A bleached reef-building coral of the genus Porites. These coral species are important builders of most reefs in the entire Indo-Pacific region. Due to increasingly prolonged heat waves and more extreme temperatures, corals and thus marine ecosystems in the tropics are already on the verge of collapse.
Photo: A. Roik
Corals are the backbone of marine ecosystems in the tropics. They are threatened by rising water temperatures caused by global warming and they are among the first ecosystems worldwide that are on the verge of ecological collapse. Coral bleaching, which is becoming stronger and more frequent due to heat stress, has already wiped out corals at many locations globally. With the help of a microbiome-targeting strategy developed by an international team led by GEOMAR Helmholtz Centre for Ocean Research Kiel, it could become feasible to help protect corals from heat stress.
The work has now been published in the international journal Microbiome.
Images of bare, naked white coral reefs have been increasingly circulating around the world. The typically colourful reefs of tropical oceans, which are home to many species of the marine ecosystem, are suffering from rising water temperatures due to global warming. There is no heat relieve for the corals in sight. Scientists are desperately seeking out ways to make the temperature-sensitive organisms more resistant to heat stress. A group of scientists led by GEOMAR Helmholtz Centre for Ocean Research Kiel are developing a promising approach, which is based on a therapeutic treatment known from human medicine. The study was published in the international journal Microbiome.
“The idea is that probiotic bacteria with beneficial functions could help a coral to better withstand heat stress,” explains Dr Anna Roik from GEOMAR, lead author of the study, which was funded as part of a Future Ocean Network project at Kiel University. “In the current study, we tested the approach of a ‘microbiome transplantation’, inspired by microbiome-based applications we know for example from clinical treatments”, Roik continues.
The research group conducted coral microbiome transplantation experiments with the reef-building corals Pocilloporaand Porites in the Andaman Sea in Thailand. They investigated whether this technique can improve the heat resistance of corals by modifying the bacterial microbiome. The scientists first looked for more heat-tolerant “donor” corals. “We then used material from the coral tissue of the donor corals to inoculate conspecific, heat-sensitive recipients and then documented their bleaching responses and microbiome changes using a genetic analysis method called 16S rRNA gene metabarcoding”, explains Dr Roik.
The recipient corals of both species bleached more mildly compared to the control group during a short-term heat stress test (34 °C). “The results show that the inoculated corals were able to resist the heat stress response for a short time”, explains Prof. Dr Ute Hentschel Humeida, head of the Marine Symbioses Research Unit at GEOMAR and co-author of the study. “In addition, the microbiome data suggest that the ‘inoculated’ corals may favour the uptake of putative bacterial symbionts”, Dr Anna Roik continues. “However, further experimental studies are required to unravel the exact mechanism of action, as well as long-term field-based studies to test the durability of the effect”, says the marine biologist, looking ahead.
Original Article: With bacteria against coral bleaching
More from: GEOMAR Helmholtz Centre for Ocean Research Kiel
The Latest Updates from Bing News & Google News
Go deeper with Bing News on:
Probiotics protect corals
- Coral Reefs News
16, 2024 — A new study shows that ocean acidification is changing the mix of microbes in coral reef systems ... Reef Designed by MIT Engineers Could Protect Marine Life, Reduce Storm Damage ...
- UN envoy says of the threat to coral reefs: 'Are we faced with a colossal ecosystem tragedy? Yes'
ATHENS, Greece — The world is not doing enough to protect coral reefs, the United Nations’ special envoy for the ocean said Tuesday in defense of the marine ecosystems that protect biodiversity, ...
- Tiny biodegradable straw forts could protect new coral from fish who snack on it ‘like popcorn’
A tiny fort of drinking straws offers new hope for what some call the rainforest of the sea: critically endangered coral reef populations that some fish snack on like popcorn.
- Scientists are grasping at straws while trying to protect infant corals from hungry fish
"They treat it kind of like popcorn." Fortunately, the fish eventually lose interest in the coral as it matures, but scientists need to protect the coral in the meantime. Stainless steel and PVC pipe ...
- These biodegradable straws could prevent new coral from becoming expensive fish food
“They treat it kind of like popcorn." Fortunately the fish eventually lose interest in the coral as it matures, but scientists need to protect the coral in the meantime. Stainless steel and PVC ...
Go deeper with Google Headlines on:
Probiotics protect corals
[google_news title=”” keyword=”probiotics protect corals” num_posts=”5″ blurb_length=”0″ show_thumb=”left”]
Go deeper with Bing News on:
Coral microbiome transplantation
- Coral Reefs News
Apr. 16, 2024 — A new study shows that ocean acidification is changing the mix of microbes in coral reef systems, which can be used to assess ecosystem ... eDNA Methods Give a Real-Time Look at ...
- Coral reef microbes point to new way to assess ecosystem health
A new study shows that ocean acidification is changing the mix of microbes in coral reef systems, which can be used to assess ecosystem health.
- Microorganisms may be essential to the survival of coral reefs threatened by climate change
The study, titled "A genome-centric view of the role of the Acropora kenti microbiome in coral health and resilience," was published in Nature Communications. Coral reefs support a quarter of all ...
- Stool transplant shows promise for Parkinson's disease
Now, a groundbreaking clinical study conducted by researchers at Ghent University Hospital, VIB, and Ghent University has demonstrated the potential of fecal microbiota transplantation (FMT ...
- What Is the Gut Microbiome?
The microbiome is composed of bacteria ... The same review also suggests that fecal transplantation may be used in the distant future to treat other chronic conditions in the future, such as ...
Go deeper with Google Headlines on:
Coral microbiome transplantation
[google_news title=”” keyword=”coral microbiome transplantation” num_posts=”5″ blurb_length=”0″ show_thumb=”left”]
