TITLE: How corals got bones--Comparative genomics reveals the evolution of coral calcification                                   
ADVISOR: Manuel Aranda
DATE: Jan 25, Thursday
TIME: 3 pm

LOCATION: Building 5, room 5209

ABSTRACT: The massive calcium carbonate skeletons of reef-building corals form the large structures that provide an essential habitat for a variety of marine species. Here, we set out to understand 1.) how the non-calcifying ancestor of contemporary corals evolved to become a foundation species of an entire ecosystem and 2.) to identify genes essential for the calcification process. For this purpose we used a comparative genomics approach to analyze the genomes of six members of the anthozoan sub-class Hexacorallia, including two non-calcifying anemones (N vectensis and A. pallida), two Corallimorpharia (A. fenestrafer, Discosoma sp.), as well as two calcifying Scleractinia (S. pistillata, A. digitifera)