[ReefDave]

Just thought I would post a thread here as its my first time in the "think tank".

I remember reading a thread somewhere (probably RC) years ago, on the longevity of any given organism. If I recall it had something to do with the genetic materials of an organism degrading overtime if that organism was only reproducing asexually.

Im curious now about the subject more than I was two years ago, and am wanting to do some more reading. With so many reefers "fragging" corals over and over, how long can we expect the colonies to last before we start having problems?

I know these are very general questions, as ever single coral is different, but take a staghorn for example. They grow quickly, and are fragged often, the frags are traded to an LFS or sold to another reefer, who in turn grows it out, and frags it again. Now, the life expectancy of that mother colony, and the life expectancy of the frags...are the different?

I have about 2 dozen questions on this subject, but like spanky does with the answers, i think I will do the same with the questions, I'll hold on and see if someone comes up with them! LOL


Dave

 

[tdwyatt]

It's all in the telomeres...

http://web.mit.edu/newsoffice/tt/1998/jan07/yeast.html

 

[tdwyatt]

althought the biochemistry in yeast cells is quite different from coral tissue, the concept is generally the same, and coral DNA/RNA works pretty much in the same manner. There is much discussion that some coral colonies (carbon dated) are potentially many hundreds of years old, theoretically, these organisms could be immortal...

 

[ReefDave]

Thanks Tom,

So if I am reading the article correctly, and were to try to relate this to say an SPS coral (I understand this is quite a leap from yeast to coral), then the ERC built up in one cell, would replicate themselves in the cells that split from that "mother cell". Thus a brand new growth on the end of a coral would actually have the same "life clock" as far as these ERC's are concerned, as the cells around the base of the coral?

Although this might be a discussion almost not worth having, as the odds of being able to declare the loss of a coral "old age" is well beyond the scope of most of our tanks, usually its hobbiest homicide!

Thanks again for the information. I guess though with the scope being "hundreds of years" we probably don't have alot to worry about our rapidly fraged colonies kicking the bucket from old age anytime soon.

Thanks
Dave