Symbiotic relationships play important physiological roles in cnidarians; however, the molecular mechanisms underlying their establishment and regulation have only been elucidated in model systems, like the anemone Exaiptasia sp., while remaining largely unexplored in other cnidarian groups, including gorgonians. In this study, we investigate the transcriptional changes associated with facultative symbiosis in the white gorgon...

Gorgonians (like corals) are important habitat-forming organisms that support a diversity of macrofauna. This study explored structural attributes of gorgonian gardens formed by rose gorgonians ( Leptogorgia sp. nov.) and associated macrofaunal assemblages in Caleta Pichicuy (Central Chile). Hierarchical sampling was conducted at 20 m depth (maximum colony abundances) in order to assess spatial variability in abundance and col...

Human-induced climate change is causing ocean warming that triggers the breakdown of the coral–algal symbiosis. The proximate cause of this phenomenon, known as coral bleaching, is commonly attributed to the overproduction of reactive oxygen species (ROS) by the thermally stressed photosynthetic algal symbionts. However, direct evidence that algal ROS production (e.g., in the form of H 2 O 2 ) and coral physiological stress ar...