Acute heat priming dampens gene expression response to thermal stress in a widespread Acropora coral

In this study, we examined whether prior exposure to sub-bleaching heat stress influenced the gene expression responses to subsequent thermal challenges in a common reef-building coral. We exposed Acropora corals from the World Heritage-listed Ningaloo Reef (WHNR) to acute (24 hr) sub-bleaching temperatures (32 degrees C) before subjecting them to a more intense heat stress (33 degrees C) and assessed physiological and transcriptional responses in both naive and preconditioned corals.