CORAL 1: THE RED SEA
In December 2022, the Two Frontiers Project embarked on a collaboration with King Abdullah University of Science and Technology (KAUST), aiming to unlock the hidden potential of coral microbiomes. The goal: to optimize shotgun metagenomic sequencing for diverse coral species, a technology that promises to revolutionize coral research and provide critical insights into how we can protect these vulnerable ecosystems from climate change. This mission, titled CORAL1, marked the beginning of our coral sequencing initiatives.
Our team collected and isolated DNA from five coral species at the RSRC Coral Probiotic Village (CPV), a natural laboratory in the Red Sea established by Dr. Raquel Peixoto and the Marine Microbiomes Lab. Together with Dr. Peixoto and Dr. Erika Santoro, we successfully gathered 135 coral fragments and tested three different DNA extraction techniques. These efforts are currently being analyzed, but they have already yielded key insights and new questions about how we can best isolate and sequence microbial DNA from coral, moving us closer to our goal of combat climate-induced bleaching.
Our work in the Red Sea is just the beginning. By collaborating with experts like Dr. Peixoto and pushing the boundaries of what is known, we are laying the foundation for future large-scale efforts to protect coral reefs from climate change. As we continue to refine our techniques and gather data, we hope to set a new standard for coral microbiome research, opening the door to precision treatments that can save these fragile ecosystems.
In combatting climate change, every tool matters. With our coral initiative, the Two Frontiers Project is working to ensure that coral reefs have a fighting chance.
