Ecophysiology and animal physiology
Jean-Christophe Plumier
Activity description
Coral reef ecosystems around the world are rapidly declining under the effects of global climate change and local anthropogenic stressors (overfishing, pollution …). Indeed, the increase in sea surface temperature (related to climate change) affect the health of coral reefs and cause the loss of the mutualistic relationship between reef-building corals and their endosymbiotic microalgae. This phenomenon, known as “coral bleaching”, modifies the biology of hermatypic corals, alters the biodiversity in coral reefs and eventually their survival.
Research conducted in our lab focus on various aspects related to coral bleaching:
-the biology and physiology of Cnidarians (sea anemones and corals) and their symbiotic partners (the microbiome and dinoflagellates of the Symbiodiniaceae family), with a particular emphasis on photosynthesis and the nitrogen metabolism;
-the effects of Reactive Oxygen Species on tissue organization and dynamics as well as on cell physiology;
-the mechanisms of tissue recovery after bleaching events.
Members
Roberty Stéphane
Maud Micha
5 most representative publications
1) Fransolet, D., S. Roberty and J.-C. Plumier (2012). Establishment of endosymbiosis: The case of cnidarians and Symbiodinium. Journal of Experimental Marine Biology and Ecology 420–421(0): 1-7.
http://hdl.handle.net/2268/119411
2) Fransolet, D., S. Roberty, A.-C. Herman, L. Tonk, O. Hoegh-Guldberg and J.-C. Plumier (2013). Increased cell proliferation and mucocyte density in the sea anemone Aiptasia pallida recovering from bleaching. Plos One 8(5): e65015.
http://hdl.handle.net/2268/149565
3) Fransolet, D., S. Roberty and J.-C. Plumier (2014). Impairment of symbiont photosynthesis increases host cell proliferation in the epidermis of the sea anemone Aiptasia pallida. Marine Biology 161(8): 1735-1743.
http://hdl.handle.net/2268/168145
4) Roberty, S., D. Fransolet, P. Cardol, J. C. Plumier and F. Franck (2015). Imbalance between oxygen photoreduction and antioxidant capacities in Symbiodinium cells exposed to combined heat and high light stress. Coral Reefs 34(4): 1063-1073.
http://hdl.handle.net/2268/183827
5) Roberty, S., P. Furla and J. C. Plumier (2016). Differential antioxidant response between two Symbiodinium species from contrasting environments. Plant, Cell & Environment 39(12): 2713-2724.
