| bioindication potential of carbonic anhydrase activity in anemones and corals. | activity levels of carbonic anhydrase (ca) were assessed in anemones condylactis gigantea and stichodactyla helianthus with laboratory exposures to copper, nickel, lead, and vanadium, and also in animals collected from polluted vs pristine field sites. ca activity was found to be decreased with increase in metal concentration and also in animals collected from the polluted field site. preliminary assessments to adapt the ca assay for use in the widespread coral montastraea cavernosa show decreas ... | 2001 | 11585066 |
| short-term aggressive behavior in scleractinian corals from la blanquilla reef, veracruz reef system. | the short-term aggressive behavior of scleractinian corals from la blanquilla reef, veracruz reef system, gulf of mexico was determined. unilateral aggression, bilateral aggression and indifference were observed through experimental interspecific encounters in situ, in aquarium conditions and through direct observation of natural encounters on the reef. species were characterized as highly aggressive, moderately aggressive and not very aggressive establishing a hierarchy with two competitive rin ... | 2001 | 11795171 |
| molecular basis and evolutionary origins of color diversity in great star coral montastraea cavernosa (scleractinia: faviida). | natural pigments are normally products of complex biosynthesis pathways where many different enzymes are involved. corals and related organisms of class anthozoa represent the only known exception: in these organisms, each of the host-tissue colors is essentially determined by a sequence of a single protein, homologous to the green fluorescent protein (gfp) from aequorea victoria. this direct sequence-color linkage provides unique opportunity for color evolution studies. we previously reported t ... | 2003 | 12777529 |
| biophysical characterization of natural and mutant fluorescent proteins cloned from zooxanthellate corals. | two novel colored fluorescent proteins were cloned and biophysically characterized from zooxanthellate corals (anthozoa). a cyan fluorescent protein derived from the coral montastrea cavernosa (mccfp) is a trimeric complex with strong blue-shifted excitation and emission maxima at 432 and 477 nm, respectively. the native complex has a fluorescence lifetime of 2.66+/-0.01 ns and an inferred absolute quantum yield of 0.385. the spectroscopic properties of a green fluorescent protein cloned from me ... | 2004 | 15251461 |
| discovery of symbiotic nitrogen-fixing cyanobacteria in corals. | colonies of the caribbean coral montastraea cavernosa exhibit a solar-stimulated orange-red fluorescence that is spectrally similar to a variety of fluorescent proteins expressed by corals. the source of this fluorescence is phycoerythrin in unicellular, nonheterocystis, symbiotic cyanobacteria within the host cells of the coral. the cyanobacteria coexist with the symbiotic dinoflagellates (zooxanthellae) of the coral and express the nitrogen-fixing enzyme nitrogenase. the presence of this proka ... | 2004 | 15310901 |
| evolution of coral pigments recreated. | in proteins homologous to the green fluorescent protein (gfp), formation of red fluorescence requires three autocatalytic steps, whereas only two are needed for green fluorescence. multiple red/green color diversification events in the gfp superfamily may reflect convergent evolution of the more complex three-step pathway. in the great star coral montastraea cavernosa, a recreated common ancestor of green and red proteins turned out to be green, indicating that in this case red proteins evolved ... | 2004 | 15353795 |
| cloning of anthozoan fluorescent protein genes. | many cnidarians display vivid fluorescence under proper lighting conditions. in general, these colors are due to the presence of fluorescent proteins similar to the green fluorescent protein (gfp) originally isolated from the hydrozoan medusa aequorea victoria (cnidaria: hydrozoa). to optimize the search for new fluorescent proteins (fps), a technique was developed that allows for the rapid cloning and screening of fp genes without the need for a prior knowledge of gene sequence. using this meth ... | 2004 | 15533784 |
| historical and ecological analysis of coral communities in castle harbour (bermuda) after more than a century of environmental perturbation. | the coral reefs in bermuda's castle harbour basin have been subjected to varying anthropogenic stressors for over 100 years. these include restriction of water flow through the construction of a causeway in the late 19th century and an extensive dredging and land reclamation operation during world war ii. in the 1970s, disposal of bulk waste commenced at a foreshore reclamation site in castle harbour. since 1996 the waste stream has included blocks of cement-stabilized municipal incinerator ash. ... | 2005 | 16242159 |
| the impact of coral bleaching on the pigment profile of the symbiotic alga, symbiodinium. | bleaching of corals by loss of symbiotic dinoflagellate algae and/or photosynthetic pigments is commonly triggered by elevated temperatures coupled with high irradiance, and is a first-order threat to coral reef communities. in this study, a high-resolution high-performance liquid chromatography method integrated with mass spectrometry was applied to obtain the first definitive identification of chlorophyll and carotenoid pigments of three clades of symbiotic dinoflagellate algae (symbiodinium) ... | 2006 | 17081247 |
| contributions of host and symbiont pigments to the coloration of reef corals. | for a variety of coral species, we have studied the molecular origin of their coloration to assess the contributions of host and symbiont pigments. for the corals catalaphyllia jardinei and an orange-emitting color morph of lobophyllia hemprichii, the pigments belong to a particular class of green fluorescent protein-like proteins that change their color from green to red upon irradiation with approximately 400 nm light. the optical absorption and emission properties of these proteins were chara ... | 2007 | 17244197 |
| cellular reactions to sedimentation and temperature stress in the caribbean coral montastraea cavernosa. | we present evidence of cellular responses to increased sedimentation and temperature in montastraea cavernosa collected off broward county, florida. we sampled corals from six different sites approximately, 500-1000 m off shore, 10-15m depth. six samples were collected from four sites adjacent to areas of underwater marine dredging (project sites), while the remaining two samples were obtained far away from the influence of the marine dredging (control sites). ssts around collection time ranged ... | 2007 | 17350649 |
| it's cheap to be colorful. anthozoans show a slow turnover of gfp-like proteins. | pigments homologous to the green fluorescent protein (gfp) contribute up to approximately 14% of the soluble protein content of many anthozoans. maintenance of such high tissue levels poses a severe energetic penalty to the animals if protein turnover is fast. to address this as yet unexplored issue, we established that the irreversible green-to-red conversion of the gfp-like pigments from the reef corals montastrea cavernosa (mcavrfp) and lobophyllia hemprichii (eosfp) is driven by violet-blue ... | 2007 | 17419724 |
| dynamic regulation of fluorescent proteins from a single species of coral. | to gain a better understanding of the natural function of fluorescent proteins, we have undertaken quantitative analyses of these proteins in a single species of coral, montastraea cavernosa, residing around turneffe atoll, on the belizean barrier reef. we identified at least 10 members of a fluorescent protein family in this species, which consist of 4 distinct spectral classes. as much as a 10-fold change in the overall expression of fluorescent proteins was observed from specimen to specimen, ... | 2007 | 17955294 |
| implications of isolation and low genetic diversity in peripheral populations of an amphi-atlantic coral. | limited dispersal and connectivity in marine organisms can have negative fitness effects in populations that are small and isolated, but reduced genetic exchange may also promote the potential for local adaptation. here, we compare the levels of genetic diversity and connectivity in the coral montastraea cavernosa among both central and peripheral populations throughout its range in the atlantic. genetic data from one mitochondrial and two nuclear loci in 191 individuals show that m. cavernosa i ... | 2009 | 19765228 |
| photoacclimatization by the coral montastraea cavernosa in the mesophotic zone: light, food, and genetics. | most studies on coral reefs have focused on shallow reef (< 30 m) systems due to the technical limitations of conducting scientific diving deeper than 30 m. compared to their shallow-water counterparts, these mesophotic coral reefs (30-150 m) are understudied, which has slowed our broader understanding of the biodiversity, ecology, and connectivity of shallow and deep coral reef communities. we know that the light environment is an important component of the productivity, physiology, and ecology ... | 2010 | 20462114 |
| high spatial variability of coral, sponges and gorgonian assemblages in a well preserved reef. | the main goal of this research was to obtain baseline field data of the composition of sponges, corals, and gorgonian assemblages that can be used as a reference for future analyses of anthropogenic impact. we tested the hypothesis that relatively homogeneous and well preserved reef units can present notable natural variability in the composition of their communities which are unassociated with changes in land proximity or a human impact gradient. research was carried out in july 2006 at los col ... | 2010 | 20527463 |
| corallite wall and septal microstructure in scleractinian reef corals: comparison of molecular clades within the family faviidae. | recent molecular phylogenies conflict with traditional scleractinian classification at ranks ranging from suborder to genus, challenging morphologists to discover new characters that better agree with molecular data. such characters are essential for including fossils in analyses and tracing evolutionary patterns through geologic time. we examine the skeletal morphology of 36 species belonging to the traditional families faviidae, merulinidae, pectiniidae, and trachyphylliidae (3 atlantic, 14 in ... | 2010 | 21061280 |
| long distance dispersal and connectivity in amphi-atlantic corals at regional and basin scales. | among atlantic scleractinian corals, species diversity is highest in the caribbean, but low diversity and high endemism are observed in various peripheral populations in central and eastern atlantic islands and along the coasts of brazil and west africa. the degree of connectivity between these distantly separated populations is of interest because it provides insight into processes at both evolutionary and ecological time scales, such as speciation, recruitment dynamics and the persistence of c ... | 2011 | 21799816 |
| sub-lethal coral stress: detecting molecular responses of coral populations to environmental conditions over space and time. | in order for sessile organisms to survive environmental fluctuations and exposures to pollutants, molecular mechanisms (i.e. stress responses) are elicited. previously, detrimental effects of natural and anthropogenic stressors on coral health could not be ascertained until significant physiological responses resulted in visible signs of stress (e.g. tissue necrosis, bleaching). in this study, a focused anthozoan holobiont microarray was used to detect early and sub-lethal effects of spatial and ... | 2012 | 23291051 |
| photoreception and signal transduction in corals: proteomic and behavioral evidence for cytoplasmic calcium as a mediator of light responsivity. | little is known about how corals sense and respond to light. in this report the proteome of coral is explored using 2d protein electrophoresis in two species, montastraea cavernosa and acropora millepora. multiple protein species have major shifts in abundance in both species when sampled in daylight compared to corals sampled late in the night. these changes were observed both in larvae lacking zooxanthellae and in adult tissue containing zooxanthellae, including both pacific and caribbean cora ... | 2012 | 23264475 |