What is it about?
Scientists found a calcium channel in corals that is similar to ones in humans and other mammals. This tiny door helps corals move calcium, an essential element for the formation of their skeletons. This ion channel can also let sodium through. Sequence analysis and experiments show that this channel displays a different pharmacology to its vertebrate counterparts, and a coral bleaching-related compound can block it. This calcium-entry pathway may be key to coral physiology and reef health and growth.
Featured Image
Photo by Francesco Ungaro on Unsplash
Why is it important?
This work is relevant because it identifies a key molecular gateway that corals can use to regulate intracellular calcium and calcium fluxes, a fundamental driver of their skeleton formation. Understanding this mechanism can reveal how corals grow, respond to stress, and form coral reefs, ultimately informing conservation and strategies to protect these vital ecosystems.
Perspectives
Discovering and characterizing this new member of the TRPV ion channel family was a great intellectual undertaking. Working to understand fundamental physiological processes such as calcium transport in poorly understood non-model organisms such as corals is of great importance and has potential applications in conservation efforts. The work of a gifted graduate student and talented collaborators was fundamental to reach the goals of this project.
Leon Islas
Universidad Nacional Autonoma de Mexico
Read the Original
This page is a summary of: A novel TRPV5/6-like channel from a scleractinian coral, PLOS One, October 2025, PLOS,
DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0332671.
You can read the full text:
Contributors
The following have contributed to this page
