EAPSI: Identifying Octocoral-Symbiont Associations in Okinawa, Japan

日本冲绳是许多种类繁多的软珊瑚(八角珊瑚)的所在地，它们基本上依靠共生藻类生存。这些藻类被称为共生藻，生活在宿主珊瑚的组织中。冲绳八角珊瑚在很大程度上被研究不足，在一些物种中，宿主珊瑚的相关共生体尚未确定。珊瑚受到各种因素的威胁，其中许多因素会导致这种共生关系的破坏(称为珊瑚漂白)，这可能会导致珊瑚死亡。自20世纪80年代S以来，印度-太平洋地区的珊瑚覆盖面积大约减少了50%，因此更有必要确定共生生物的多样性，因为并不是所有共生类型都同样容易受到环境威胁的影响。这项研究旨在通过确定冲绳周围与这些未被研究的八角珊瑚有关的共生生物种群来检查未知的多样性，冲绳是一个特别有兴趣的地点，因为它是这些物种中许多物种的最北分布极限。这项工作将在日本冲绳琉球大学分子无脊椎动物系统和生态实验室与詹姆斯·雷默博士合作完成，雷默博士在日本章鱼和共生动物方面的专业知识将是一笔巨大的财富。通过使用水肺和/或浮潜，来自冲绳周围的一系列章珊瑚将被识别并采样，这是雷默博士和他的实验室成员指定的。然后，将使用一系列分子标记来鉴定内共生菌群落，首先分析核糖体内部转录间隔区(ITS2类型)，使用雷默博士参与开发的方案。由于预测这些物种将由C1型共生藻主导，随后将分析叶绿体psbAncr和可能的微卫星侧翼区域，以最大限度地提高C1型中的分辨率水平。这项调查将作为未来研究的指南，可以作为比较的基线，甚至有可能帮助预测某些物种在全球变暖等持续气候变化影响下的分布/生存。该奖项由东亚和太平洋夏季学院计划资助，由美国国家科学基金会和日本科学促进会共同资助。

Okinawa, Japan, is host to many diverse soft corals (octocorals) that by and large rely on symbiotic algae for survival. These algae, known as Symbiodinium, live within the tissue of the host coral. Okinawan octocorals are largely understudied, and in some species, the host coral's associated symbionts have yet to be identified. Corals are threatened by a variety of factors, many of which induce a breakdown of this symbiosis (known as coral bleaching), which can result in the death of the coral. Following the approximate 50% loss of all Indo-Pacific coral cover since the 1980's, there is a greater need to identify Symbiodinium diversity, as not all symbiont types are equally susceptible to environmental threats. This study aims to examine unknown diversity by identifying the Symbiodinium populations associated with these understudied octocorals around Okinawa, a location of particular interest because it is the northernmost distribution limit for many of these species. This work will be done at the Molecular Invertebrate Systematics and Ecology Lab at the University of the Ryukyus in Okinawa, Japan, in collaboration with Dr. James Reimer, whose expertise with both Japanese octocorals and Symbiodinium will be a big asset.With the use of SCUBA and/or snorkeling, octocorals from a range of genera will be identified and sampled from locations surrounding Okinawa, specified by Dr. Reimer and his lab members. The endosymbiont Symbiodinium communities will then be identified using a series of molecular markers, beginning with analyses of the ribosomal internal transcribed spacer regions (ITS2 types), using protocols in which Dr. Reimer helped develop. Since it is predicted that these species will be dominated by Symbiodinium type C1, chloroplast psbAncr and possibly microsatellite flanking regions will then be analyzed to maximize the level of resolution within type C1. This survey will serve as a guide for future research, where it can be used as a baseline for comparisons and could even have the potential to aid in predicting certain species distributions/survivorship under ongoing climate change impacts such as global warming.This award, under the East Asia and Pacific Summer Institutes program ,supports summer research by a U.S. graduate student and is jointly funded by NSF and the Japan Society for the Promotion of Science.