Multivariate statistical approaches for uncovering spatio-temporal and treatment-derived differences in the molecular physiology of a model coral-dinoflagellate mutualism: a meta-analysis
- Published
- Accepted
- Subject Areas
- Environmental Sciences, Genomics, Marine Biology, Molecular Biology, Statistics
- Keywords
- canonical correlation analysis, coral reef, dinoflagellate, multivariate statistics, PRIMER, temperature, endosymbiosis, gene expression, principal components analysis, upwelling
- Copyright
- © 2016 Mayfield et al.
- Licence
- This is an open access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, reproduction and adaptation in any medium and for any purpose provided that it is properly attributed. For attribution, the original author(s), title, publication source (PeerJ Preprints) and either DOI or URL of the article must be cited.
- Cite this article
- 2016. Multivariate statistical approaches for uncovering spatio-temporal and treatment-derived differences in the molecular physiology of a model coral-dinoflagellate mutualism: a meta-analysis. PeerJ Preprints 4:e2200v1 https://doi.org/10.7287/peerj.preprints.2200v1
Abstract
Background: Multivariate statistical approaches (MSA), such as principal components analysis and multidimensional scaling, seek to uncover meaningful patterns within datasets by considering multiple response variables in a concerted fashion. Although these techniques are readily used by ecologists to visualize and explain differences between study sites, they could theoretically be employed to differentiate organisms within an experimental framework while simultaneously identifying response variables that drive documented experimental differences.
Methods: A meta-analysis employing various MSA was conducted to re-analyze data from two studies that sought to understand the response of the common, Indo-Pacific reef coral Seriatopora hystrix to temperature changes.
Results: Gene expression and physiological data partitioned experimental specimens by time of sampling, treatment temperature, and site of origin upon employing MSA.
Discussion: These findings 1) signify that S. hystrix and its dinoflagellate endosymbionts display physiological and molecular signatures that are characteristic of sampling time, site of colony origin, and/or temperature regime and 2) promote the utility of MSA for documenting biologically meaningful shifts in the physiological and/or sub-cellular response of marine invertebrates exposed to environmental change.
Author Comment
This is a submission to PeerJ for review.
Supplemental Information
PRISMA checklist
The need for the meta-analysis is discussed in the Introduction.
The meta-analysis is described in the Materials and Methods.
The results of the meta-analysis are discussed in the Results section.
The discussion of the meta-analysis is discussed in the Discussion.
The funding for the meta-analysis is mentioned in the online submission form.
PRISMA diagram
Data were collected from two studies, which spanned three manuscripts (one manuscript built upon another). Therefore, the sample size has typically been stated as "two studies" for meta-analysis in the diagram, rather than "three manuscripts."
Mayfield et al. PeerJ data
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