshid Oladi
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  4. Amir Ghazilou
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Contributions

Mahshid Oladi conceptualized and designed the research; Mahshid Oladi and Amir Ghazilou collected the samples; Faraham Ahmadzadeh provided tools and reagents; Mahshid Oladi and Soudabeh Rouzbehani generated and analyzed the data; Mahshid Oladi, Amir Ghazilou, and Faraham Ahmadzadeh interpreted the data; Mahshid Oladi wrote the original draft of the manuscript and all authors revised and approved the final draft.

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Oladi, M., Rouzbehani, S., Ahmadzadeh, F. et al. Dynamics of Dipsastraea pallida-symbiont association following bleaching events across the northern Persian Gulf and Gulf of Oman. Symbiosis 84, 141–149 (2021). https://doi.org/10.1007/s13199-021-00773-5

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