Carbonic anhydrases in anthozoan corals-A review

Bioorg Med Chem. 2013 Mar 15;21(6):1437-50. doi: 10.1016/j.bmc.2012.10.024. Epub 2012 Oct 30.

Abstract

Coral reefs are among the most biologically diverse and economically important ecosystems on the planet. The deposition of massive calcium carbonate skeletons (biomineralization or calcification) by scleractinian corals forms the coral reef framework/architecture that serves as habitat for a large diversity of organisms. This process would not be possible without the intimate symbiosis between corals and photosynthetic dinoflagellates, commonly called zooxanthellae. Carbonic anhydrases play major roles in those two essential processes of coral's physiology: they are involved in the carbon supply for calcium carbonate precipitation as well as in carbon-concentrating mechanisms for symbiont photosynthesis. Here, we review the current understanding of diversity and function of carbonic anhydrases in corals and discuss the perspective of theses enzymes as a key to understanding impacts of environmental changes on coral reefs.

Publication types

  • Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't
  • Review

MeSH terms

  • Animals
  • Anthozoa / enzymology*
  • Calcium Carbonate / chemistry
  • Calcium Carbonate / metabolism
  • Carbonic Anhydrase Inhibitors / chemistry
  • Carbonic Anhydrase Inhibitors / metabolism
  • Carbonic Anhydrases / chemistry
  • Carbonic Anhydrases / classification
  • Carbonic Anhydrases / metabolism*
  • Humans
  • Isoenzymes / chemistry
  • Isoenzymes / metabolism
  • Mitochondria / enzymology
  • Photosynthesis
  • Phylogeny
  • Symbiosis

Substances

  • Carbonic Anhydrase Inhibitors
  • Isoenzymes
  • Carbonic Anhydrases
  • Calcium Carbonate