Journal article
Whole-genome duplication in an algal symbiont bolsters coral heat tolerance
Katherine E Dougan, Anthony J Bellantuono, Tim Kahlke, Raffaela M Abbriano, Yibi Chen, Sarah Shah, Camila Granados-Cifuentes, Madeleine JH van Oppen, Debashish Bhattacharya, David J Suggett, Mauricio Rodriguez-Lanetty, Cheong Xin Chan
Science Advances | American Association for the Advancement of Science | Published : 2024
Abstract
The algal endosymbiont Durusdinium trenchii enhances the resilience of coral reefs under thermal stress. D. trenchii can live freely or in endosymbiosis, and the analysis of genetic markers suggests that this species has undergone whole-genome duplication (WGD). However, the evolutionary mechanisms that underpin the thermotolerance of this species are largely unknown. Here, we present genome assemblies for two D. trenchii isolates, confirm WGD in these taxa, and examine how selection has shaped the duplicated genome regions using gene expression data. We assess how the free-living versus endosymbiotic lifestyles have contributed to the retention and divergence of duplicated genes, and how th..
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Awarded by National Institute of Food and Agriculture
Funding Acknowledgements
This work was supported by the Australian Research Council DP190102474 (C.X.C. and D.B.); Australian Research Council FL180100036 (to M.J.H.v.O.); Australian Academy of Science Thomas Davies Grant for Marine, Soil, and Plant Biology (to C.X.C.); National Science Foundation CAREER1453519 (to M.R.-L.); City University of New York PSC-CUNY 69757-0047 (to C.G.-C.); National Institute of Food and Agriculture-U.S. Department of Agriculture Hatch NJ01180 (to D.B.); and University of Technology Sydney (to T.K. and D.J.S.).