Interspecies differences in the transcriptome response of corals to acute heat stress.

Rising sea surface temperatures threaten the survival of corals worldwide, with coral bleaching events becoming more commonplace. However, different coral species are known to exhibit variable levels of susceptibility to thermal stress. To elucidate genetic mechanisms that may underlie these differences, we compared the gene repertoire of four coral species, , , and , that were previously demonstrated to have differing responses to acute thermal stress.

Gene networks governing the response of a calcareous sponge to future ocean conditions reveal lineage-specific regulation of the unfolded protein response.

Marine sponges are predicted to be winners in the future ocean due to their exemplary adaptive capacity. However, while many sponge groups exhibit tolerance to a wide range of environmental insults, calcifying sponges may be more susceptible to thermo-acidic stress. To describe the gene regulatory networks that govern the stress response of the calcareous sponge, (class Calcarea, order Clathrinida), individuals were subjected to warming and acidification conditions based on the climate models for 2100.

Microbiome diversity and host immune functions influence survivorship of sponge holobionts under future ocean conditions.

The sponge-associated microbial community contributes to the overall health and adaptive capacity of the sponge holobiont. This community is regulated by the environment and the immune system of the host. However, little is known about the effect of environmental stress on the regulation of host immune functions and how this may, in turn, affect sponge-microbe interactions.

Population structure and microbial community diversity of two common tetillid sponges in a tropical reef lagoon.

Sponges are predicted to dominate future reef ecosystems influenced by anthropogenic stressors and global climate change. The ecological success of sponges is attributed to their complex physiology, which is in part due to the diversity of their associated prokaryotic microbiome. However, the lack of information on the microbial community of many sponge species makes it difficult to gauge their interactions and functional contributions to the ecosystem.