Coral Gene Expression After Transplantation to a Nearshore Environment

Florida, USA hosts this dataset of transcriptomic responses from the critically endangered coral Acropora cervicornis. It contains gene expression data from 12 samples collected after four months following transplantation from an offshore nursery to a nearshore, urbanized site in the Port of Miami in June 2021. The dataset was created by Allyson DeMerlis and shared under a CC-BY-4.0 license.

Use Cases

• Identify stress-response genes in corals based on upregulated host genes associated with heat shock and detoxification.
• Compare acclimatization potential of coral genotypes based on differential gene expression patterns between sites.
• Integrate molecular diagnostics with environmental monitoring for restoration planning based on the described transcriptomic analysis.

Strengths

• Dataset includes 961 significantly upregulated and 165 significantly downregulated host and symbiont genes.
• Analysis is based on 12 samples from three distinct coral genotypes, providing some biological replication.
• The description details specific enriched pathways, such as protein folding and immune activity.

Limitations

• Column-level documentation is absent; field semantics must be inferred after download.
• Row count is unknown, which may limit suitability assessment.
• The dataset is small at 142.3 KB, indicating limited scope.

Provenance

Source

Allyson DeMerlis via figshare

Collection Method

Transcriptomic analysis of nursery-propagated corals sampled before and after outplanting.

Time Range

Samples collected in June 2021 and after four months.

Freshness

Last updated 2026-05-25 04:34:58; freshness should be verified.

Geography

Key Biscayne and Port of Miami, Florida, USA.