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Diel rhythmicity of lipid-body formation in a coral-Symbiodinium endosymbiosis

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Abstract

The biogenesis of intracellular lipid bodies (LBs) is dependent upon the symbiotic status between host corals and their intracellular dinoflagellates (genus Symbiodinium), though aside from this observation, little is known about LB behavior and function in this globally important endosymbiosis. The present research aimed to understand how LB formation and density are regulated in the gastrodermal tissue layer of the reef-building coral Euphyllia glabrescens. After tissue fixation and labeling with osmium tetroxide, LB distribution and density were quantified by imaging analysis of serial cryo-sections, and a diel rhythmicity was observed; the onset of solar irradiation at sunrise initiated an increase in LB density and size, which peaked at sunset. Both LB density and size then decreased to basal levels at night. On a seasonal timescale, LB density was found to be significantly positively correlated with seasonal irradiation, with highest densities found in the summer and lowest in the fall. In terms of LB lipid composition, only the concentration of wax esters, and not triglycerides or sterols, exhibited diel variability. This suggests that the metabolism and accumulation of lipids in LBs is at least partially light dependent. Ultrastructural examinations revealed that the LB wax ester concentration correlated with the number of electron-transparent inclusion bodies. Finally, there was a directional redistribution of the LB population across the gastroderm over the diel cycle. Collectively, these data reveal that coral gastrodermal LBs vary in composition and intracellular location over diel cycles, features which may shed light on their function within this coral–dinoflagellate mutualism.

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Acknowledgments

This work was supported by a grant from the National Science Council of Taiwan (NSC 98-2311-B-291-001-MY3) and by intramural funding from NMMBA (99200311). ABM was supported by an international postdoctoral research fellowship (OSE-0852960) from the National Science Foundation of the United States of America.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Graduate Institute of Marine Biotechnology, National Dong-Hwa University, Checheng, Pingtung, 944, Taiwan, ROC

    H.-J. Kang, A. B. Mayfield, P.-L. Jiang & C.-S. Chen

  2. Taiwan Coral Research Center (TCRC), National Museum of Marine Biology and Aquarium, Checheng, Pingtung, 944, Taiwan, ROC

    H.-J. Kang, A. B. Mayfield, P.-L. Jiang & C.-S. Chen

  3. Department of Marine Biotechnology and Resources, National Sun Yat-Sen University, Kaohsiung, Taiwan, ROC

    C.-S. Chen

  4. Department of Biological Science and Technology, I-Shou University, Kaohsiung, Taiwan, ROC

    W.-N. U. Chen

  5. Department of Zoology, Oregon State University, Corvallis, OR, USA

    V. M. Weis

  6. Department of Sport, Health and Leisure, Cheng-Shiu University, Kaohsiung, Taiwan, ROC

    L.-S. Fang

Authors
  1. W.-N. U. Chen
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  2. H.-J. Kang
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  3. V. M. Weis
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  4. A. B. Mayfield
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  5. P.-L. Jiang
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  6. L.-S. Fang
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  7. C.-S. Chen
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Correspondence to C.-S. Chen.

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Communicated by Biology Editor Dr. Mark Warner

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Chen, WN.U., Kang, HJ., Weis, V.M. et al. Diel rhythmicity of lipid-body formation in a coral-Symbiodinium endosymbiosis. Coral Reefs 31, 521–534 (2012). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00338-011-0868-6

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00338-011-0868-6

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