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In vivo assessment of mitochondrial respiratory alternative oxidase activity and cyclic electron flow around photosystem I on small coral fragments
Vega de Luna, F.; Cordoba-Granados, J.J.; Dang, K.-V.; Roberty, S.; Cardol, P. (2020). In vivo assessment of mitochondrial respiratory alternative oxidase activity and cyclic electron flow around photosystem I on small coral fragments. NPG Scientific Reports 10(1): 17514. https://hdl.handle.net/10.1038/s41598-020-74557-0
In: Scientific Reports (Nature Publishing Group). Nature Publishing Group: London. ISSN 2045-2322; e-ISSN 2045-2322, more
Peer reviewed article  

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Keyword
    Marine/Coastal

Authors  Top 
  • Vega de Luna, F., more
  • Cordoba-Granados, J.J., more
  • Dang, K.-V., more

Abstract
    The mutualistic relationship existing between scleractinian corals and their photosynthetic endosymbionts involves a complex integration of the metabolic pathways within the holobiont. Respiration and photosynthesis are the most important of these processes and although they have been extensively studied, our understanding of their interactions and regulatory mechanisms is still limited. In this work we performed chlorophyll-a fluorescence, oxygen exchange and time-resolved absorption spectroscopy measurements on small and thin fragments (0.3 cm(2)) of the coral Stylophora pistillata. We showed that the capacity of mitochondrial alternative oxidase accounted for ca. 25% of total coral respiration, and that the high-light dependent oxygen uptake, commonly present in isolated Symbiodiniaceae, was negligible. The ratio between photosystem I (PSI) and photosystem II (PSII) active centers as well as their respective electron transport rates, indicated that PSI cyclic electron flow occurred in high light in S. pistillata and in some branching and lamellar coral species freshly collected in the field. Altogether, these results show the potential of applying advanced biophysical and spectroscopic methods on small coral fragments to understand the complex mechanisms of coral photosynthesis and respiration and their responses to environmental changes.

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