Corals appear at the same time as dinosaurs

US, Japanese, Korean and Saudi Arabian geneticists claim that modern coral polyps have emerged since the Jurassic period and are still alive today thanks to symbiosis with seaweed zooxanthellae.

According to Current Biology, geneticists claim that modern coral polyps have emerged since the Jurassic period when dinosaurs were alive on Earth. Corals have survived even after several species of extinct extinction and global climate changes and still exist today.

The colorful color of coral is due to the merit of seaweed - (Photo: Wikipedia).

Most modern coral polyps exist because of the help of organisms - zooxanthellae algae . Polip coral in return also provides seaweed zooxanthellae some organic compounds and algae to share carbon. The vivid color of coral polyps is also thanks to the seaweed.

Previously, it was believed that this symbiosis appeared on Earth no more than 65 million years ago. But, a new study of geneticists in the US, Japan, South Korea and Saudi Arabia shows that this assessment is far from the truth. In fact, the combination of these two species appeared 165 million years ago, in the early Jurassic period.

The authors studied the DNA of many algae belonging to the genus Symbiodiniaceae using a number of methods available from computer simulations to electron microscopes. Scientists have come up with two conclusions: first, there are more and more Symbiodiniaceae species, they are much older than previous assessments. Researchers believe that different algae originate from a common ancestor. Then, by tracking mutations that occur in the DNA of Symbiodiniaceae, scientists can determine when the coral polyps and algae bind into a symbiotic organism.

According to the results of the study, modern coral reefs appear simultaneously with the first symbiosis of polyps and algae. The authors believe that this is not a coincidence, but evidence that it is a combination of algae that helps coral polyps spread, survive the dinosaurs and survive today. .