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Green fluorescent protein-like pigments optimise the internal light environment in symbiotic reef-building corals

Pigments homologous to the green fluorescent protein (GFP) have been proposed to fine-tune the internal light microclimate of corals, facilitating photoacclimation of photosynthetic coral symbionts (Symbiodiniaceae) to life in different reef habitats and environmental conditions. However, direct mea...

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Autores principales: Bollati, Elena, Lyndby, Niclas H, D'Angelo, Cecilia, Kühl, Michael, Wiedenmann, Jörg, Wangpraseurt, Daniel
Formato: Online Artículo Texto
Lenguaje:English
Publicado: eLife Sciences Publications, Ltd 2022
Materias:
Acceso en línea:https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC9342951/
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/35801683
http://dx.doi.org/10.7554/eLife.73521
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author Bollati, Elena
Lyndby, Niclas H
D'Angelo, Cecilia
Kühl, Michael
Wiedenmann, Jörg
Wangpraseurt, Daniel
author_facet Bollati, Elena
Lyndby, Niclas H
D'Angelo, Cecilia
Kühl, Michael
Wiedenmann, Jörg
Wangpraseurt, Daniel
author_sort Bollati, Elena
collection PubMed
description Pigments homologous to the green fluorescent protein (GFP) have been proposed to fine-tune the internal light microclimate of corals, facilitating photoacclimation of photosynthetic coral symbionts (Symbiodiniaceae) to life in different reef habitats and environmental conditions. However, direct measurements of the in vivo light conditions inside the coral tissue supporting this conclusion are lacking. Here, we quantified the intra-tissue spectral light environment of corals expressing GFP-like proteins from widely different light regimes. We focus on: (1) photoconvertible red fluorescent proteins (pcRFPs), thought to enhance photosynthesis in mesophotic habitats via wavelength conversion, and (2) chromoproteins (CPs), which provide photoprotection to the symbionts in shallow water via light absorption. Optical microsensor measurements indicated that both pigment groups strongly alter the coral intra-tissue light environment. Estimates derived from light spectra measured in pcRFP-containing corals showed that fluorescence emission can contribute to >50% of orange-red light available to the photosynthetic symbionts at mesophotic depths. We further show that upregulation of pink CPs in shallow-water corals during bleaching leads to a reduction of orange light by 10–20% compared to low-CP tissue. Thus, screening by CPs has an important role in mitigating the light-enhancing effect of coral tissue scattering and skeletal reflection during bleaching. Our results provide the first experimental quantification of the importance of GFP-like proteins in fine-tuning the light microclimate of corals during photoacclimation.
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spelling pubmed-93429512022-08-02 Green fluorescent protein-like pigments optimise the internal light environment in symbiotic reef-building corals Bollati, Elena Lyndby, Niclas H D'Angelo, Cecilia Kühl, Michael Wiedenmann, Jörg Wangpraseurt, Daniel eLife Biochemistry and Chemical Biology Pigments homologous to the green fluorescent protein (GFP) have been proposed to fine-tune the internal light microclimate of corals, facilitating photoacclimation of photosynthetic coral symbionts (Symbiodiniaceae) to life in different reef habitats and environmental conditions. However, direct measurements of the in vivo light conditions inside the coral tissue supporting this conclusion are lacking. Here, we quantified the intra-tissue spectral light environment of corals expressing GFP-like proteins from widely different light regimes. We focus on: (1) photoconvertible red fluorescent proteins (pcRFPs), thought to enhance photosynthesis in mesophotic habitats via wavelength conversion, and (2) chromoproteins (CPs), which provide photoprotection to the symbionts in shallow water via light absorption. Optical microsensor measurements indicated that both pigment groups strongly alter the coral intra-tissue light environment. Estimates derived from light spectra measured in pcRFP-containing corals showed that fluorescence emission can contribute to >50% of orange-red light available to the photosynthetic symbionts at mesophotic depths. We further show that upregulation of pink CPs in shallow-water corals during bleaching leads to a reduction of orange light by 10–20% compared to low-CP tissue. Thus, screening by CPs has an important role in mitigating the light-enhancing effect of coral tissue scattering and skeletal reflection during bleaching. Our results provide the first experimental quantification of the importance of GFP-like proteins in fine-tuning the light microclimate of corals during photoacclimation. eLife Sciences Publications, Ltd 2022-07-08 /pmc/articles/PMC9342951/ /pubmed/35801683 http://dx.doi.org/10.7554/eLife.73521 Text en © 2022, Bollati et al https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/This article is distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/) , which permits unrestricted use and redistribution provided that the original author and source are credited.
spellingShingle Biochemistry and Chemical Biology
Bollati, Elena
Lyndby, Niclas H
D'Angelo, Cecilia
Kühl, Michael
Wiedenmann, Jörg
Wangpraseurt, Daniel
Green fluorescent protein-like pigments optimise the internal light environment in symbiotic reef-building corals
title Green fluorescent protein-like pigments optimise the internal light environment in symbiotic reef-building corals
title_full Green fluorescent protein-like pigments optimise the internal light environment in symbiotic reef-building corals
title_fullStr Green fluorescent protein-like pigments optimise the internal light environment in symbiotic reef-building corals
title_full_unstemmed Green fluorescent protein-like pigments optimise the internal light environment in symbiotic reef-building corals
title_short Green fluorescent protein-like pigments optimise the internal light environment in symbiotic reef-building corals
title_sort green fluorescent protein-like pigments optimise the internal light environment in symbiotic reef-building corals
topic Biochemistry and Chemical Biology
url https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC9342951/
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/35801683
http://dx.doi.org/10.7554/eLife.73521
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