Telomere length of the colonial coral Galaxea fascicularis at different developmental stages

The ability to estimate coral age using soft tissue would be useful for population biology or aging studies on corals. In this study, we investigated whether telomere length can be used to estimate coral age. We applied single telomere length analysis to a colonial coral, Galaxea fascicularis , and...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Coral reefs 2013-06, Vol.32 (2), p.495-502
Main Authors: Tsuta, H., Hidaka, M.
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Aging
Animal and plant ecology
Animal, plant and microbial ecology
Biological and medical sciences
Biomedical and Life Sciences
Cnidaria. Ctenaria
Coral reefs
Developmental biology
Freshwater & Marine Ecology
Fundamental and applied biological sciences. Psychology
Galaxea fasciculari
Invertebrates
Life cycles
Life Sciences
Oceanography
Sea water ecosystems
Synecology
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Summary:The ability to estimate coral age using soft tissue would be useful for population biology or aging studies on corals. In this study, we investigated whether telomere length can be used to estimate coral age. We applied single telomere length analysis to a colonial coral, Galaxea fascicularis , and estimated telomere lengths of specific coral chromosomes at different developmental stages. If the telomere shortened at each cell division, the telomere length of the coral would be longest in sperm and shortest in adult colonies. However, the mean telomere length of sperm, planula larvae, and polyps was approximately 4 kb, with no significant differences among the developmental stages. The telomerase restriction fragment (TRF) analysis also showed no significant difference in the mean TRF length among the developmental stages. Our results suggested that telomere length is maintained during developmental stages and that estimating the age of colonial coral based on telomere length may not be possible. However, our findings can be used to examine avoidance of aging and rejuvenation during regeneration and asexual reproduction in colonial corals.
ISSN:0722-4028
1432-0975
DOI:10.1007/s00338-012-0997-6