Meet KAUST’s “RSRC Coral Probiotics Village”

Meet KAUST’s “RSRC Coral Probiotics Village (CPV)”, the first “coral city” where innovative solutions to increase corals tolerance to heat stress will be tested. Several collaborative projects including members of the BMMO network are currently being developed at the CPV. More information about the CPV at: https://marinemicrobiomeslab.kaust.edu.sa/rsrc-coral-probiotics-village

Heat-evolved microalgal symbionts increase coral bleaching tolerance

New paper out! Coral reefs worldwide are suffering mass mortalities from marine heat waves. With the aim of enhancing coral bleaching tolerance, we evolved 10 clonal strains of a common coral microalgal endosymbiont at elevated temperatures (31°C) for 4 years in the laboratory. All 10 heat-evolved strains had expanded their thermal tolerance in vitro following …

Perspective: A horizon scan of priorities for coastal marine microbiome research

Recent perspective (Trevathan-Tackett et al., 2019) on priorities for coastal marine microbiome research highlights the key role of the BMMO network: “With the increasing urbanization of our coastlines and the increasing need to use polluted sites for recreational, private or commercial purposes, microbial-driven bioremediation will be one of the key tools to tackle this issue. Engagement …