Nitschke, Matthew R., Abrego, David, Allen, Corinne E., Alvarez-Roa, Carlos, Boulotte, Nadine M., Buerger, Patrick, Chan, Wing Yan, Fae Neto, Wladimir A., Ivory, Elizabeth, Johnston, Bede, Meyers, Luka, Parra, Catalina, Peplow, Lesa, Perez, Tahirih, Scharfenstein, Hugo J., and van Oppen, Madeleine J.H. (2024) The use of experimentally evolved coral photosymbionts for reef restoration. Trends in Microbiology, 32 (12). pp. 1241-1252.

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Abstract

The heat tolerance of corals is largely determined by their microbial photosymbionts (Symbiodiniaceae, colloquially known as zooxanthellae). Therefore, manipulating symbiont communities may enhance the ability of corals to survive summer heatwaves. Although heat-tolerant and -sensitive symbiont species occur in nature, even corals that harbour naturally tolerant symbionts have been observed to bleach during summer heatwaves. Experimental evolution (i.e., laboratory selection) of Symbiodiniaceae cultures under elevated temperatures has been successfully used to enhance their upper thermal tolerance, both in vitro and, in some instances, following their reintroduction into corals. In this review, we present the state of this intervention and its potential role within coral reef restoration, and discuss the next critical steps required to bridge the gap to implementation.

Item ID:	85291
Item Type:	Article (Research - C1)
ISSN:	1878-4380
Copyright Information:	© 2024 Published by Elsevier Ltd. This is an open access article under the CC BY-NC-ND license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/).
Funders:	Australian Research Council (ARC)
Projects and Grants:	ARC FL180100036
Date Deposited:	30 Apr 2025 00:52
FoR Codes:	31 BIOLOGICAL SCIENCES > 3103 Ecology > 310305 Marine and estuarine ecology (incl. marine ichthyology) @ 40% 41 ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCES > 4101 Climate change impacts and adaptation > 410102 Ecological impacts of climate change and ecological adaptation @ 30% 41 ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCES > 4104 Environmental management > 410405 Environmental rehabilitation and restoration @ 40%
SEO Codes:	19 ENVIRONMENTAL POLICY, CLIMATE CHANGE AND NATURAL HAZARDS > 1903 Mitigation of climate change > 190301 Climate change mitigation strategies @ 50% 18 ENVIRONMENTAL MANAGEMENT > 1802 Coastal and estuarine systems and management > 180206 Rehabilitation or conservation of coastal or estuarine environments @ 50%
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