Regulation of green fluorescent proteins by Sea Anemones (Anthopleura spp.) in response to light

Green Fluorescent Proteins (GFPs) are a family of proteins with a disjunct systematic distribution; their biological functions remain speculative for the most part. Here we report studies of 3 closely related species of green sea anemones (Anthopleura) that express GFPs throughout their ectoderm. Individuals of these species maintain facultative symbiosis with zooxanthellae in their endoderm and inhabit the rocky intertidal or shallow subtidal. Thus, they depend on exposure to light to maintain photosynthesis of their symbionts, and simultaneously need to manage stresses associated with this exposure. We present experimental evidence that these sea anemones regulate the amount of GFP in their bodies in response to the surrounding light environment: they increase or reduce GFP when exposed to brighter or dimmer light, respectively, yet they maintain some GFP while in darkness, for surprisingly long periods., In general, we exposed sea anemones from the genus Anthopleura to variable-intensity light environments, then quantified either GFP directly or green fluorescence intensity as a stand-in for GFP. Methods and analysis were variable, please see article for further details., , # Data from: Regulation of green fluorescent proteins by Sea Anemones (Anthopleura spp.) in response to light

[https://doi.org/10.5061/dryad.cc2fqz6f9](https://doi.org/10.5061/dryad.cc2fqz6f9)

These data represent two distinct experiments. The first set, as described in our article, was a manipulation of the light environment (independent variable; intensity/lux) in which individuals of *Anthopleura sola* were kept, and then a subsequent quantification of green fluorescence (dependent variable; relative/arbitrary units). The second set, as described in our article, was also a manipulation of the light environment (independent variable; intensity/lux) in which individuals of *Anthopleura xanthogrammica* were kept, and then a subsequent quantification of green fluorescence (dependent variable; relative/arbitrary units). Individuals of *A. sola* did not, when kept under 2 reduced-intensity light environments, change their fluorescence relative to the control.  Individuals of *A. xanthogr...