Abstract
Reef-building corals are declining due to environmental changes. Sacsin is a member of the heat shock proteins and has been reported as a candidate protein associated with the stress response in Acropora corals. Recently, high nucleotide diversity and the persistence of two divergent haplogroups of sacsin-like genes in Acropora millepora have been reported. While it was not clear when the two haplogroups have split and whether the haplogroups have persisted in only A. millepora or the other lineages in the genus Acropora. In this study, we analyzed a genomic region containing a sacsin-like gene from Acropora and Montipora species. Higher nucleotide diversity in the sacsin-like gene compared with that of surrounding regions was also observed in A. digitifera. This nucleotide diversity is derived from two divergent haplogroups of a sacsin-like gene, which are present in at least three Acropora species. The origin of these two haplogroups can be traced back before the divergence of Acropora and Montipora (119 Ma). Although the link between exceptionally high genetic variation in sacsin-like genes and functional differences in sacsin-like proteins is not clear, the divergent haplogroups may respond differently to envionmental stressors and serve in the adaptive phsiological ecology of these keystone species.
Highlights
Reef-building corals are declining due to environmental changes
Acropora corals produce dispersing larvae that may experience strong selection in each generation from stressors operating in their settled e nvironments[13]
Alleles related to stress response in different environment may have been maintained over long periods by balancing selection
Summary
Sacsin is a member of the heat shock proteins and has been reported as a candidate protein associated with the stress response in Acropora corals. High nucleotide diversity and the persistence of two divergent haplogroups of sacsinlike genes in Acropora millepora have been reported. Higher nucleotide diversity in the sacsin-like gene compared with that of surrounding regions was observed in A. digitifera. This nucleotide diversity is derived from two divergent haplogroups of a sacsin-like gene, which are present in at least three Acropora species. The origin of these two haplogroups can be traced back before the divergence of Acropora and Montipora (119 Ma). Exposure to an immunogen (polyinosinic:polycytidylic acid) affects sacsin-like gene expression in A. millepora[12]
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