ReviewFrontiers in microbiology2014
The engine of the reef: photobiology of the coral-algal symbiosis.
Review in Frontiers in microbiology, 2014. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 96 papers.
What it found
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The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
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Who cites it
96 citing papers in PubMed, 332 citations in OpenAlex.
- Advancing Symbiodiniaceae Functional Ecology Through a Trait-Based Framework.Ecology and evolution · 2026Review
- Seasonal Physiological Strategies Reveal Contrasting Host-Symbiont Dynamics Among Dominant Indo-Pacific Reef-Building Corals.Ecology and evolution · 2026Article
- Evaluating the role of coral trophic strategies in driving community shifts in response to heat stress via stable isotopes-based modeling.BMC biology · 2026Article
- Absence of conserved immune signalling pathways and increased pathogen susceptibility associated to photosymbiosis in acoels.BMC biology · 2026Article
- Intra-colony light gradients drive variation in coral symbiont morphology and carbon storage.The ISME journal · 2026Article
- Convergent symbioses: morphology, life history, and niche specialization in coral and lichen mutualisms.FEMS microbiology reviews · 2026Review
- Markers of resilience to stony coral tissue loss disease and putative probiotic functions in the microbiomes of the coral,ISME communications · 2026Article
- Article
- Structured microalgal bioprints for enhanced photosynthetic performance and growth.Frontiers in bioengineering and biotechnology · 2026Article
- Effects of Blue Light and Feeding on the Physiological Performance of Reef Corals,Zoological studies · 2026Article
- Acute Heat Priming Dampens Gene Expression Response to Thermal Stress in a WidespreadEcology and evolution · 2026Article
- Global Warming and the Spread of the Introduced Jellyfish Cassiopea andromeda: Thermal Niche and Habitat Suitability in the Mediterranean Sea.Global change biology · 2025Article
- Photoendosymbiosis of the Blue SubtropicalMicroorganisms · 2025Article
- Ocean acidification and nitrate enrichment can mitigate negative effects of soft coral (Xenia) competition on hard coral (Stylophora pistillata) endosymbionts.Scientific reports · 2025Article
- BAK knockdown delays bleaching and alleviates oxidative DNA damage in a reef-building coral.Communications biology · 2025Article
- Positive Selection of a Starch Synthesis Gene and Phenotypic Differentiation of Starch Accumulation in Symbiotic and Free-Living Coral Symbiont Dinoflagellate Species.Genome biology and evolution · 2025Article
- Physiology and metabolism of eukaryotic microalgae involved in aquatic photosymbioses.The New phytologist · 2025Review
- Spatially restricted coral bleaching as an ecological manifestation of within-colony heterogeneity.Communications biology · 2025Review
- Limited similarity in microbial composition among coral reef fishes from the Great Barrier Reef, Australia.FEMS microbiology ecology · 2025Article
- Horizontal transmission of heat-evolved microalgal symbionts in adult corals.The ISME journal · 2025Article
36 more citing papers are in PubMed but not listed here.
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
1 author at 1 institution in 1 country.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
Coral reef ecosystems thrive in tropical oligotrophic oceans because of the relationship between corals and endosymbiotic dinoflagellate algae called Symbiodinium. Symbiodinium convert sunlight and carbon dioxide into organic carbon and oxygen to fuel coral growth and calcification, creating habitat for these diverse and productive ecosystems. Light is thus a key regulating factor shaping the productivity, physiology, and ecology of the coral holobiont. Similar to all oxygenic photoautotrophs, Symbiodinium must safely harvest sunlight for photosynthesis and dissipate excess energy to prevent oxidative stress. Oxidative stress is caused by environmental stressors such as those associated with global climate change, and ultimately leads to breakdown of the coral-algal symbiosis known as coral bleaching. Recently, large-scale coral bleaching events have become pervasive and frequent threatening and endangering coral reefs. Because the coral-algal symbiosis is the biological engine producing the reef, the future of coral reef ecosystems depends on the ecophysiology of the symbiosis. This review examines the photobiology of the coral-algal symbiosis with particular focus on the photophysiological responses and timescales of corals and Symbiodinium. Additionally, this review summarizes the light environment and its dynamics, the vulnerability of the symbiosis to oxidative stress, the abiotic and biotic factors influencing photosynthesis, the diversity of the coral-algal symbiosis, and recent advances in the field. Studies integrating physiology with the developing "omics" fields will provide new insights into the coral-algal symbiosis. Greater physiological and ecological understanding of the coral-algal symbiosis is needed for protection and conservation of coral reefs.
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Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.