Evidence map›Paper›PMID 42046096›Full record

ArticleBMC biology2026

Dual urea utilization enzyme systems in Symbiodiniaceae coral symbionts under warming.

Tangcheng Li, Baoyuan Zhang, Honghao Liang, Jiahong Huang, Youfang Sun, Zhangliang Wei, Cristiana Manullang, Hui Huang, Senjie Lin

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PubMed Full text at PMC Publisher
In one paragraph

Article in BMC biology, 2026. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Not yet cited in PubMed.

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1 · What the graph read from it

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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.

2 · The registry

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3 · Its place in the literature

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0 citing papers in PubMed.

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4 · The record

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5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

9 authors.

Tangcheng LiGuangdong Provincial Key Laboratory of Marine Disaster Prediction and Prevention, Shantou University, Shantou, 515063, China. tchli@stu.edu.cn.
Baoyuan ZhangGuangdong Provincial Key Laboratory of Marine Disaster Prediction and Prevention, Shantou University, Shantou, 515063, China.
Honghao LiangGuangdong Provincial Key Laboratory of Marine Disaster Prediction and Prevention, Shantou University, Shantou, 515063, China.
Jiahong HuangGuangdong Provincial Key Laboratory of Marine Disaster Prediction and Prevention, Shantou University, Shantou, 515063, China.
Youfang SunState Key Laboratory of Tropical Oceanography; Guangdong Provincial Key Laboratory of Applied Marine Biology, South China Sea Institute of Oceanology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Guangzhou, 510301, China.
Zhangliang WeiState Key Laboratory of Tropical Oceanography; Guangdong Provincial Key Laboratory of Applied Marine Biology, South China Sea Institute of Oceanology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Guangzhou, 510301, China.
Cristiana ManullangGuangdong Provincial Key Laboratory of Marine Disaster Prediction and Prevention, Shantou University, Shantou, 515063, China.
Hui HuangState Key Laboratory of Tropical Oceanography; Guangdong Provincial Key Laboratory of Applied Marine Biology, South China Sea Institute of Oceanology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Guangzhou, 510301, China.
Senjie LinDepartment of Marine Sciences, University of Connecticut, Groton, CT 06340, USA. senjie.lin@uconn.edu.

Funding

Fujian Province Marine Service and Fishery High-Quality Development Special Fund Project FJHY-YYKJ-2024-1-18-6Key Laboratory of Tropical Marine Biotechnology of Hainan Province open fund LTMB202302MEL Visiting Fellowship of the State Key Laboratory of Marine Environmental Science MELRS2325Natural Science Foundation of China grants 42206116Natural Science Foundation of Guangdong Province 2024A1515011467
6 · The paper itself

Abstract

backgroundUrea has been shown to be important as a nitrogen (N) nutrient for coral holobionts, but the mechanism underpinning urea utilization by symbiotic algae is not fully understood. In this study, we investigated the molecular pathways underlying urea utilization in the Symbiodiniaceae family and the responses of these pathways to different N-nutrient conditions and heat stress through comprehensive genomic screening, multi-omics analysis and stable isotope pulse-chase experiments.

resultsGenome screening revealed that two urea hydrolysis systems, urease (URE) and urea amidolyase (UAL), were present in Symbiodiniaceae, positioning this lineage as one of the few non-green algae that possess UAL. Furthermore, our data reveal an interesting evolutionary trajectory of UAL. While subunit DUR2 occurs in most symbiodiniacean genomes sequenced to date, only two species (Cladocopium goreaui and Cladopium c92) possess the complete UAL system (DUR1 with DUR2). In the phylogenetic tree of UAL sequences, Symbiodiniaceae clustered more closely with coral symbiotic bacteria than with other eukaryotes, but show clear distinct genetic features such as GC content and codon usage, suggesting evolutionary horizontal gene transfer from bacteria. Furthermore, ex-hospite C. goreaui exhibited better growth and achieved higher maximum specific growth rates when urea was provided as the sole nitrogen source, compared to ammonium. Notably, when experimenting on the Cladocopium-dominating Pocillopora damicornis holobiont using

conclusionsThis study reveals two distinct urea utilization systems in the coral ecosystem and their differential responses to warming, highlighting the importance of urea as N-nutrient when facing global warming.

Indexed as

AnthozoaDinoflagellidaSymbiosisUreaUreaseAnimalsPhylogenyUreaUreaseClimate changeNitrogenSymbiodiniaceaeUreaUrea amidolyaseUrease

Identifiers

PMID42046096
PMCPMC13255410

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