Population structure and connectivity of the mountainous star coral, , throughout the wider Caribbean region.

As coral reefs continue to decline worldwide, it becomes ever more necessary to understand the connectivity between coral populations to develop efficient management strategies facilitating survival and adaptation of coral reefs in the future. is one of the most important reef-building corals in the Caribbean and has recently experienced severe population reductions. Here, we utilize a panel of nine microsatellite loci to evaluate the genetic structure of and to infer connectivity across ten sites spanning the wider Caribbean region.

A conserved Toll-like receptor-to-NF-κB signaling pathway in the endangered coral Orbicella faveolata.

Herein, we characterize the Toll-like receptor (TLR)-to-NF-κB innate immune pathway of Orbicella faveolata (Of), which is an ecologically important, disease-susceptible, reef-building coral. As compared to human TLRs, the intracellular TIR domain of Of-TLR is most similar to TLR4, and it can interact in vitro with the human TLR4 adapter MYD88. Treatment of O.

Life or death: disease-tolerant coral species activate autophagy following immune challenge.

Global climate change has increased the number and severity of stressors affecting species, yet not all species respond equally to these stressors. Organisms may employ cellular mechanisms such as apoptosis and autophagy in responding to stressful events. These two pathways are often mutually exclusive, dictating whether a cell adapts or dies.

The link between immunity and life history traits in scleractinian corals.

Immunity is an important biological trait that influences the survival of individuals and the fitness of a species. Immune defenses are costly and likely compete for energy with other life-history traits, such as reproduction and growth, affecting the overall fitness of a species. Competition among these traits in scleractinian corals could influence the dynamics and structural integrity of coral reef communities.

Relationship between phylogeny and immunity suggests older Caribbean coral lineages are more resistant to disease.

Diseases affect coral species fitness and contribute significantly to the deterioration of coral reefs. The increase in frequency and severity of disease outbreaks has made evaluating and determining coral resistance a priority. Phylogenetic patterns in immunity and disease can provide important insight to how corals may respond to current and future environmental and/or biologically induced diseases.