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In vitro fertilization efficiency in coral Acropora digitifera

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  01 August 2009

Akira Iguchi ,
Masaya Morita ,
Yuichi Nakajima ,
Akira Nishikawa  and
David Miller
Akira Iguchi
Affiliation:
ARC Centre of Excellence for Coral Reef Studies, James Cook University, Australia, Townsville, Queensland, 4811, Australia. Comparative Genomics Centre, Molecular Science Building, James Cook University, Australia, Townsville, Queensland, 4811, Australia. Graduate School of Engineering and Science, University of the Ryukyus, Nishihara, Okinawa, 903–0213, Japan.
Masaya Morita
Affiliation:
Sesoko Station, Tropical Biosphere Research Center, University of the Ryukyus, 3422, Sesoko, Motobu, Okinawa, 907–0227, Japan.
Yuichi Nakajima
Affiliation:
Graduate School of Engineering and Science, University of the Ryukyus, Nishihara, Okinawa, 903–0213, Japan. Sesoko Station, Tropical Biosphere Research Center, University of the Ryukyus, 3422, Sesoko, Motobu, Okinawa, 907–0227, Japan.
Akira Nishikawa
Affiliation:
ARC Centre of Excellence for Coral Reef Studies, James Cook University, Australia, Townsville, Queensland, 4811, Australia. Comparative Genomics Centre, Molecular Science Building, James Cook University, Australia, Townsville, Queensland, 4811, Australia.
David Miller*
Affiliation:
ARC Centre of Excellence for Coral Reef Studies, James Cook University, Australia, Townsville, Queensland, 4811, Australia. ARC Centre of Excellence for Coral Reef Studies, James Cook University, Australia, Townsville, Queensland, 4811, Australia. Comparative Genomics Centre, Molecular Science Building, James Cook University, Australia, Townsville, Queensland, 4811, Australia.
*
All correspondence to David Miller. ARC Centre of Excellence for Coral Reef Studies, James Cook University, Australia, Townsville, Queensland, 4811, Australia. Tel: +61 747 814473. Fax: +61 747 816078. e-mail: david.miller@jcu.edu.au
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Summary

We performed fertilization experiments with Acropora digitifera, which is one of the dominant scleractinian corals in the Ryukyu Archipelago, Japan, to determine optimal conditions for in vitro manipulations. Our result suggests that conspecific fertilization is essentially complete within 30 min under the experimental conditions used in usual fertilization experiments in corals. Previous in vitro experiments (1 × 105–106 sperm/ml, 4–8 h) are likely to have overestimated the efficiency of fertilization of Acropora spp. in the field. Therefore, we suggest that incubation periods shorter than those used to date (i.e. complete exclusion of sperm 1 h after their addition) would be more appropriate for the estimation of fertilization rates in corals.

Keywords

Acropora digitiferaCoralIn vitro fertilization
Type
Research Article
Information
Zygote , Volume 17 , Issue 3 , August 2009 , pp. 225 - 227
Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press 2009

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