The skeletal proteome of the coral Acropora millepora: the evolution of calcification by co-option and domain shuffling.

14 pages International audience In corals, biocalcification is a major function that may be drastically affected by ocean acidification (OA). Scleractinian corals grow by building up aragonitic exoskeletons that provide support and protection for soft tissues. Although this process has been extensiv...

Full description

Bibliographic Details
Published in:Molecular Biology and Evolution
Main Authors: Ramos-Silva, Paula, Kaandorp, Jaap, Huisman, Lotte, Marie, Benjamin, Zanella-Cléon, Isabelle, Guichard, Nathalie, Miller, David J., Marin, Frédéric
Other Authors: Biogéosciences UMR 6282 (BGS), Université de Bourgogne (UB)-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS), Section Computational Science, University of Amsterdam Amsterdam = Universiteit van Amsterdam (UvA), ARC Centre of Excellence for Coral Reef Studies (CoralCoE), James Cook University (JCU), Molécules de Communication et Adaptation des Micro-Organismes (MCAM), Muséum national d'Histoire naturelle (MNHN)-Institut National de la Santé et de la Recherche Médicale (INSERM)-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS), BioSciences Lyon-Gerland (BLG), École normale supérieure de Lyon (ENS de Lyon)-Institut National de la Recherche Agronomique (INRA)-Université Claude Bernard Lyon 1 (UCBL), Université de Lyon-Université de Lyon-Hospices Civils de Lyon (HCL)-Institut National de la Santé et de la Recherche Médicale (INSERM)-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS), Work supported by the EU FP7 Marie Curie Initial Training Network BIOMINTEC (PITNGA-2008-215507, www.biomintec.de, coordinator H.C. Schröder), by the EU FP7 Knowledge Based Bio-Economy project BioPreDyn grant 289434 (www.biopredyn.eu), and by the COST project TD0903 ("Biomineralix", www.biomineralix.eu, 2009-2013)
Format: Article in Journal/Newspaper
Language:English
Published: HAL CCSD 2013
Subjects:
Online Access:https://hal.science/hal-00853820
https://doi.org/10.1093/molbev/mst109
Description
Summary:14 pages International audience In corals, biocalcification is a major function that may be drastically affected by ocean acidification (OA). Scleractinian corals grow by building up aragonitic exoskeletons that provide support and protection for soft tissues. Although this process has been extensively studied, the molecular basis of biocalcification is poorly understood. Notably lacking is a comprehensive catalog of the skeleton-occluded proteins-the skeletal organic matrix proteins (SOMPs) that are thought to regulate the mineral deposition. Using a combination of proteomics and transcriptomics, we report the first survey of such proteins in the staghorn coral Acropora millepora. The organic matrix (OM) extracted from the coral skeleton was analyzed by mass spectrometry and bioinformatics, enabling the identification of 36 SOMPs. These results provide novel insights into the molecular basis of coral calcification and the macroevolution of metazoan calcifying systems, whereas establishing a platform for studying the impact of OA at molecular level. Besides secreted proteins, extracellular regions of transmembrane proteins are also present, suggesting a close control of aragonite deposition by the calicoblastic epithelium. In addition to the expected SOMPs (Asp/Glu-rich, galaxins), the skeletal repertoire included several proteins containing known extracellular matrix domains. From an evolutionary perspective, the number of coral-specific proteins is low, many SOMPs having counterparts in the noncalcifying cnidarians. Extending the comparison with the skeletal OM proteomes of other metazoans allowed the identification of a pool of functional domains shared between phyla. These data suggest that co-option and domain shuffling may be general mechanisms by which the trait of calcification has evolved.