Ocean acidification influences host DNAmethylation and phenotypic plasticity in environmentally susceptible corals

• Published in: Evolutionary Applications
• Main Authors: Putnam, Hollie M., Davidson, Jennifer M., Gates, Ruth D.
• Other Authors: National Science Foundation, Office of Experimental Program to Stimulate Competitive Research, Division of Ocean Sciences
• Format: Article in Journal/Newspaper
• Language: English
• Published: Wiley 2016
• Subjects: Ocean acidification
• Online Access: http://dx.doi.org/10.1111/eva.12408; https://api.wiley.com/onlinelibrary/tdm/v1/articles/10.1111%2Feva.12408; https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/pdf/10.1111/eva.12408; https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full-xml/10.1111/eva.12408; http://api.wiley.com/onlinelibrary/chorus/v1/articles/10.1111%2Feva.12408

Abstract As climate change challenges organismal fitness by creating a phenotype–environment mismatch, phenotypic plasticity generated by epigenetic mechanisms (e.g., DNA methylation) can provide a temporal buffer for genetic adaptation. Epigenetic mechanisms may be crucial for sessile benthic marine organisms, such as reef‐building corals, where ocean acidification ( OA ) and warming reflect in strong negative responses. We tested the potential for scleractinian corals to exhibit phenotypic plasticity associated with a change in DNA methylation in response to OA . Clonal coral fragments of the environmentally sensitive P ocillopora damicornis and more environmentally robust M ontipora capitata were exposed to fluctuating ambient p H (7.9–7.65) and low p H (7.6–7.35) conditions in common garden tanks for ~6 weeks. M . capitata responded weakly, or acclimated more quickly, to OA , with no difference in calcification, minimal separation of metabolomic profiles, and no change in DNA methylation between treatments. Conversely, P . damicornis exhibited diminished calcification at low p H , stronger separation in metabolomic profiles, and responsiveness of DNA methylation to treatment. Our data suggest corals differ in their temporal dynamics and sensitivity for environmentally triggered real‐time epigenetic reprogramming. The generation of potentially heritable plasticity via environmental induction of DNA methylation provides an avenue for assisted evolution applications in corals under rapid climate change.