Journal
CURRENT BIOLOGY
Volume 32, Issue 12, Pages 2596-+Publisher
CELL PRESS
DOI: 10.1016/j.cub.2022.04.054
Keywords
-
Categories
Funding
- Bertil Hallsten Research Foundation
- Karolinska Institutet
- Vetenskapsrdet (VR)
- Frderung der Wissen-schaftlichen Forschung (FWF) [M2688-B28]
- MEYS CR [LM2018110]
- European Union [894645]
- Medical University of Vienna
- Austrian Science Fund [DOC 33-B27MT]
- Brno City Municipality
- Marie Curie Actions (MSCA) [894645] Funding Source: Marie Curie Actions (MSCA)
Ask authors/readers for more resources
Research has revealed that corals can connect individual polyps and form a coral colony through complex liquid flow networks on the surface and branching flow systems inside the colony. These networks and systems play important roles in the growth, nutrient supply, and symbiont transfer of corals.
Reef-building corals are endangered animals with a complex colonial organization. Physiological mechanisms connecting multiple polyps and integrating them into a coral colony are still enigmatic. Using live imaging, particle tracking, and mathematical modeling, we reveal how corals connect individual polyps and form integrated polyp groups via species-specific, complex, and stable networks of currents at their surface. These currents involve surface mucus of different concentrations, which regulate joint feeding of the colony. Inside the coral, within the gastrovascular system, we expose the complexity of bidirectional branching streams that connect individual polyps. This system of canals extends the surface area by 4-fold and might improve communication, nutrient supply, and symbiont transfer. Thus, individual polyps integrate via complex liquid dynamics on the surface and inside the colony.
Authors
I am an author on this paper
Click your name to claim this paper and add it to your profile.
Reviews
Recommended
No Data Available