Prior heat stress increases pathogen susceptibility in the model cnidarian Exaiptasia diaphana.

Anthropogenic climate change has significantly altered terrestrial and marine ecosystems globally, often in the form of climate-related events such as thermal anomalies and disease outbreaks. Although the isolated effects of these stressors have been well documented, a growing body of literature suggests that stressors often interact, resulting in complex effects on ecosystems. This includes coral reefs where sequential associations between heat stress and disease have had profound impacts. Here we used the model cnidarian Exaiptasia diaphana to investigate mechanisms linking prior heat stress to increased disease susceptibility. We examined anemone pathogen susceptibility and physiology (symbiosis, immunity, and energetics) following recovery from heat stress. We observed significantly increased pathogen susceptibility in anemones previously exposed to heat stress. Notably, prior heat stress reduced anemone energetic reserves (carbohydrate concentration), and activity of multiple immune components. Minimal effects of prior heat stress on symbiont density were observed. Together, results suggest changes in energetic availability might have the strongest effect on pathogen susceptibility and immunity following heat stress. The results presented here provide critical insight regarding the interplay between heat stress recovery and pathogen susceptibility in cnidarians and are an important first step towards understanding temporal associations between these stressors.

Evidence for phosphate-dependent control of symbiont cell division in the model anemone Exaiptasia diaphana.

Reef-building corals depend on symbiosis with photosynthetic algae that reside within their cells. As important as this relationship is for maintaining healthy reefs, it is strikingly delicate. When ocean temperatures briefly exceed the average summer maximum, corals can bleach, losing their endosymbionts. Although the mechanisms governing bleaching are unknown, studies implicate uncoupling of coral and algal cell divisions at high temperatures. Still, little is known regarding the coordination of host and algal cell divisions. Control of nutrient exchange is one likely mechanism. Both nitrogen and phosphate are necessary for dividing cells, and although nitrogen enrichment is known to increase symbiont density in the host, the consequences of phosphate enrichment are poorly understood. Here, we examined the effects of phosphate depletion on symbiont growth in culture and compared the physiology of phosphate-starved symbionts in culture to symbionts that were freshly isolated from a host. We found that available phosphate is as low in freshly isolated symbionts as it is in phosphate-starved cultures. Furthermore, RNAseq revealed that phosphate-limited and freshly isolated symbionts have similar patterns of gene expression for phosphate-dependent genes, most notably upregulation of phosphatases, which is consistent with phosphate recycling. Similarly, lipid profiling revealed a substantial decrease in phospholipid abundance in both phosphate-starved cultures and freshly isolated symbionts. These findings are important because they suggest that limited access to phosphate controls algal cell divisions within a host. IMPORTANCE: The corals responsible for building tropical reefs are disappearing at an alarming rate as elevated sea temperatures cause them to bleach and lose the algal symbionts they rely on. Without these symbionts, corals are unable to harvest energy from sunlight and, therefore, struggle to thrive or even survive in the nutrient-poor waters of the tropics. To devise solutions to address the threat to coral reefs, it is necessary to understand the cellular events underpinning the bleaching process. One model for bleaching proposes that heat stress impairs algal photosynthesis and transfer of sugar to the host. Consequently, the host's demands for nitrogen decrease, increasing nitrogen availability to the symbionts, which leads to an increase in algal proliferation that overwhelms the host. Our work suggests that phosphate may play a similar role to nitrogen in this feedback loop.

Proteomes of native and non-native symbionts reveal responses underpinning host-symbiont specificity in the cnidarian-dinoflagellate symbiosis.

Cellular mechanisms responsible for the regulation of nutrient exchange, immune responses, and symbiont population growth in the cnidarian-dinoflagellate symbiosis are poorly resolved, particularly with respect to the dinoflagellate symbiont. Here, we characterized proteomic changes in the native symbiont Breviolum minutum during colonization of its host sea anemone Exaiptasia diaphana ("Aiptasia"). We also compared the proteome of this native symbiont in the established symbiotic state with that of a non-native symbiont, Durusdinium trenchii. The onset of symbiosis between Aiptasia and Breviolum minutum increased the accumulation of symbiont proteins associated with the acquisition of inorganic carbon and photosynthesis, nitrogen metabolism, micro- and macronutrient starvation, suppression of host immune responses, tolerance to low pH, and management of oxidative stress. Such responses are consistent with a functional, persistent symbiosis. In contrast, D. trenchii predominantly showed elevated levels of immunosuppressive proteins, consistent with the view that this symbiont is an opportunist that forms a less beneficial, less well-integrated symbiosis with this model anemone. By adding symbiont analysis to the already known responses of the host proteome, our results provide a more holistic view of cellular processes that determine host-symbiont specificity and how differences in symbiont partners (i.e. native versus non-native symbionts) may impact the fitness of the cnidarian-dinoflagellate symbiosis.

The cellular basis of feeding-dependent body size plasticity in sea anemones.

Many animals share a lifelong capacity to adapt their growth rates and body sizes to changing environmental food supplies. However, the cellular and molecular basis underlying this plasticity remains only poorly understood. We therefore studied how the sea anemones Nematostella vectensis and Aiptasia (Exaiptasia pallida) respond to feeding and starvation. Combining quantifications of body size and cell numbers with mathematical modelling, we observed that growth and shrinkage rates in Nematostella are exponential, stereotypic and accompanied by dramatic changes in cell numbers. Notably, shrinkage rates, but not growth rates, are independent of body size. In the facultatively symbiotic Aiptasia, we show that growth and cell proliferation rates are dependent on the symbiotic state. On a cellular level, we found that >7% of all cells in Nematostella juveniles reversibly shift between S/G2/M and G1/G0 cell cycle phases when fed or starved, respectively. Furthermore, we demonstrate that polyp growth and cell proliferation are dependent on TOR signalling during feeding. Altogether, we provide a benchmark and resource for further investigating the nutritional regulation of body plasticity on multiple scales using the genetic toolkit available for Nematostella.

Sea anemones (Actinia equina) show consistent individual differences in boldness and thoroughness but lack a behavioural syndrome.

Behavioural syndromes are suites of behaviours that corelate between-individuals but the same behaviours may also show within-individual correlations owing to state dependency or trade-offs. Therefore, overall phenotypic behavioural correlations must be separated into their between- and within-individual components. We investigate how startle response duration (an index of boldness) and time taken to reject an inert item (an index of investigation thoroughness) covary in beadlet sea anemones, Actinia equina. Anemones took longer to reject a more complex item compared to a simpler one, validating this measure of investigation thoroughness. We then quantified between- and within-individual correlations using a Bayesian analysis and an alternative frequentist analysis, which returned the same results. Startle responses decreased with anemone size while thoroughness decreased across repeated observations, indicative of simple learning. For each behaviour, repeatability was significant but relatively low and there was no behavioural syndrome. Rather, the two behaviours showed a negative within-individual correlation in most individuals. Thus, boldness and thoroughness are unlikely to be under correlative selection, and they may instead be expressed independently, in line with the general pattern that cross-contextual behavioural syndromes are comparatively rare. It now appears that this pattern may extend broadly across animal diversity.

Microhabitat acclimatization alters sea anemone-algal symbiosis and thermal tolerance across the intertidal zone.

Contemporary symbioses in extreme environments can give an insight into mechanisms that stabilize species interactions during environmental change. The intertidal sea anemone, Anthopleura elegantissima, engages in a nutritional symbiosis with microalgae similar to tropical coral, but withstands more intense environmental fluctuations during tidal inundations. In this study, we compare baseline symbiotic traits and their sensitivity to thermal stress within and among anemone aggregations across the intertidal using a laboratory-based tank experiment to better understand how fixed genotypic and plastic environmental effects contribute to the successful maintenance of this symbiosis in extreme habitats. High intertidal anemones had lower baseline symbiont-to-host cell ratios under control conditions, but their symbionts had higher baseline photosynthetic efficiency compared to low intertidal anemone symbionts. Symbiont communities were identical across all samples, suggesting that shifts in symbiont density and photosynthetic performance could be an acclimatory mechanism to maintain symbiosis in different environments. Despite lower baseline symbiont-to-host cell ratios, high intertidal anemones maintained greater symbiont-to-host cell ratios under heat stress compared with low intertidal anemones, suggesting greater thermal tolerance of high intertidal holobionts. However, the thermal tolerance of clonal anemones acclimatized to different zones was not explained by tidal height alone, indicating additional environmental variables contribute to physiological differences. Host genotype significantly influenced anemone weight, but only explained a minor proportion of variation among symbiotic traits and their response to thermal stress, further implicating environmental history as the primary driver of holobiont tolerance. These results indicate that this symbiosis is highly plastic and may be able to acclimatize to climate change over ecological timescales, defying the convention that symbiotic organisms are more susceptible to environmental stress.

Cnidarians are CLOCKing in.

Studies of the starlet sea anemone provide important insights into the early evolution of the circadian clock in animals.

Giant sea anemones.

Kashimoto et al. introduce the giant sea anemones, which form mutualistic relationships with anemonefish.

CLOCK evolved in cnidaria to synchronize internal rhythms with diel environmental cues.

The circadian clock enables anticipation of the day/night cycle in animals ranging from cnidarians to mammals. Circadian rhythms are generated through a transcription-translation feedback loop (TTFL or pacemaker) with CLOCK as a conserved positive factor in animals. However, CLOCK's functional evolutionary origin and mechanism of action in basal animals are unknown. In the cnidarian Nematostella vectensis, pacemaker gene transcript levels, including NvClk (the Clock ortholog), appear arrhythmic under constant darkness, questioning the role of NvCLK. Utilizing CRISPR/Cas9, we generated a NvClk allele mutant (NvClkΔ), revealing circadian behavior loss under constant dark (DD) or light (LL), while maintaining a 24 hr rhythm under light-dark condition (LD). Transcriptomics analysis revealed distinct rhythmic genes in wild-type (WT) polypsunder LD compared to DD conditions. In LD, NvClkΔ/Δ polyps exhibited comparable numbers of rhythmic genes, but were reduced in DD. Furthermore, under LD, the NvClkΔ/Δ polyps showed alterations in temporal pacemaker gene expression, impacting their potential interactions. Additionally, differential expression of non-rhythmic genes associated with cell division and neuronal differentiation was observed. These findings revealed that a light-responsive pathway can partially compensate for circadian clock disruption, and that the Clock gene has evolved in cnidarians to synchronize rhythmic physiology and behavior with the diel rhythm of the earth's biosphere.

Sea anemone-anemonefish symbiosis: Behavior and mucous protein profiling.

Fish species of the genus Amphiprion (Perciformes: Pomacentridae) seek protection from predators among the tentacles of sea anemones as their natural habitat, where they live essentially unharmed from stinging by the host's nematocysts. The skin mucus of these anemonefish has been suggested as a protective mechanism that prevents the discharge of the nematocysts upon contact. Whereas some anemonefish species seem to produce their own protective mucous coating, others may acquire mucus (or biomolecules within) from the sea anemone during an acclimation period. In controlled experiments, we show that Amphiprion ocellaris acclimated successfully to their natural host anemone species Stichodactyla gigantea, and also to Stichodactyla haddoni, and in some cases Heteractis crispa, neither of which are natural host species. No symbiosis was observed for three other anemone species tested, Entacmaea quadricolor, Macrodactyla doreensis, and Heteractis malu. We explored the skin mucous protein profile from naive and experienced A. ocellaris during their acclimation to natural and unnatural host anemones. We confidently report the presence of metabolic and structural proteins in the skin mucus of all samples, likely involved in immunological defense, molecular transport, stress response, and signal transduction. For those anemonefish that established symbiosis, there was a clear increase in ribosomal-type proteins. We additionally provide evidence for the presence of anemone proteins only in the skin mucus of individuals that established symbiosis. Our results support previous speculation of the role of skin mucous-associated proteins in anemonefish-anemone symbiosis. Further exploration of these mucosal proteins could reveal the mechanism of anemonefish acclimation to host anemones.

Artificial light at night alters the feeding activity and two molecular indicators in the plumose sea anemone Metridium senile (L.).

Artificial light at night (ALAN) is becoming a widespread stressor in coastal ecosystems, affecting species that rely on natural day/night cycles. Yet, studies examining ALAN effects remain limited, particularly in the case of sessile species. This study assessed the effects of ALAN upon the feeding activity and two molecular indicators in the widespread plumose sea anemone Metridium senile. Anemones were exposed to either natural day/night or ALAN conditions to monitor feeding activity, and tissue samples were collected to quantify proteins and superoxide dismutase (SOD) enzyme concentrations. In day/night conditions, sea anemones showed a circadian rhythm of activity in which feeding occurs primarily at night. This rhythm was altered by ALAN, which turned it into a reduced and more uniform pattern of feeding. Consistently, proteins and SOD concentrations were significantly lower in anemones exposed to ALAN, suggesting that ALAN can be harmful to sea anemones and potentially other marine sessile species.

Sea anemones, methylmercury, and bacterial infection: A closer look at multiple stressors.

Specimens of the Mediterranean sea anemone Anemonia viridis were exposed to methylmercury (MeHg) and bacterial infection to study their immune responses to a well-known toxic pollutant. Anemones were housed in laboratory conditions and divided into five experimental groups: 1. control (no microinjection); 2. filtered seawater + buffer injection; 3. filtered seawater + Escherichia coli injection; 4. MeHg + buffer injection; 5. MeHg + E. coli injection. Data showed an increase in antioxidant enzyme production compared to the constitutive condition, while methylmercury inhibited lysozyme production. The buffer inoculation had no statistically significant effects on the animals. In addition, electrophoretic and protease analyses revealed differences in the type of proteins produced, as well as a modulation of proteases depending on the treatment. The study demonstrated the immunomodulatory effect of the organic pollutant on A. viridis, validating its use as a model organism for marine coastal biomonitoring programmes and multiple stress studies.

Starvation differentially affects gene expression, immunity and pathogen susceptibility across symbiotic states in a model cnidarian.

Mutualistic symbioses between cnidarians and photosynthetic algae are modulated by complex interactions between host immunity and environmental conditions. Here, we investigate how symbiosis interacts with food limitation to influence gene expression and stress response programming in the sea anemone Exaiptasia pallida (Aiptasia). Transcriptomic responses to starvation were similar between symbiotic and aposymbiotic Aiptasia; however, aposymbiotic anemone responses were stronger. Starved Aiptasia of both symbiotic states exhibited increased protein levels of immune-related transcription factor NF-κB, its associated gene pathways, and putative target genes. However, this starvation-induced increase in NF-κB correlated with increased immunity only in symbiotic anemones. Furthermore, starvation had opposite effects on Aiptasia susceptibility to pathogen and oxidative stress challenges, suggesting distinct energetic priorities under food scarce conditions. Finally, when we compared starvation responses in Aiptasia to those of a facultative coral and non-symbiotic anemone, 'defence' responses were similarly regulated in Aiptasia and the facultative coral, but not in the non-symbiotic anemone. This pattern suggests that capacity for symbiosis influences immune responses in cnidarians. In summary, expression of certain immune pathways-including NF-κB-does not necessarily predict susceptibility to pathogens, highlighting the complexities of cnidarian immunity and the influence of symbiosis under varying energetic demands.

Comparative physiology reveals heat stress disrupts acid-base homeostasis independent of symbiotic state in the model cnidarian Exaiptasia diaphana.

Climate change threatens the survival of symbiotic cnidarians by causing photosymbiosis breakdown in a process known as bleaching. Direct effects of temperature on cnidarian host physiology remain difficult to describe because heatwaves depress symbiont performance, leading to host stress and starvation. The symbiotic sea anemone Exaiptasia diaphana provides an opportune system to disentangle direct versus indirect heat effects on the host, as it can survive indefinitely without symbionts. We tested the hypothesis that heat directly impairs cnidarian physiology by comparing symbiotic and aposymbiotic individuals of two laboratory subpopulations of a commonly used clonal strain of E. diaphana, CC7. We exposed anemones to a range of temperatures (ambient, +2°C, +4°C and +6°C) for 15-18 days, then measured their symbiont population densities, autotrophic carbon assimilation and translocation, photosynthesis, respiration and host intracellular pH (pHi). Symbiotic anemones from the two subpopulations differed in size and symbiont density and exhibited distinct heat stress responses, highlighting the importance of acclimation to different laboratory conditions. Specifically, the cohort with higher initial symbiont densities experienced dose-dependent symbiont loss with increasing temperature and a corresponding decline in host photosynthate accumulation. In contrast, the cohort with lower initial symbiont densities did not lose symbionts or assimilate less photosynthate when heated, similar to the response of aposymbiotic anemones. However, anemone pHi decreased at higher temperatures regardless of cohort, symbiont presence or photosynthate translocation, indicating that heat consistently disrupts cnidarian acid-base homeostasis independent of symbiotic status or mutualism breakdown. Thus, pH regulation may be a critical vulnerability for cnidarians in a changing climate.

Evolution: Neuronal control of an archaic mouth.

Cnidarians (corals, hydras, jellyfish, sea anemones) are prey-devouring creatures with a simple nervous system, the function of which is largely unknown. A new study on the freshwater polyp Hydra has now uncovered the neuronal circuits that control its feeding behavior.

Negative phototaxis in the photosymbiotic sea anemone Aiptasia as a potential strategy to protect symbionts from photodamage.

Photosymbiotic cnidarians generally seek bright environments so that their symbionts can be photosynthetically active. However, excess light may result in a breakdown of symbiosis due to the accumulation of photodamage in symbionts causing symbiont loss (bleaching). It is currently unknown if photosymbiotic cnidarians sense light only to regulate spawning time and to facilitate predation, or whether they also use their light-sensing capacities to protect their symbionts from photodamage. In this study, we examined how the sea anemone Aiptasia changes its behaviour when exposed to excess light. We reveal that Aiptasia polyps, when carrying symbionts, contract their bodies when exposed to high light intensities and subsequently migrate away in a direction perpendicular to the light source. Interestingly, this negative phototaxis was only evident under blue light and absent upon UV, green and red light exposure. Non-symbiotic Aiptasia did not exhibit this light response. Our study demonstrates that photosymbiotic Aiptasia polyps display negative phototactic behaviour in response to blue light, and that they also can perceive its direction, despite lacking specialized eye structures. We postulate that Aiptasia uses blue light, which penetrates seawater efficiently, as a general proxy for sunlight exposure to protect its symbionts from photodamage.

Host nutrient sensing is mediated by mTOR signaling in cnidarian-dinoflagellate symbiosis.

To survive in the nutrient-poor waters of the tropics, reef-building corals rely on intracellular, photosynthetic dinoflagellate symbionts. Photosynthates produced by the symbiont are translocated to the host, and this enables corals to form the structural foundation of the most biodiverse of all marine ecosystems. Although the regulation of nutrient exchange between partners is critical for ecosystem stability and health, the mechanisms governing how nutrients are sensed, transferred, and integrated into host cell processes are largely unknown. Ubiquitous among eukaryotes, the mechanistic target of the rapamycin (mTOR) signaling pathway integrates intracellular and extracellular stimuli to influence cell growth and cell-cycle progression and to balance metabolic processes. A functional role of mTOR in the integration of host and symbiont was demonstrated in various nutritional symbioses, and a similar role of mTOR was proposed for coral-algal symbioses. Using the endosymbiosis model Aiptasia, we examined the role of mTOR signaling in both larvae and adult polyps across various stages of symbiosis. We found that symbiosis enhances cell proliferation, and using an Aiptasia-specific antibody, we localized mTOR to symbiosome membranes. We found that mTOR signaling is activated by symbiosis, while inhibition of mTOR signaling disrupts intracellular niche establishment and symbiosis altogether. Additionally, we observed that dysbiosis was a conserved response to mTOR inhibition in the larvae of a reef-building coral species. Our data confim that mTOR signaling plays a pivotal role in integrating symbiont-derived nutrients into host metabolism and symbiosis stability, ultimately allowing symbiotic cnidarians to thrive in challenging environments.

Establishment of a New Model Sea Anemone for Comparative Studies on Cnidarian-Algal Symbiosis.

Frequent coral bleaching has drawn attention to the mechanisms of coral dinoflagellate endosymbiosis. Owing to the difficulty of rearing corals in the laboratory, model symbiosis systems are desired. The sea anemone Exaiptasia diaphana, hosting clade B1 of the genus Breviolum, has long been studied as a model system; however, a single species is insufficient for comparative studies and thus provides only limited resources for symbiosis research, especially regarding the specificity of host-symbiont associations. We established a clonal strain of the sea anemone Anthopleura atodai, whose symbiont was identified as a novel subclade of Symbiodinium (clade A) using a novel feeding method. We also developed a method to efficiently bleach various sea anemone species using a quinoclamine-based herbicide. Bleached A. atodai polyps were vital and able to reproduce asexually, exhibiting no signs of harmful effects of the drug treatment. Pilot studies have suggested that host-symbiont specificity is influenced by multiple steps differently in A. atodai and E. diaphana. RNAseq analyses of A. atodai showed that multiple NPC2 genes were expressed in the symbiotic state, which have been suggested to function in the transport of sterols from symbionts to host cells. These results reveal the usefulness of A. atodai in comparative studies of cnidarian-algal symbiosis.

Associative learning in the cnidarian Nematostella vectensis.

The ability to learn and form memories allows animals to adapt their behavior based on previous experiences. Associative learning, the process through which organisms learn about the relationship between two distinct events, has been extensively studied in various animal taxa. However, the existence of associative learning, prior to the emergence of centralized nervous systems in bilaterian animals, remains unclear. Cnidarians such as sea anemones or jellyfish possess a nerve net, which lacks centralization. As the sister group to bilaterians, they are particularly well suited for studying the evolution of nervous system functions. Here, we probe the capacity of the starlet sea anemone Nematostella vectensis to form associative memories by using a classical conditioning approach. We developed a protocol combining light as the conditioned stimulus with an electric shock as the aversive unconditioned stimulus. After repetitive training, animals exhibited a conditioned response to light alone-indicating that they learned the association. In contrast, all control conditions did not form associative memories. Besides shedding light on an aspect of cnidarian behavior, these results root associative learning before the emergence of NS centralization in the metazoan lineage and raise fundamental questions about the origin and evolution of cognition in brainless animals.

Resting Membrane Potential Modulates Chemoreceptor Sensitivity in Nematocyst Discharge of the Sea Anemone Exaiptasia diaphena.

AbstractExtracellular calcium has been known to be required for in situ nematocyst discharge for more than 60 years, yet calcium's role in nematocyst discharge is poorly understood. Currently, we know that extracellular calcium plays at least two distinct roles in in situ nematocyst discharge. First, calcium plays a role in the triggering of discharge by physical contact, most likely involving transient receptor potential channels. Second, activated L-type calcium channels desensitize nematocyst discharge predisposed to discharge by stimulated chemoreceptors for N-acetylated sugars, such as N-acetylneuraminic acid (NANA). It is not known whether the stimulated NANA signaling pathway activates L-type channels electrogenically through membrane depolarization or directly by phosphorylation of the channel. We hypothesize that the activated NANA signaling pathway initiates desensitization by depolarizing cell membrane potentials to activate voltage-gated L-type calcium channels. Consistent with our hypothesis, we show that depolarization induced by blocking voltage-gated potassium channels with 4-aminopyridine selectively activates Ca2+ influx into tentacle ectodermal cells via L-type channels and inhibits in situ nematocyst discharge from chemosensitized anemones. Furthermore, preventing membrane depolarization with valinomycin or hyperpolarizing resting membrane potentials with low-potassium seawater suppresses NANA-induced Ca2+ influx, prevents desensitization of in situ nematocyst discharge, and enhances NANA sensitivity. Thus, changing resting membrane potentials modulates NANA sensitivity, and NANA-induced depolarization drives desensitization. We suggest that desensitization of the NANA signaling pathway occurs by a feedback pathway involving calcium channels that are activated by NANA-induced depolarization. Elucidating the desensitization pathway may suggest methods to protect or prevent public health cases of nematocyst stinging.