Coral reefs are at high risk of extinction due to ocean warming and acidification, these implementations are primarily driven by human activities. Corals have a significant genetic variability, allowing some to develop resilience to harsh climatic circumstances. However, they have low genetic diversity.
Chimerism, or the linkage of many genomes within an organism, is an important trait of corals and contributes significantly to their survival and genetic diversity. This phenomenon occurs in the early stages of a coral's existence, especially at the larval stage. Chimerism functions as a genetic repertoire, enhancing cell complementarity and synergy and facilitating survival in hostile situations. It also promotes population growth, and genetic diversity, and reduces poor response to climate change. The coral chimera's gene expression is extremely flexible, allowing it to adapt to a variety of environments.
However, rapid environmental changes caused by human activities have hastened the deterioration of coral reefs, and many species may not have enough time to adapt. Understanding coral chimerism may provide a biomimetic model for actively restoring degraded coral reefs.
There was a study conducted that looked at how conspecific genotypes were distributed within chimeras of the branching coral Stylophora pistillata. Coral chimeras were created by fusing planula larvae from various colonies, and the resulting chimeras were collected up to 25 months later. Chimerism is a long-term state in S. pistillata, as revealed by genetic analysis using microsatellite markers. It lasts the entire lifespan of coral colonies. The chimeras' conspecific genotypes were intermixed rather than segregated into distinct regions. The distribution of conspecific genotypes was disproportionate, with some fragments containing a combination of genotypes and others containing only one genotype. Cryptic chimerism, which was not detected by certain microsatellite markers, suggests that chimerism may be underestimated in natural coral populations. The study also tested the detection thresholds of microsatellite markers using "artificial chimeras" made by combining DNA from various S. pistillata genotypes. The results showed that microsatellites could detect the presence of the less common genotype even when it made up only 5-30% of the chimeric mixture.
This is a fascinating phenomenon that does come with limitations because the exact conditions for coral chimerism to occur frequently while remaining stable and adaptable enough to withstand rapid environmental changes over generations are unknown. It can be further understood in the future through many studies that must be done to really understand the mechanisms involved in coral chimerism. If chimerism is more common than previously thought, it implies that coral populations' genetic makeup is more complex and interconnected than previously assumed. This has implications for conservation efforts, as it may necessitate a rethinking of strategies for preserving genetic diversity and resilience in coral reefs. Furthermore, understanding the extent of chimerism in natural coral populations can provide information about the evolutionary and ecological processes that shape coral communities and coral chimerism may serve as a biomimetic model for the active restoration of degraded coral reefs.
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