TY - JOUR
T1 - Rapid adaptive responses to climate change in corals
AU - Torda, Gergely
AU - Donelson, Jennifer M.
AU - Aranda, Manuel
AU - Barshis, Daniel J.
AU - Bay, Line
AU - Berumen, Michael L.
AU - Bourne, David G.
AU - Cantin, Neal
AU - Foret, Sylvain
AU - Matz, Mikhail
AU - Miller, David J.
AU - Moya, Aurelie
AU - Putnam, Hollie M.
AU - Ravasi, Timothy
AU - Van Oppen, Madeleine J.H.
AU - Thurber, Rebecca Vega
AU - Vidal-Dupiol, Jeremie
AU - Voolstra, Christian R.
AU - Watson, Sue Ann
AU - Whitelaw, Emma
AU - Willis, Bette L.
AU - Munday, Philip L.
PY - 2017/9/1
Y1 - 2017/9/1
N2 - Pivotal to projecting the fate of coral reefs is the capacity of reef-building corals to acclimatize and adapt to climate change. Transgenerational plasticity may enable some marine organisms to acclimatize over several generations and it has been hypothesized that epigenetic processes and microbial associations might facilitate adaptive responses. However, current evidence is equivocal and understanding of the underlying processes is limited. Here, we discuss prospects for observing transgenerational plasticity in corals and the mechanisms that could enable adaptive plasticity in the coral holobiont, including the potential role of epigenetics and coral-associated microbes. Well-designed and strictly controlled experiments are needed to distinguish transgenerational plasticity from other forms of plasticity, and to elucidate the underlying mechanisms and their relative importance compared with genetic adaptation.
AB - Pivotal to projecting the fate of coral reefs is the capacity of reef-building corals to acclimatize and adapt to climate change. Transgenerational plasticity may enable some marine organisms to acclimatize over several generations and it has been hypothesized that epigenetic processes and microbial associations might facilitate adaptive responses. However, current evidence is equivocal and understanding of the underlying processes is limited. Here, we discuss prospects for observing transgenerational plasticity in corals and the mechanisms that could enable adaptive plasticity in the coral holobiont, including the potential role of epigenetics and coral-associated microbes. Well-designed and strictly controlled experiments are needed to distinguish transgenerational plasticity from other forms of plasticity, and to elucidate the underlying mechanisms and their relative importance compared with genetic adaptation.
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=85028631014&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.1038/nclimate3374
DO - 10.1038/nclimate3374
M3 - Article
AN - SCOPUS:85028631014
SN - 1758-678X
VL - 7
SP - 627
EP - 636
JO - Nature Climate Change
JF - Nature Climate Change
IS - 9
ER -