The sea anemone, Exaiptasia diaphana, previously 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 μmol 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 make 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.

中文翻译：

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来自大堡礁的Exaiptasia diaphana：珊瑚共生研究的宝贵资源

海葵，Exaiptasia diaphana，以前称为Exaiptasia pallida或Aiptasia pallida，由于其相对快速的生长，有性和无性生殖的能力以及与不同原核生物和藻类的共生关系而作为刺孢菌-微生物组共生研究的一种模型而变得越来越受欢迎。与其珊瑚亲属相同的微藻共生体（共生生物科）。现在已经建立了来自夏威夷，大西洋和红海的无性E. diaphana菌株，用于研究。在这里，我们介绍源自大堡礁（GBR）的E. diaphana菌株，作为模型库的补充。18S rRNA基因的测序证实了海葵为E. diaphana全基因组单核苷酸多态性分析揭示了四种不同的基因型。基于Exaiptasia特异的简单序列重复序列（ISSR）衍生的序列特征性扩增区域（SCAR）标记和基因位点数据，这四个diaphana基因型分布在几个不同的系统发育进化枝中，没有清晰的系统地理模式。GBR E. diaphana基因型由3名雌性和1名雄性组成，它们都以短尾Bre为内生共生菌。适应光强度从12到28μmol光子增加时m m ^-2  s ^-1，该基因型在共生双孢菌科光系统II和共生双孢菌科细胞密度的最大量子产率上显示出显着变化。GBR银莲花基因型之间较高的生理和遗传变异水平，使这些动物代表了全球性的透明性大肠杆菌，因此是优秀的模型生物。将这些GBR菌株添加到世界范围的E. diaphana集合中，将有助于cnidarian共生研究，特别是在珊瑚礁的气候适应性方面。