The immunotranscriptome of the Caribbean reef-building coral Pseudodiploria strigosa

Immunogenetics. 2015 Sep;67(9):515-30. doi: 10.1007/s00251-015-0854-1. Epub 2015 Jul 1.

Abstract

The viability of coral reefs worldwide has been seriously compromised in the last few decades due in part to the emergence of coral diseases of infectious nature. Despite important efforts to understand the etiology and the contribution of environmental factors associated to coral diseases, the mechanisms of immune response in corals are just beginning to be studied systematically. In this study, we analyzed the set of conserved immune response genes of the Caribbean reef-building coral Pseudodiploria strigosa by Illumina-based transcriptome sequencing and annotation of healthy colonies challenged with whole live Gram-positive and Gram-negative bacteria. Searching the annotated transcriptome with immune-related terms yielded a total of 2782 transcripts predicted to encode conserved immune-related proteins that were classified into three modules: (a) the immune recognition module, containing a wide diversity of putative pattern recognition receptors including leucine-rich repeat-containing proteins, immunoglobulin superfamily receptors, representatives of various lectin families, and scavenger receptors; (b) the intracellular signaling module, containing components from the Toll-like receptor, transforming growth factor, MAPK, and apoptosis signaling pathways; and (3) the effector module, including the C3 and factor B complement components, a variety of proteases and protease inhibitors, and the melanization-inducing phenoloxidase. P. strigosa displays a highly variable and diverse immune recognition repertoire that has likely contributed to its resilience to coral diseases.

Publication types

  • Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

  • Animals
  • Anthozoa / genetics*
  • Anthozoa / immunology*
  • Anthozoa / microbiology
  • Apoptosis / genetics
  • Apoptosis / immunology
  • Base Sequence
  • Caribbean Region
  • Coral Reefs
  • Gram-Negative Bacteria / immunology
  • Gram-Positive Bacteria / immunology
  • MAP Kinase Signaling System / genetics*
  • Mitogen-Activated Protein Kinases / genetics*
  • Monophenol Monooxygenase / genetics
  • Sequence Analysis, DNA
  • Toll-Like Receptors / genetics*
  • Toll-Like Receptors / immunology
  • Transcriptome / genetics
  • Transforming Growth Factors / genetics

Substances

  • Toll-Like Receptors
  • Transforming Growth Factors
  • Monophenol Monooxygenase
  • Mitogen-Activated Protein Kinases