IRFP: Sensory Biology of Coral Larvae: The Role of Opsins and Olfactory Receptors in Larval Behavior, Settlement and Metamorphosis

Mason Benjamin M, Miami FL

Investigators

Abstract

The International Research Fellowship Program enables U.S. scientists and engineers to conduct nine to twenty-four months of research abroad. The program's awards provide opportunities for joint research, and the use of unique or complementary facilities, expertise and experimental conditions abroad. This award will support a twenty-four-month research fellowship by Dr. Benjamin Mason to work with Drs. David Miller and Andrew Baird at James Cook University in Townsville, QLD, Australia and Dr. Akihisa Terakita at Osaka City University in Osaka, Japan. Coral reefs around the world are in a state of decline. The addition of new individuals via recruitment (larval settlement, metamorphosis and survival to maturity) is one factor that is considered critical to the resilience and recovery of coral populations. Habitat selection during settlement plays a critical role in determining whether a coral will survive. Light and chemicals are the dominant cues guiding habitat selection, settlement and metamorphosis, yet the sensory mechanisms responsible for their detection are unknown. This research investigates the sensory mechanisms involved in the detection of chemical and light cues by coral larvae. It utilizes new molecular resources (coral genome and transcriptome databases) to investigate the cellular localization, biochemistry and ecological function of candidate photoreceptor (opsins) and chemoreceptor (olfactory and odorant receptor) genes in coral planulae. This research establishes molecular bases for the sensory mechanisms involved in larval settlement and metamorphosis, processes critical to the resilience and persistence of coral reefs, and has implications for coral aquaculture, restoration and reef rehabilitation efforts which rely on these processes. Also, due to the ancient phylogenetic origin of corals, this research provides new insights into the evolution of sensory systems (visual, olfactory and taste) in higher organisms, and it offers potential for the discovery of genes and signaling pathways with novel functions and applications. In addition to advancing our understanding of mechanisms involved in coral settlement and metamorphosis, improving coral reef restoration and providing insight into the evolution of sensory systems, this research will forge international collaboration between the PI and researchers (Drs. David Miller and Andrew Baird) at James Cook University in Townsville, QLD, Australia, (Dr. Akihisa Terakita) at Osaka City University in Osaka, Japan and (Dr. Vladlen Slepak) at the University of Miami, in Miami, FL, USA.