Meeting Abstract

22.6  Monday, Jan. 4  Integrative gene expression analysis of stress response in Porites astreoides KENKEL, C.D.*; ALAMARU, A.; CUNNING, J.R.; KUEHL, K.; MAHMOUD, H.; PALMER, C.V.; PANTILE, R.; SHASHANK, K.; SILVERSTEIN, R.N.; TANG, P.C.; MATZ, M.V.; Univ. of Texas, Austin; Tel Aviv Univ., Israel; Univ. of Miami; Florida International Univ., Miami; Kuwait Univ.; Newcastle Univ., UK/James Cook Univ., AUS; Australian Institute of Marine Science; Academia Sinica, Taiwan; Univ. of Miami; Univ. of Louisiana, Lafayette; Univ. of Texas, Austin carly.kenkel@gmail.com

Gene expression analysis is a recent addition to the field of coral biology. Differential gene expression patterns have been observed for specific processes such as cnidarian-algal symbiosis and a variety of stress responses. In the present study, we integrate analysis of experimentally induced expression patterns resulting from a known stressor with natural variation in gene expression between habitats. We also demonstrate the successful transfer of QPCR primers between species within the same genus. Ten genes, differentially expressed in response to heat/light stress in the Pacific coral, Porites lobata, were selected from earlier array data. Primer pairs for these genes were then used to explore expression patterns in the Carribbean species P. astreoides in both a laboratory heat/light stress experiment and a separate field-based reciprocal transplant experiment. In the artificial temperature manipulation, significant gene expression changes were observed between control and treated samples for three genes: actin, Hsp16 and complement component C3. Both actin and C3 were down-regulated during heat/light stress by approximately four-fold and seven-fold, respectively. Conversely, Hsp16 was up-regulated by approximately 1000-fold. We integrate these results into a framework for evaluating differential expression of stress response genes in a field-based reciprocal transplant experiment.