An Electrochemical Approach to Understanding Coral Bleaching

珊瑚白化是气候变化造成的日益严重的灾难。珊瑚动物依靠与细胞内鞭毛藻共生。鞭毛藻为寄主提供光合作用固定碳，并接受其他营养物质和物理保护作为回报。这种共生关系在某些条件下会破裂，包括温度升高，导致鞭毛藻的排出和漂白。所有的光合微生物都表现出外电作用，光合作用产生的电子输出到细胞外。该项目将开发电化学方法来测量共生鞭毛藻的产电作用，该属的成员与珊瑚形成共生关系。它将研究外部压力如何干扰光合作用，通过外电发生影响氧化还原信号。有几种突变细胞系的光合作用直接受到损害；这些将包括在研究中。总的来说，该项目将提供光合作用干扰如何影响鞭毛藻与其宿主之间氧化还原交换的直接指示。

Coral bleaching is a growing catastrophe resulting from climate change. Coral animals rely on symbiosis with intracellular dinoflagellate algae. The dinoflagellates provide the host with photosynthetically fixed carbon, and receive other nutrients and physical protection in return. This symbiosis breaks down under some conditions, including raised temperatures, resulting in expulsion of the dinoflagellates and bleaching. All photosynthetic microorganisms exhibit exoelectrogenesis, where electrons from photosynthesis are exported extracellularly. The project will develop electrochemical approaches for measuring exoelectrogenesis by the dinoflagellate Symbiodinium, the genus whose members form symbiosis with corals. It will study how external stresses may disturb photosynthesis, affecting redox signalling via exoelectrogenesis. Several mutant cell lines are available in which photosynthesis has been directly compromised; these will be included in the study. Overall, the project will provide direct indications of how disturbance of photosynthesis affects the redox exchange between dinoflagellates and their hosts.