Novel, high-tech genetic approaches such as CRISPR-Cas9 gene editing are powerful tools to understand the function of genes involved in traits such as coral heat and bleaching tolerance. This genetic information can be used to guide marker-assisted selective breeding for restoration and adaptation and provides the foundation to identify naturally resilient coral colonies or populations in the wild.
Over the past three years, we have built new technologies to make specific edits to the genomes of corals using micro-injection of CRISPR-Cas9. For the first time, this technique allows us to understand the functions of genes involve in diverse aspects of coral biology.
In 2018, we identified and tested a master regulator of heat tolerance in coral. During this year’s spawning, we will continue to test the function of other genes involved in the heat-stress response that we think are major triggers of coral bleaching and thermal resilience. We will also test the function of genes we suspect are involved in the maintenance of symbiosis and calcification. These groundbreaking experiments aim to increase our understanding of why corals bleach and how to generate corals with increased thermal tolerance.
Ultimately, we hope this work will help better predict bleaching/resilience in natural populations of corals and aid in coral restoration
