Preconditioning to non-stressful warming can protect some symbiotic cnidarians against the high temperature-induced collapse of their mutualistic endosymbiosis with photosynthetic dinoflagellates (Symbiodinium spp.), a process known as bleaching. Here, we sought to determine if such preconditioning is underpinned by differential regulation of aerobic respiration. We quantified in vivo metabolism and mitochondrial respiratory enzyme activity in the naturally symbiotic sea anemone Exaiptasia pallida preconditioned to 30°C for>7 weeks as well as anemones kept at 26°C. Preconditioning resulted in increased Symbiodinium photosynthetic activity and holobiont (host+symbiont) respiration rates. Biomass-normalised activities of host respiratory enzymes (citrate synthase and the mitochondrial electron transport chain [mETC] complexes I and IV) were higher in preconditioned animals, suggesting that increased holobiont respiration may have been due to host mitochondrial biogenesis and/or enlargement. Subsequent acute heating of preconditioned and “thermally naïve” animals to 33°C induced dramatic increases in host mETC complex I and Symbiodinium mETC complex II activities only in thermally naïve E. pallida. These changes were not reflected in the activities of other respiratory enzymes. Furthermore, bleaching in preconditioned E. pallida (defined as the significant loss of symbionts) was delayed by several days relative to the thermally naïve group. These findings suggest that changes to mitochondrial biogenesis and/or function in symbiotic cnidarians during warm-preconditioning might play a protective role during periods of exposure to stressful heating.
Warm-preconditioning protects against acute heat-induced respiratory dysfunction and delays bleaching in a symbiotic sea anemone
Currently Viewing Accepted Manuscript - Newer Version Available
Thomas D. Hawkins, Mark E. Warner; Warm-preconditioning protects against acute heat-induced respiratory dysfunction and delays bleaching in a symbiotic sea anemone. J Exp Biol 2016; jeb.150391. doi: https://doi.org/10.1242/jeb.150391
Download citation file:
Advertisement
2023 JEB Outstanding Paper Prize shortlist and winner
The JEB Editors are delighted to announce the shortlisted authors for the 2023 JEB Outstanding Paper Prize. Read the winning paper - Tiny spies: mosquito antennae are sensitive sensors for eavesdropping on frog calls - by Hoover Pantoja-Sanchez and Brian Leavell from Ximena Bernal's lab at Purdue University, USA.
JEB Science Communication Workshop for ECRs
If you’re an early-career researcher interested in science communication and are attending the SEB Annual Conference in Prague this summer, come a day early and join the JEB Editors at a sci comm workshop to learn the key writing skills needed to promote your research to a broad audience beyond your peers (1 July at 14.30-17.30). Places are limited to 24 attendees, and applicants should apply through the SEB registration page by 30 April 2024.
Bridging the gap between controlled conditions and natural habitats in understanding behaviour
Novel technologies enable behavioural experiments with non-model species, in naturalistic habitats and with underexplored behaviours. In their Commentary, Scholz and colleagues discuss how to obtain a deeper understanding of the natural ecology and lifestyle of study animals.
How a macrourid fish remains buoyant at depths it should be unable to reach
Fish with swimbladders should not be capable of descending below 7200m, but when Alan Jamieson and Todd Bond spotted a macrourid fish at 7259m, they knew they had seen something miraculous. Working with Imantes Priede, they reveal that the swimbladder of a 1 kg fish could hold 37.9 g of oxygen, sufficient to offset the weight of the fish's bones, and take 221-440 days to fill, which is plausible because it takes years for the fish to descend to such depths.
ECR Workshop on Positive Peer Review
Are you an ECR looking for tips on how to write concise, astute and useful manuscript reviews? If so, join the JEB Editors at a 2-hour JEB-sponsored Workshop on Positive Peer Review at the Canadian Society of Zoologists annual meeting in Moncton on 9 May 2024 at 13.00-15.00. There are 25 spaces for ECRs and selection is first come, first serve. To sign up, check the ECR Workshop box when you register for the CSZ meeting.