Abstract
Manganese (Mn) is an essential trace element for all photosynthetic life, playing an integral role in their photosystems, metabolism, and antioxidant activity. For corals, most studies focus on the potential toxicity of Mn at high concentrations (e.g. >700 µg L-1). However, there has been less exploration on beneficial, biologically relevant levels of Mn. Combining promtomics, ICP, and PAM fluorometry, we evaluate how Mn supplementation at increasing concentrations (0.5, 4.8, 11.4, 15.6 µg L-1) alters the physiology and proteome of the model cnidarian, Exaiptasia diaphana, when subjected to ambient (26 ˚C) and elevated (32 ˚C) temperatures. We demonstrate that Mn from 4.8 to 15.6 µg L-1 mitigates thermal stress to E. diaphana, resulting in reduced photochemical damage and symbiont expulsion. Derived photobiology and proteomics data contributes to a mechanistic model for how Mn reduces thermal susceptibility, supporting the viability of Mn additions to enhance the protective capacities of photosynthetic cnidarians during heatwaves.
Data availability
The authors declare that data supporting the findings of this study are available within the paper, Supplementary Materials and Supplementary Data. Proteomics data is available online at https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.18398778 under the repository name ‘England et al. 2026 Comms Bio’.
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Acknowledgements
Funding of this work was supported from a Philanthropic Donation of David and Susan Rockefeller to E.F.C. and via a CORDAP Coral Accelerator Program (CAP) 2022, project 1184:Super Supplement – Boosting Coral Resilience through Nutritional Subsidies awarded to E.F.C. and J.L.M.
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H.E. and E.F.C. conceived the project with input from D.H., J.L.M. and A.H. H.E. conducted the experiment. H.E. and C.O. undertook the proteomics analysis. K.S. conducted Top GO analysis. E.F.C., J.L.M., and A.H. supervised the project. H.E. and E.F.C. led the writing, with input and editing from all. E.F.C. acquired the funding and administered the project.
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England, H., Oakley, C.A., Herdean, A. et al. Manganese supplementation enhances cnidarian–dinoflagellate symbiosis under thermal stress. Commun Biol (2026). https://doi.org/10.1038/s42003-026-09748-y
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/s42003-026-09748-y
