During the last 20 years, SAM has developed a multiplicity of hypothesis-driven conservation and restoration projects. Being home to the oldest Community-based coral aquaculture and reef rehabilitation program in the Caribbean, we aim to develop a variety of scientific publications that highlight our commitment towards the conservatiion of our marine resources. Most publications are freely available on our website.
Peer reviewed publications
Rodriguez-Casariego, Javier A.; Mercado-Molina, Alex; Lemos, Leila Soledade; Quinete, Natalia Soares; Bellantuono, Anthony; Rodriguez-Lanetty, Mauricio; Sabat, Alberto; Eirin-Lopez, Jose M. In: Coral Reefs, 2023. Rodríguez-Casariego, Javier A.; Mercado-Molina, Alex E.; Garcia-Souto, Daniel; Ortiz-Rivera, Ivanna M.; Lopes, Christian; Baums, Iliana B.; Sabat, Alberto M.; Eirin-Lopez, Jose M. In: Frontiers in Marine Science, vol. 7, 2020.2023
@article{Rodriguez-Casariego2023,
title = {Multi-omic characterization of mechanisms contributing to rapid phenotypic plasticity in the coral \textit{Acropora cervicornis} under divergent environments},
author = {Javier A. Rodriguez-Casariego and Alex Mercado-Molina and Leila Soledade Lemos and Natalia Soares Quinete and Anthony Bellantuono and Mauricio Rodriguez-Lanetty and Alberto Sabat and Jose M. Eirin-Lopez},
url = {https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s00338-023-02446-9#author-information},
doi = {https://doi.org/10.1007/s00338-023-02446-9},
year = {2023},
date = {2023-12-09},
urldate = {2023-12-09},
journal = {Coral Reefs},
abstract = {Phenotypic plasticity is defined as a property of individual genotypes to produce different phenotypes when exposed to different environmental conditions. This ability may be expressed at behavioral, biochemical, physiological, and/or developmental levels, exerting direct influence over species' demographic performance. In reef-building corals, a group critically threatened by global change in the Anthropocene, non-genetic mechanisms (i.e., epigenetic and microbiome variation) have been shown to participate in plastic
hysiological responses to environmental change. Yet, the precise way in which these mechanisms interact, contribute to such responses, and their adaptive potential is still obscure. The present work aims to fill this gap by using a multi-omics approach to elucidate the contribution and interconnection of the mechanisms modulating phenotypic plasticity in staghorn coral (Acropora cervicornis) clones subject to different depth conditions. Results show changes in lipidome, epigenome and transcriptome, but not in symbiotic and microbial communities. In addition, a potential shift toward a more heterotrophic feeding behavior was evidenced in corals at the deeper site. These observations are consistent with a multi-mechanism modulation of rapid acclimation in corals, underscoring the complexity of this process and the importance of a multifactorial approach to inform potential intervention to enhance coral adaptive capacity.},
keywords = {},
pubstate = {published},
tppubtype = {article}
}
hysiological responses to environmental change. Yet, the precise way in which these mechanisms interact, contribute to such responses, and their adaptive potential is still obscure. The present work aims to fill this gap by using a multi-omics approach to elucidate the contribution and interconnection of the mechanisms modulating phenotypic plasticity in staghorn coral (Acropora cervicornis) clones subject to different depth conditions. Results show changes in lipidome, epigenome and transcriptome, but not in symbiotic and microbial communities. In addition, a potential shift toward a more heterotrophic feeding behavior was evidenced in corals at the deeper site. These observations are consistent with a multi-mechanism modulation of rapid acclimation in corals, underscoring the complexity of this process and the importance of a multifactorial approach to inform potential intervention to enhance coral adaptive capacity.2020
@article{Rodríguez-Casariego2020,
title = {Genome-wide DNA methylation analysis reveals a conserved epigenetic response to seasonal environmental variation in the staghorn coral \textit{Acropora cervicornis}.},
author = {Javier A. Rodríguez-Casariego and Alex E. Mercado-Molina and Daniel Garcia-Souto and Ivanna M. Ortiz-Rivera and Christian Lopes and Iliana B. Baums and Alberto M. Sabat and Jose M. Eirin-Lopez},
editor = {Yong Wang and Mikhail V. Matz and Alexandre Fellous and Hui Huang},
url = {https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fmars.2020.560424/full
https://www.sampr.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/01/Genome-wide-DNA-methylation-analysis-reveals-a-conserved-epigenetic-response-to-seasonal-environmental-variation-in-the-staghorn-coral-Acropora-cervicornis.pdf},
doi = {https://doi.org/10.3389/fmars.2020.560424},
year = {2020},
date = {2020-09-30},
urldate = {2020-09-30},
journal = {Frontiers in Marine Science},
volume = {7},
abstract = {Epigenetic modifications such as DNA methylation have been shown to participate in plastic responses to environmental change in a wide range of organisms, including scleractinian corals. Unfortunately, the current understanding of the links between environmental signals, epigenetic modifications, and the subsequent consequences for acclimatory phenotypic changes remain obscure. Such a knowledge gap extends also to the dynamic nature of epigenetic changes, hampering our ability to ascertain the magnitude and extent of these responses under natural conditions. The present work aims to shed light on these subjects by examining temporal changes in genome-wide patterns of DNA methylation in the staghorn coral Acropora cervicornis in the island of Culebra, PR. During a 17-month period, a total of 162 polymorphic loci were identified using Methylation-Sensitive Amplified Polymorphism (MSAP). Among them, 83 of these restriction fragments displayed changes in DNA methylation that were significantly correlated to seasonal variation as determined mostly by changes in sea water temperature. Remarkably, the observed time-dependent variation in DNA methylation patterns is consistent across coral genets, coral source sites and site-specific conditions studied. Overall, these results are consistent with a conserved epigenetic response to seasonal environmental variation. These findings highlight the importance of including seasonal variability into experimental designs investigating the role of epigenetic mechanisms such as DNA methylation in responses to stress.},
keywords = {},
pubstate = {published},
tppubtype = {article}
}