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Vol. 51 No. 2, 2012
Algal Symbionts Increase DNA Damage in Coral Planulae Exposed
to Sunlight
Badrun
Nesa1, Andrew H Baird2 , Saki Harii3,
Irina Yakovleva4, and Michio Hidaka1,*
1Department
of Chemistry, Biology and Marine Science, Univ. of the Ryukyus, Okinawa
903-0213, Japan
2ARC Centre of Excellence for Coral Reef Studies,
James Cook Univ., Townsville, Queensland 4811, Australia
3Sesoko Station, Tropical Biosphere Research Center,
Univ. of the Ryukyus, Okinawa 905-0227, Japan
4A.V. Zhirmunsky Institute of Marine Biology, Far
Eastern Branch of the Russian Academy of Sciences, Vladivostok 690041,
Russia
Badrun Nesa, Andrew H Baird, Saki Harii, Irina
Yakovleva, and Michio Hidaka (2012) To test the hypothesis that algal
symbionts make coral larvae more susceptible to high photosynthetically
active radiation (PAR) and ultraviolet radiation (UVR), symbiotic and
non-symbiotic planulae of Acropora
tenuis were exposed to natural
sunlight (high PAR and UVR) at an ambient temperature of approximately
27°C for 4 d. DNA damage to host cells was detected using a comet assay
(single-cell gel electrophoresis). Coral cells from symbiotic planulae
had longer comet tails than those from non-symbiotic planulae,
indicating that cells in symbiotic larvae had more DNA damage than
those in non-symbiotic larvae. This result suggests that symbiotic
algae are a source of oxidative stress in larvae under conditions at
the ocean surface.
Key words: Bleaching, Comet assay, Coral,
Stress, Symbiosis, UVR.
*Correspondence: Tel: 81-98-895-8547. Fax: 81-98-895-8576.
E-mail:hidaka@sci.u-ryukyu.ac.jp
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