Coral reefs can survive heat with bacterial help, claims study

Amid gruelling concerns of coral extinction, researchers from King Abdullah University of Science and Technology (KAUST) have found that lifeline of corals can be increased by treating m with a probiotic cocktail of bacteria. Researchers have revealed that coral can be recovered from high sea temperatures by implementing this approach before a heatwave approaches. KAUST researchers have revealed that due to global warming, temperature of oceans is increasing, disrupting corals and ir symbiotic photosyntic algae, and causing corals to bleach, and eventually leing to ir deaths in some cases.

stress tolerance ability of a coral reef can be increased by manipulating coral microbiome and by using beneficial microorganisms for corals or BMC. In most recent development, researchers experimented with six bacterial strains, which were isolated from coral Mussismilia hispida, and used m to determine experimental cultures of M hispida. As part of process, researchers increased temperature to 30 degrees Celsius for 10 days and later dropped it to 26 degrees Celcius. This experiment was carried out to examine health of corals and microbial diversity and metabolic parameters in treatments with and without probiotics or heat stress were also observed.

What did researchers observe?

At beginning of experiment, researchers observed that re was no difference in corals. As corals reef with and without probiotics reacted similarly at peak temperature and both bleached. le author of study, Erika Santoro, said, "At that point in experiment, I thought, well, OK, we’re seeing similar responses between treatments". She furr said, "But n, after we dropped temperature, we observed a plot twist from group that we treated with probiotic BMC. That was a really nice surprise". 

During experiment, it was recorded that coral reef showed significant resistance after heat stress event, which enhanced ir survival from 60% to 100%. Notably, researchers said BMC is helping holobiont to mitigate effects of "post-heat stress disorder" and is restructuring  physiological and metabolic profiles. Furrmore, researchers observed that during recovery period, BMC-treated corals h a lower number of genes involved in apoptosis and cellular building and enhanced results of rmal stress protection genes. BMC treatment also changed molecular structure of microbiome by incorporating some of beneficial bacteria as well as or changes in population structure. 

BMCs provide a valuable tool to cope with consequences of climate change, but Santoro emphasizes that it is no silver bullet. "Using a probiotic is an effective tool to help corals deal with heat stress, but we also have to consider or interventions," she says, such as "protection and conservation, everyone being more aware and, most importantly, decreasing greenhouse gas emissions and trying to change our resource use. Corals will need all of se interventions, "she ded.
 

IMAGE: ANI
(With ANI Inputs)