Washington, September 13: Researchers have uncovered a gene in corals that responds to day/night cycles, which provides some tantalizing clues into how symbiotic corals work together with their plankton partners.
Corals are fascinating animals that form the largest biological constructions in the world, sprawling coral reefs that cover less than 0.2 per cent of the seafloor yet provide habitats for more than 30 per cent of marine life.
In shallow waters that don’t have abundant food, corals have developed a close relationship with small photosynthetic critters called dinoflagellates.
The dinoflagellates use sunlight to produce energy for the coral, which in turn use that energy to construct mineralized skeletons for protection.