Using the Acropora digitifera genome to understand coral responses to environmental change

Coral reefs are among the most biologically diverse ecosystems on the planet and are of great economic importance. They are under threat because the scleractinian corals at their core are susceptible to ocean acidification and rising seawater temperatures. The genome of the reef-building coral Acropora digitifera has been analysed with a view to understanding the molecular basis of symbiosis and responses to environmental change. The coral seems to have lost a key enzyme of cysteine biosynthesis, so may be dependent on its symbionts for this amino acid. It contains several genes with roles in protection from ultraviolet light that may have been acquired by horizontal transfer from prokaryotic organisms. The coral's innate immunity repertoire is more complex than that of the solitary sea anemone, suggesting that some of these genes are involved in symbiosis or coloniality.