Biology subjects

Tortorelli, G.

Publications and source records attributed to Tortorelli, G..

4 recordsLinked to original sources

bioRxiv2026

The Global Phosphorylation Landscape of Acute Heat Stress in Reef-Building Corals

Warming oceans disrupt the coral-algal symbiosis that sustains reefs, yet the signaling mechanisms initiating bleaching remain poorly understood. Integrating global phosphoproteomics across three reef-building corals with protein structure modeling revealed conservation between coral and human kinases, enabling inference of coral kinase activities and uncovering a shared signaling program induced by acute heat stress. Heat rapidly activated ERK, JNK, and p38 MAP kinases, suppressed cell cycle signaling, and remodeled pathways controlling chromatin, RNA processing, and metabolism. Most strikingly, thermal stress rewired immune receptor signaling networks associated with non-self recognition, suggesting that heat shifts the coral host from tolerance to immune recognition of its algal symbionts. These findings define conserved signaling mechanisms that precede bleaching, revealing actionable molecular targets for enhancing coral resilience.

systems biology↗

bioRxiv2026

Selective conservation of symbiont cell-surface glycans across generations in a vertically transmitting coral

Coral resilience under climate change depends on the stability of coral-Symbiodiniaceae symbioses. While vertically transmitting corals inherit symbionts directly from parental colonies, the extent to which symbiont cellular traits are conserved across life stages remains unclear. Here, we examined cell-surface glycan profiles of Symbiodiniaceae in parental colonies and eggs of the coral Montipora capitata. Glycan signatures were structured by symbiont genus and differed between life stages, with mannose/glucose- and galactose-containing glycoproteins as primary drivers of variation. Despite life-stage differences, parent-offspring comparisons revealed significant conservation of glycan profiles, indicating intergenerational transmission of symbiont cellular traits that differed between Cladocopium and Durusdinium and were driven by distinct glycan classes. These results suggest that vertical transmission preserves key recognition-relevant glycans while allowing flexibility in other symbionts surface traits, providing a mechanistic basis for symbiosis stability.

cell biology↗

bioRxiv2026

From SCUBA to spectra: Broadly applicable methods for coral metabolomics research

Corals represent a complex assemblage consisting of a host cnidarian, symbiotic dinoflagellate microalgae, and associated microbiomes and viromes, collectively called the coral holobiont. Corals are foundational to tropical reefs, yet their global decline due to climate change and other stressors creates an uncertain future for this valuable ecosystem. Metabolomics is a powerful means to unravel biochemical interactions within the holobiont that underpin coral resilience and adaptation. However, the remote nature of reefs and the analytical demands of this technique often limit its application. Untargeted metabolomics presents analytical challenges that are amplified in complex samples like corals, such as identifying the biological source of metabolites. Here, we evaluate how different sample fixation methods and time delays before storage--unavoidable in field contexts--affect coral metabolome profiles. We further present a framework for mapping metabolites in holobiont samples to their coral host and algal symbiont origins and introduce a spectral library to improve and automate annotation of coral lipids. Additionally, we demonstrate how single samples can be used concurrently for metabolomics, DNA amplification, and proteomics. Together, our study provides a streamlined, field-adaptable workflow for coral metabolomics that enables larger-scale studies and broader adoption of metabolomics in coral reef research and conservation.

biochemistry↗

bioRxiv2019

Exaiptasia diaphana from the Great Barrier Reef: a valuable resource for coral symbiosis research

The sea anemone, Exaiptasia diaphana, commonly known as Exaiptasia pallida or Aiptasia pallida, has become increasingly popular as a model for cnidarian-microbiome symbiosis studies due to its relatively rapid growth, ability to reproduce sexually and asexually, and symbiosis with diverse prokaryotes and the same microalgal symbionts (family Symbiodiniaceae) as its coral relatives. Clonal E. diaphana strains from Hawaii, the Atlantic Ocean, and Red Sea are now established for use in research. Here, we introduce Great Barrier Reef (GBR)-sourced E. diaphana strains as additions to the model repertoire. Sequencing of the 18S rRNA gene confirmed the anemones to be E. diaphana while genome-wide single nucleotide polymorphism analysis revealed four distinct genotypes. Based on Exaiptasia-specific inter-simple sequence repeat (ISSR)-derived sequence characterized amplified region (SCAR) marker and gene loci data, these four E. diaphana genotypes are distributed across several divergent phylogenetic clades with no clear phylogeographical pattern. The GBR E. diaphana genotypes comprised three females and one male, which all host Breviolum minutum as their homologous Symbiodiniaceae endosymbiont. When acclimating to an increase in light levels from 12 to 28 mol photons m-2 s-1, the genotypes exhibited significant variation in maximum quantum yield of Symbiodiniaceae photosystem II and Symbiodiniaceae cell density. The comparatively high levels of physiological and genetic variability among GBR anemone genotypes makes these animals representative of global E. diaphana diversity and thus excellent model organisms. The addition of these GBR strains to the worldwide E. diaphana collection will contribute to cnidarian symbiosis research, particularly in relation to the climate resilience of coral reefs.

zoology↗