Literature search tools

There are many different ways to find research papers on a topic that you are interested in. To keep things simple, we will introduce you to one of the most comprehensive and easy to use search engines and database -- SCOPUS. You can search SCOPUS using keywords, author names, journal titles, and otherwise configure a search using many different options. It is very easy to use, but your institution needs a subscription to use this service.


To access SCOPUS, link to Scopus logo

A few key papers to get you started:


Try using SCOPUS to find and download the following papers addressing different questions about corals and symbiosis:

What can the Aiptasia transcriptome reveal about symbiosis?

  • Sunagawa, S, Wilson, EC, Thaler, M, Smith, ML, Caruso, C, Pringle, JR, Weis, VM, Medina, M, and JA Schwarz. 2009. Generation and analysis of transcriptomic resources for a model system on the rise: the sea anemone Aiptasia pallida and its dinoflagellate endosymbiont. BMC Genomics 2009, 10:258.
  • Lehnert, EM, Burriesci, MS, and JR Pringle. 2012. Developing the anemone Aiptasia as a tractable model for cnidarian-dinoflagellate symbiosis: the transcriptome of aposymbiotic A. pallida. BMC Genomics.13:271.

What might be the causes of coral bleaching?

  • Weis VM 2008. Cellular mechanisms of cnidarian bleaching: stress causes the collapse of symbiosis. Journal of Experimental Biology211: 3059-3066.
  • Lesser, M.P. 2006. Oxidative Stress in Marine Environments: Biochemistry and Physiological Ecology. pdf (Acrobat (PDF) 325kB Apr2 13)
  • Shinzato et al., 2011. Using the Acropora digitifera genome to understand coral responses to environmental change.

Why would a sea anemone (Aiptasia) tell us anything about coral symbiosis and bleaching?
  • Weis VM, Davy SK, Hoegh-Guldberg O, Rodriguez-Lanetty M, Pringle JR 2008. Cell biology in model systems as the key to understanding corals. Trends in Ecology and Evolution 23(7): 369-376.

What can cnidarian transcriptomes tell us about animal genome evolution?
  • Kortschak et al. 2003. EST Analysis of the Cnidarian Acropora millepora Reveals Extensive Gene Loss and Rapid Sequence Divergence in the Model Invertebrates. Current Biology, Vol. 13, 2190–2195.
  • Putnam et al. 2007. Sea Anemone Genome Reveals Ancestral Eumetazoan Gene Repertoire and Genomic Organization. Science 317: 86-94.
Coral ESTs (Acrobat (PDF) 118kB Nov1 09) Kortschak et al. 2003