Development of a free radical scavenging probiotic to mitigate coral bleaching

Abstract

ABSTRACT Corals are colonized by symbiotic microorganisms that exert a profound influence on the animal’s health. One noted symbiont is a single-celled alga (from the family Symbiodiniaceae ), which provides the coral with most of its fixed carbon. During thermal stress, hyperactivity of photosynthesis results in a toxic accumulation of reactive oxygen species (ROS). If not scavenged by the antioxidant network, ROS may trigger a signaling cascade ending with the coral host and algal symbiont disassociating; this process is known as bleaching. Our goal was to construct a probiotic comprised of host-associated bacteria able to neutralize free radicals such as ROS. Using the coral model, the an..