PRBB Computational Genomics Seminars Xavier Grau-Bové

18/06/202612:00R_473.10_AULAPRBB Computational Genomics SeminarsXavier Grau-BovéArnau Sebé-Pedrós group. Single cell genomics and evolution lab. CRG"Evolution of heat stress resilience in stony corals"Abstract:Stony corals are symbiotic animals, largely dependent on nutrients provided by the photosynthetic activity of dinoflagellate algae residing within specialised coral cells. Disruption of this symbiotic consortium leads to coral bleaching and, ultimately, to their death. Symbiosis breakdown is a multi-faceted phenomenon, but one of the main contributing environmental stressors are increased temperatures — an ever-increasing risk due to the ongoing threat of climate change and successive marine heatwaves. In this context, it is particularly important to study the stress tolerance mechanisms deployed by different coral species. We have used single-cell transcriptomic experiments to characterise two of them. First, Oculina patagonica, a fast-growing Mediterranean coral with a unique lifestyle that combines symbiont-driven nutrition with opportunistic heterotrophic feeding. Second, Stylophora pistillata, a tropical coral species which is strictly reliant on its photosymbionts but shows remarkable tolerance to marine heat waves up to 32ºC. We have characterised the cell-resolved temporal dynamics of its heat stress transcriptional response. These studies shed light on the diversity of metabolic, signalling and developmental mechanisms underlying the evolutionary success of the coral lineage.