Single-Cell Microbe Helps Corals Survive Climate Change
Researchers from the University of Miami have discovered a single-celled microbe that could help Caribbean corals survive heat stress events like bleaching. This finding, particularly relevant for the Caribbean, sheds light on the coral microbiome and its potential role in coral health and conservation efforts.
Climate change, and especially its effects on the Caribbean’s marine environment, is big news. Earlier this year, researchers from the University of Miami Rosenstiel School of Marine, Atmospheric, and Earth Science and the Institute of Evolutionary Biology in Barcelona discovered a single-celled microbe that can help corals survive ocean-warming events such as bleaching. More specifically, the scientists found that a bounty of certain protists in the coral microbiome, i.e., the diversity of microorganisms that live in corals, can tell researchers whether a coral can survive heat stress.
This research took place in the Mediterranean; however, it is especially pertinent for Caribbean reefs and corals, says Anthony Mario Bonacolta, the study’s lead author and a PhD student at Miami’s Rosenstiel School. “This is because those same protists (specifically Syndiniales and Corallicolids) are found in Caribbean corals. While we could not analyze the direct interaction of the three protists together in the same coral host, we did show that other, non-photosynthetic, microbes may play a role in the coral thermal stress response. Overall, we hope that this study shows how important the entire microbiome is when talking about coral reef health and conservation.” news.miami.edu
Carol Bareuther has written for ALL AT SEA since 2004.
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