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Observations of the tissue-skeleton interface in the scleractinian coral Stylophora pistillata

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Abstract

Recent micro-analytical studies of coral skeletons have led to the discovery that the effects of biology on the skeletal chemical and isotopic composition are not uniform over the skeleton. The aim of the present work was to provide histological observations of the coral tissue at the interface with the skeleton, using Stylophora pistillata as a model, and to discuss these observations in the context of skeletal ultra-structural organization and composition. Several important observations are reported: (1) At all scales of observation, there was a precise morphological correspondence between the tissues and the skeleton. The morphological features of the calicoblastic ectoderm correspond exactly to the shape of individual crystal fiber bundles in the underlying skeleton, indicating that the calicoblastic cell layer is in direct physical contact with the skeletal surface. This is consistent with the previously observed chemical and isotopic composition of the ultra-structural components in the skeleton. (2) The distribution and density of desmocyte cells, which anchor the calicoblastic ectoderm to the skeletal surface, vary spatially and temporally during skeletal growth. (3) The tissue above the coenosteal spines lack endoderm and consists only of ectodermal cell-layers separated by mesoglea. These findings have important implications for models of vital effects in coral skeletal chemistry and isotope composition.

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Acknowledgments

This paper is dedicated to the memory of our dear friend and colleague Len Muscatine. Thanks are due to Dominique Desgré for coral maintenance. Thanks are also due to Jean-Pierre Laugier, Sophie Pagnotta and Pierre Gounon from the Centre Commun de Microscopie Appliquée at the University of Nice-Sophia Antipolis. This study was conducted as part of the Centre Scientifique de Monaco research program, supported by the Government of the Principality of Monaco, by the Agence Nationale de la Recherche and by IFREMER. This paper has greatly benefited from the highly constructive comments by Dr. Lasker and two anonymous reviewers.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Centre Scientifique de Monaco, Avenue Saint Martin, 98000, Monaco, Principality of Monaco

    E. Tambutté, D. Allemand, D. Zoccola, S. Lotto, N. Caminiti & S. Tambutté

  2. UMR 1112 UNSA-INRA ROSE, Université de Nice Sophia Antipolis, Parc Valrose, BP 71, 06108, Nice Cedex 2, France

    D. Allemand

  3. Laboratoire d’Etude de la Matière Extraterrestre USM 0205 (LEME), Museum National d’Histoire Naturelle, Paris, France

    A. Meibom

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  1. E. Tambutté
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  2. D. Allemand
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  3. D. Zoccola
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  4. A. Meibom
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  5. S. Lotto
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  6. N. Caminiti
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  7. S. Tambutté
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Correspondence to S. Tambutté.

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Communicated by Biology Editor H.R. Lasker.

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Tambutté, E., Allemand, D., Zoccola, D. et al. Observations of the tissue-skeleton interface in the scleractinian coral Stylophora pistillata . Coral Reefs 26, 517–529 (2007). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00338-007-0263-5

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