SEMINAR: RE: MBF 602 Student Seminar Series Presents Rachel Silverstein Friday 11/15 4:00p

["Sidney Hartley" <shartley@rsmas.miami.edu>]

MBF 602 Student Seminar Series Presents Rachel Silverstein Friday 11/15 4:00p in the S/A seminar room

Assessing cryptic symbiont diversity using high sensitivity molecular techniques

Reef-building corals obligately host dinoflagellate endosymbionts (genus Symbiodinium) which they depend on for photosynthetic energy and rapid calcification. Molecular surveys have shown that only ~25% of coral species are capable of hosting multiple Symbiodinium types. However, these surveys have relatively low resolving power (i.e., are only able to detect symbionts that represent ~5-50% of the total population). Here, we applied high-resolution real-time PCR (100-1,000 times more sensitive than previous techniques) to detect Symbiodinium from the 4 most common symbiont clades found in scleractinian corals (A-D). We surveyed 39 coral species from reefs worldwide, including 26 coral species thought (based on previous molecular surveys) to be restricted to hosting a single symbiont taxon, as well as 13 coral species known to host multiple symbiont taxa. We detected Symbiodinium in clades C and D in all 39 species tested, and found that most (54%) of the 26 coral species thought to be “symbiotic specialists” in fact hosted symbionts from all 4 of the Symbiodinium clades tested, demonstrating that the ability to associate with multiple symbiont types is not limited to a minority of coral taxa. These findings suggest that all reef coral species may be physiologically capable of undergoing adaptive changes in their symbiont communities in response to environmental stressors, but there may be a gradient in their ability to do so. 

 

 

Rachel Nora Silverstein

 

Entered MBF Ph.D. Program Fall 2007

Graduate May 2006 with B.A. in Ecology, Evolution and Environmental Biology from Columbia University

 

 

Advisor: Andrew C. Baker

 

 

Sidney L.S. Hartley

University of Miami RSMAS

Division of Marine Biology and Fisheries

S. Grosvenor 315

Miami Fl 33149

305-421-4176

305-421-4600-fax