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Holobiont-level responses to elevated temperature and reduced pH in Aiptasia

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Cnidarian species are known for complex multi-partner symbioses, but the contributions of these partners to holobiont health is still widely understudied. With rising sea surface temperatures and ocean acidification (OA) increasingly impacting marine habitats it is essential to understand how these environmental changes will impact these partnerships. In this study, we used the tropical anemone Aiptasia (Exaiptasia diaphana) to assess the impact of elevated temperature and/or reduced pH (acidification) on the photo‐ and respiratory-physiology of the holobiont and to detect and describe changes in the associated microbial communities. This study also allowed for investigation of the relative impact of symbiont association by tracking algal density within the anemones throughout the experiment. Using T-RFLP analysis, we compared the physiological responses and changes to the bacterial communities after placement of the Aiptasia in one of four experimental treatments (control: 25 °C + pH 8.0; temperature: 30 °C + pH 8.0; pH: 25 °C + pH 7.7; temperature + pH: 30 °C + pH 7.7). After two months of exposure, anemone photosynthesis and respiration rates in most of the treatments were not significantly different from the control, however, there were significant modifications to the anemone-associated microbial communities among the treatments. Our results demonstrate that exposure to mildly elevated temperature and/or reduced pH does alter the photo‐ and respiratory-physiology and microbiome of Aiptasia, however, Aiptasia may exhibit different physiological responses to ocean acidification/warming compared to other cnidarian species.

Document Type: Research Article

Affiliations: 1: Department of Molecular and Cell Biology, University of California-Merced, Merced, California 2: Department of Marine Science, Eckerd College, St. Petersburg, Florida 3: Present Address: Data Analyses, Rakuten Advertising, New York, New York 4: Ocean Acidification Program, Mote Marine Laboratory, Sarasota, Florida 5: Present Address: Department of Marine Biology, University of North Carolina-Wilmington, Wilmington, North Carolina

Publication date: October 1, 2024

This article was made available online on June 26, 2024 as a Fast Track article with title: "Holobiont-level responses to elevated temperature and reduced pH in Aiptasia".

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  • The Bulletin of Marine Science is dedicated to the dissemination of high quality research from the world's oceans. All aspects of marine science are treated by the Bulletin of Marine Science, including papers in marine biology, biological oceanography, fisheries, marine affairs, applied marine physics, marine geology and geophysics, marine and atmospheric chemistry, and meteorology and physical oceanography.
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