ARC Centre of Excellence for Coral Reef Studies
James Cook University Townsville
Queensland 4811 Australia
Phone: 61 7 4781 4000
Email: info@coralcoe.org.au
Thanks to mom and dad, baby reef fish may have what it takes to adjust to hotter oceans.
In a rapidly changing climate, the decline of animal populations is a very real concern. Today, an international team of researchers report new evidence of reef fish adjusting to global warming conditions at the genetic level.
For the first time, researchers from the ARC Centre of Excellence for Coral Reef Studies (Coral CoE) and the King Abdullah University of Science & Technology (KAUST), have found that reef fish can inherit from their parents the genetic tools to adjust to ocean warming.
“When parents are exposed to an increase in water temperature, we found that their offspring improved their performance in these otherwise stressful conditions by selectively modifying their epigenome,” said senior author Prof Philip Munday of Coral CoE at James Cook University.
Epigenetic change refers to chemical modifications in the DNA that signals genes to be switched on or off. A range of factors, including disease, famine, or in the case of this research, heat stress, can stimulate these subtle changes.
In this study, when both parent and offspring experienced the same elevated water temperatures, responsive changes in their epigenome, via selective DNA methylation, were observed that enhanced the next generation’s ability to cope with the new, warmer temperatures.
“We reared spiny chromis damselfish, a common Indo-Pacific reef fish, for two generations under three different water temperatures, up to 3 degrees Celsius warmer than current-day ocean temperatures,” explained co-author Prof Timothy Ravasi of KAUST.
“The next generation appeared to be advantaged by parental exposure to elevated temperatures. The offspring’s altered gene expression, also referred to as ‘acclimation,’ allowed them to maximise oxygen consumption and energy use.”
“Acclimation may buffer populations against the impacts of rapid environmental change and provide time for genetic adaptation to catch up over the longer term,” said Prof Munday.
The authors of the study note that while this is good news for reef fish, the decline of their coral habitat, as a result of climate change, will continue to be an overriding concern for their survival.
The paper “The epigenetic landscape of transgenerational acclimation to ocean warming” is published in Nature Climate Change.
Citation: Ryu, T, Veilleux, H, Donelson, JM, Munday, PL, and Ravasi, T (2018). The epigenetic landscape of transgenerational acclimation to ocean warming. Nature Climate Change. DOI: 10.1038/s41558-018-0159-0
Images must carry credits as listed in Dropbox folder.
CONTACTS
Prof Philip Munday
Coral CoE
Phone: +61 (0) 0408 714 794, +61 (0)7 4781 5341 (AEST)
Email: philip.munday@jcu.edu.au
Prof Timothy Ravasi
KAUST
Phone: +61 491 333 697 (AEST)
Email: timothy.ravasi@kaust.edu.sa
FOR MORE INFORMATION
Ms Catherine Naum
Communications Manager
ARC Centre of Excellence for Coral Reef Studies
Phone: +61 (0) 0428 785 895, +61 (0)7 4781 6067 (AEST)
Email: Catherine.Naum1@jcu.edu.au
James Cook University researchers have found brightly coloured fish are becoming increasingly rare as coral declines, with the phenomenon likely to get worse in the future. Christopher Hemingson, a
Researchers working with stakeholders in the Great Barrier Reef region have come up with ideas on how groups responsible for looking after the reef can operate more effectively when the next bleaching
A new study has delivered a stark warning about the impacts of urban growth on the world’s coral reefs. As coastal developments expand at pace around the world, a year-long study of coral on a reef
Alarming new research shows global warming of 1.5°C relative to pre-industrial levels will be catastrophic for almost all coral reefs – including those once thought of as refuges. Associate Profes
Abstract: Molecular approaches have revolutionised our understanding of the systematics and evolution of most branches on the tree of life, including corals. Over the last twenty-five years molecula
Abstract: Outbreaks of crown-of-thorns starfish (COTS) are a major driver of coral decline across the Great Barrier Reef (GBR) and compound upon the impacts of increasingly frequent and severe coral
Abstract: Being a new staff member at JCU, I will start with a short overview of my research. Next I will zoom in on a specific topic that I have been interested in for a long time: the impact of e
Abstract: The harsh truth is that, despite exciting innovations and increases in activity, ocean conservation is not succeeding, at least not fast enough. This is my conclusion from the last decad
This talk is the last of the parachute science seminar series organized by the ARC CoE Justice, Equity, Diversity and Inclusion (JEDI) committee. Abstract Universities and institutions across th
This talk is the second of three on parachute science being organized by the ARC CoE Justice, Equity, Diversity and Inclusion (JEDI) committee. Abstract For millenia, Traditional Owners have hel
This talk is the first of three on parachute science being organized by the ARC CoE Justice, Equity, Diversity and Inclusion (JEDI) committee. Abstract Parachute science is the practice whereby
ABSTRACT Climate change loss and damage is known as the “third pillar” of international climate governance in addition to mitigation and adaptation. Although there is no agreed upon definition,
Partner Research Institutions
ARC Centre of Excellence for Coral Reef Studies
James Cook University Townsville
Queensland 4811 Australia
Phone: 61 7 4781 4000
Email: info@coralcoe.org.au
