Evidence for de novo acquisition of microalgal symbionts by bleached adult corals

Updated: 2023-11-29

This study tested whether bleached adult corals can acquire photosymbionts (family Symbiodiniaceae) from the environment. We subjected adult fragments of six coral species to a chemical bleaching treatment: P. lobata, D. heliopora, S. pistillata, D. pallida, E. lamellosa and P. daedalea. The bleached corals were then inoculated with a cultured symbiont (a Cladocopium C1acro strain). Genotyping of the symbiont communities before bleaching and after reinoculation was carried out. Full details are in the paper Scharfenstein et al. (2022).