An algal symbiont (Breviolum psygmophilum) responds more strongly to chronic high temperatures than its facultatively symbiotic coral host (Astrangia poculata)

Scleractinian corals form the foundation of coral reefs by secreting skeletons of calcium carbonate. Their intracellular algal symbionts (Symbiodiniaceae) translocate a large proportion of photosynthate to the coral host, which is required to maintain high rates of calcification. Global warming is causing dissociation of coral host and algal symbiont, visibly presented as coral bleaching. Despite decades of study, the precise mechanisms of coral bleaching remain unknown. Separating the thermal stress response of the coral from the algal symbiont is key to understanding bleaching in tropical corals. The facultatively symbiotic northern star coral, Astrangia poculata, naturally occurs as both symbiotic and aposymbiotic (lacking algal symbionts) polyps - sometimes on the same coral colony. Thus, it is possible to separate the heat stress response of the coral host alone from the coral in symbiosis with its symbiont Breviolum psygmophilum. Using replicate symbiotic and aposymbiotic ramets of A. poculata, we conducted a chronic heat stress experiment to increase our understanding of the cellular mechanisms resulting in coral bleaching. Sustained high temperature stress resulted in photosynthetic dysfunction in B. psygmophilum, including a decline in maximum photosynthesis rate, maximum photochemical efficiency, and the absorbance peak of chlorophyll a. Interestingly, the metabolic rates of symbiotic and aposymbiotic corals were differentially impacted. RNAseq analysis revealed more differentially expressed genes between heat-stressed and control aposymbiotic colonies than heat-stressed and control symbiotic colonies. Notably, aposymbiotic colonies increased the expression of inflammation-associated genes such as nitric oxide synthases. Unexpectedly, the largest transcriptional response was observed between heat-stressed and control B. psygmophilum, including genes involved in photosynthesis, response to oxidative stress, and meiosis. Thus, it appears that the algal symbiont suppresses the immune response of the host, potentially increasing the vulnerability of the host to pathogens. The A. poculata-B. psygmophilum symbiosis provides a tractable model system for investigating thermal stress and immune challenge in scleractinian corals.