Meeting Abstract

P3.38  Wednesday, Jan. 6  The role of DNA methylation in cnidarian-dinoflagellate symbiosis POOLE, A.Z.*; WEIS, V.M.; FREITAG, M.; Oregon State University; Oregon State University; Oregon State University poolea@science.oregonstate.edu

Cnidarians such as corals and sea anemones, participate in a mutualistic symbiotic relationship with dinoflagellates of the genus Symbiodinium. The onset and breakdown of this symbiosis, known as bleaching, have been the subject of many investigations, though relatively few of these focus on the molecular biology of this relationship. Recent publications have revealed that there are differences in gene expression profiles of aposymbiotic, symbiotic, and bleached cnidarians, and also when the holobiont system is exposed to stressors such as temperature, disease, or heavy metals. This study investigates the potential for the role of epigenetic modifications in providing this differential expression using the tropical sea anemone Aiptasia pallida. Specifically, the role of the DNA methylation, which is associated with gene silencing and developmental processes is the focus of this study. While there is very little information available regarding epigenetic mechanisms in cnidarians, a full set of DNA methylation machinery has recently been characterized in the anemone Nematostella vectensis. In addition, there is growing evidence that DNA methylation is influenced by symbiosis in lichen and Rhizobium-legume models. In this study, the relative amounts of DNA methylation present in symbiotic and aposymbiotic A. pallida genomes was determined in order to elucidate the functional role of this epigenetic modification in cnidarian-dinoflagellate symbiosis.