Department of Marine Biology, Leon H. Charney School of Marine Sciences, University of Haifa, Haifa, Israel.
Morris Kahn Marine Research Station, The Leon H. Charney School of Marine Sciences, University of Haifa, Sdot Yam, Israel.
Front Immunol. 2022 Feb 25;13:850338. doi: 10.3389/fimmu.2022.850338. eCollection 2022.
Stony corals are among the most important calcifiers in the marine ecosystem as they form the coral reefs. Coral reefs have huge ecological importance as they constitute the most diverse marine ecosystem, providing a home to roughly a quarter of all marine species. In recent years, many studies have shed light on the mechanisms underlying the biomineralization processes in corals, as characterizing the calicoblast cell layer and genes involved in the formation of the calcium carbonate skeleton. In addition, considerable advancements have been made in the research field of coral immunity as characterizing genes involved in the immune response to pathogens and stressors, and the revealing of specialized immune cells, including their gene expression profile and phagocytosis capabilities. Yet, these two fields of corals research have never been integrated. Here, we discuss how the coral skeleton plays a role as the first line of defense. We integrate the knowledge from both fields and highlight genes and proteins that are related to biomineralization and might be involved in the innate immune response and help the coral deal with pathogens that penetrate its skeleton. In many organisms, the immune system has been tied to calcification. In humans, immune factors enhance ectopic calcification which causes severe diseases. Further investigation of coral immune genes which are involved in skeleton defense as well as in biomineralization might shed light on our understanding of the correlation and the interaction of both processes as well as reveal novel comprehension of how immune factors enhance calcification.
造礁石珊瑚是海洋生态系统中最重要的钙化生物之一，因为它们形成了珊瑚礁。珊瑚礁具有巨大的生态重要性，因为它们构成了最多样化的海洋生态系统，为大约四分之一的海洋物种提供了家园。近年来，许多研究揭示了珊瑚生物矿化过程的机制，包括描述钙细胞层和参与碳酸钙骨架形成的基因。此外，在珊瑚免疫研究领域也取得了相当大的进展，包括描述参与对病原体和应激源的免疫反应的基因，以及揭示专门的免疫细胞，包括它们的基因表达谱和吞噬能力。然而，这两个珊瑚研究领域从未整合过。在这里，我们讨论了珊瑚骨骼如何作为第一道防线发挥作用。我们整合了这两个领域的知识，并强调了与生物矿化有关的基因和蛋白质，这些基因和蛋白质可能参与先天免疫反应，并帮助珊瑚应对穿透其骨骼的病原体。在许多生物体中，免疫系统与钙化有关。在人类中，免疫因子增强异位钙化，导致严重疾病。进一步研究参与骨骼防御和生物矿化的珊瑚免疫基因，可能有助于我们理解这两个过程的相关性和相互作用，并揭示免疫因子如何增强钙化的新认识。
