Extra high superoxide dismutase in host tissue is associated with improving bleaching resistance in "thermal adapted" and -associating coral.

Global warming threatens reef-building corals with large-scale bleaching events; therefore, it is important to discover potential adaptive capabilities for increasing their temperature resistance before it is too late. This study presents two coral species ( and ) surviving on a reef having regular hot water influxes via a nearby nuclear power plant that exhibited completely different bleaching susceptibilities to thermal stress, even though both species shared several so-called "winner" characteristics ( containing , thick tissue, ). During acute heating treatment, algal density did not decline in corals within three days of being directly transferred from 25 to 31 °C; however, the same treatment caused .

The coral Platygyra verweyi exhibits local adaptation to long-term thermal stress through host-specific physiological and enzymatic response.

Climate change threatens coral survival by causing coral bleaching, which occurs when the coral's symbiotic relationship with algal symbionts (Symbiodiniaceae) breaks down. Studies on thermal adaptation focus on symbionts because they are accessible both in vitro and in hospite. However, there is little known about the physiological and biochemical response of adult corals (without Symbiodiniaceae) to thermal stress.

Physiological and biochemical performances of menthol-induced aposymbiotic corals.

The unique mutualism between corals and their photosynthetic zooxanthellae (Symbiodinium spp.) is the driving force behind functional assemblages of coral reefs. However, the respective roles of hosts and Symbiodinium in this endosymbiotic association, particularly in response to environmental challenges (e.