Comparison of stress susceptibility of in hospite and isolated zooxanthellae among five coral species

Coral species in a similar habitat often show different bleaching susceptibilities. It is not understood which partner of coral-zooxanthellae complexes is responsible for differential stress susceptibility. Stress susceptibilities of in hospite and isolated zooxanthellae from five species of corals collected from shallow water in Okinawa were compared. To estimate stress susceptibility, we measured the maximum quantum yields (F_v/F_m) of in hospite and isolated zooxanthellae after 3-h exposure to either 28 or 34 °C at various light intensities and their recovery after 12 h under dim light at 26 °C. Significant reduction in photochemical efficiency (F_v/F_m) of photosystem II (PSII) was observed in in hospite zooxanthellae exposed to high light intensity (1000 μmol quanta m⁻² s⁻¹), while PSII activity of isolated zooxanthellae decreased significantly even at a lower light intensity (70 μmol quanta m⁻² s⁻¹). The recovery of the PSII activity after 12 h was incomplete in both in hospite and isolated zooxanthellae, indicating the presence of chronic photoinhibition. The stress susceptibility of isolated zooxanthellae was more variable among species than in hospite zooxanthellae. The order of stress susceptibility among the five coral species was different between in hospite and isolated zooxanthellae. The present results suggest that the host plays a significant role in determining bleaching susceptibility of corals, though zooxanthellae from different host have different stress susceptibilities.