Enhanced coral stress tolerance via manipulation of prokaryotic symbionts

Grant number: DP160101468 | Funding period: 2016 - 2020

Completed

Abstract

The project aims to develop a novel approach to improve environmental stress tolerance in corals. Coral reefs are under threat from a range of stressors that have led to massive declines in coral cover and health worldwide. There is now great concern that the rate of environmental change is outpacing the natural capacity of corals to acclimatise, adapt and survive. Although it is important to address the root causes of climate change, a focus on strategies to mitigate its impacts is also required. This project explores the potential to augment the capacity of corals to tolerate stress through the manipulation of their associated prokaryotic communities. This project may result in novel coral..

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Related publications (15)

Lack of evidence for the oxidative stress theory of bleaching in the sea anemone, Exaiptasia diaphana, under elevated temperature

AM Dungan, J Maire, A Perez-Gonzalez, LL Blackall, MJH van Oppen

2022-08-01

To survive in nutrient-poor waters corals rely on a symbiotic association with intracellular microalgae. However, increased sea te..

Exploring microbiome engineering as a strategy for improved thermal tolerance in Exaiptasia diaphana

Ashley M Dungan, Leon M Hartman, Linda L Blackall, Madeleine JH van Oppen

2022-02-19

AIMS: Fourteen percent of all living coral, equivalent to more than all the coral on the Great Barrier Reef, has died in the past ..

Antibiotics reduce bacterial load in Exaiptasia diaphana, but biofilms hinder its development as a gnotobiotic coral model.

Leon M Hartman, Linda L Blackall, Madeleine JH van Oppen

2022-01-24

Coral reefs are declining due to anthropogenic disturbances, including climate change. Therefore, improving our understanding of c..

Development of a free radical scavenging bacterial consortium to mitigate oxidative stress in cnidarians

Ashley M Dungan, Dieter Bulach, Heyu Lin, Madeleine JH van Oppen, Linda L Blackall

2021-07-14

Corals are colonized by symbiotic microorganisms that profoundly influence the animal's health. One noted symbiont is a single-cel..

Intracellular bacteria are common and taxonomically diverse in cultured and in hospite algal endosymbionts of coral reefs

Justin Maire, Sam K Girvan, Sophie E Barkla, Alexis Perez-Gonzalez, David J Suggett, Linda L Blackall, Madeleine JH van Oppen

2021-02-08

Corals house a variety of microorganisms which they depend on for their survival, including endosymbiotic dinoflagellates (Symbiod..

Short-Term Exposure to Sterile Seawater Reduces Bacterial Community Diversity in the Sea Anemone, Exaiptasia diaphana

Ashley M Dungan, Madeleine JH van Oppen, Linda L Blackall

2021-01-21

The global decline of coral reefs heightens the need to understand how corals may persist under changing environmental conditions...

Probiotics for corals

Linda L Blackall, Ashley M Dungan, Leon M Hartman, Madeleine JH van Oppen

2020-06-01

Coral reefs are found in warm, oligotrophic, euphotic marine waters and occupy <0.1% of the sea floor, yet support ∼25% of earth's..

Microbiota characterization of Exaiptasia diaphana from the Great Barrier Reef.

Leon Michael Hartman, Madeleine Josephine Henriette van Oppen, Linda Louise Blackall

2020-04-05

BACKGROUND: Coral reefs have sustained damage of increasing scale and frequency due to climate change, thereby intensifying the ne..

Early Life Stages of a Common Broadcast Spawning Coral Associate with Specific Bacterial Communities Despite Lack of Internalized Bacteria

Katarina Damjanovic, Patricia Menendez, Linda L Blackall, Madeleine JH van Oppen

2020-04-01

Coral-associated bacteria are critical for the well-being of their host and may play essential roles during ontogeny, as suggested..

Exaiptasia diaphana from the great barrier reef: a valuable resource for coral symbiosis research

Ashley M Dungan, Leon M Hartman, Giada Tortorelli, Roy Belderok, Annika M Lamb, Lynn Pisan, Geoffrey I McFadden, Linda L Blackall, Madeleine JH van Oppen

2020-02-06

The sea anemone, Exaiptasia diaphana, previously known as Exaiptasia pallida or Aiptasia pallida, has become increasingly popular ..

Mixed-mode bacterial transmission in the common brooding coral Pocillopora acuta

Katarina Damjanovic, Patricia Menendez, Linda L Blackall, Madeleine JH van Oppen

2020-01-01

Reef-building corals form associations with a huge diversity of microorganisms, which are essential for the survival and well-bein..

The Effect of Thermal Stress on the Bacterial Microbiome of Exaiptasia diaphana

Leon M Hartman, Madeleine JH van Oppen, Linda L Blackall

2020-01-01

Coral bleaching linked to climate change has generated interest in the response of coral's bacterial microbiome to thermal stress...

Bacterial and algal symbiont dynamics in early recruits exposed to two adult coral species

Katarina Damjanovic, Linda L Blackall, Patricia Menendez, Madeleine JH van Oppen

2019-11-12

Corals live in a symbiotic relationship with various microorganisms including bacteria, some of which are essential for host healt..

Experimental Inoculation of Coral Recruits With Marine Bacteria Indicates Scope for Microbiome Manipulation in Acropora tenuis and Platygyra daedalea

Katarina Damjanovic, Madeleine JH van Oppen, Patricia Menendez, Linda L Blackall

2019-07-24

Coral-associated microorganisms are essential for maintaining the health of the coral holobiont by participating in nutrient cycli..

The contribution of microbial biotechnology to mitigating coral reef degradation

Katarina Damjanovic, Linda L Blackall, Nicole S Webster, Madeleine JH van Oppen

2017-09-01

The decline of coral reefs due to anthropogenic disturbances is having devastating impacts on biodiversity and ecosystem services...

University of Melbourne Researchers

Linda Blackall Biosciences