Figure 1

Scanning electron micrographs of developmental stages in the Acropora millepora lifecycle. At spawning egg-sperm bundles are released by the colony and float to the surface, where they break up into individual eggs and sperm. Upon release and fertilization of the egg, cell division first produces a spherical bundle of cells which then flattens to form a cellular bilayer called the prawnchip (PC). Following gastrulation the spherical gastrula elongates to a pear shape as cilia develop. Further elongation produces a motile presettlement planula larvae (PL), possessing a highly differentiated endo- and ectoderm and an oral pore. Upon receipt of an appropriate cue, the larva settles and metamorphoses, forming the primary polyp (PO). Following calcification, symbiont uptake, and growth and branching, the adult colony is formed (A). The stages labelled with yellow letters represent those from which RNA was extracted, labelled and hybridized to the slides. Stages circled in red are those from which ESTs were spotted onto the slides.