Research advances in the evolutionary and developmental biology of reef-building corals
Reef-building corals are the key animals in the ocean ecosystem.During the evolution,reef-building corals have evolved important ecological functional traits,such as endosymbiosis with Symbiodiniaceae and biomineralization,which help maintain the biodiversity and ecological functions of coral reef ecosystem.Considered as the sister group of Bilateria,reef-building corals belong to Cnidaria,and play important roles in phylogenetic evolution.Numerous researches about cnidarian germ layers,body axis and functional cell type diversity have provided novel perspectives in the origin and adaptive evolution of corresponding traits in bilaterians.In this review,we summarized the current research advances in reef-building corals,focusing on the evolutionarily developmental regulation mechanisms underlined the key ecological traits,including the diversification of cell types and function,formation of germ layers and body axis,reproductive strategies,endosymbiosis and biomineralization.We also proposed several research interests in reef-building corals,including molecular basis of key ecological traits,germ cell development and sex determination,and stem cell and regeneration.