Probiotics for corals

Abstract

Coral reefs are found in warm, oligotrophic, euphotic marine waters and occupy <0.1% of the sea floor, yet support ~25% of earth’s marine species. They provide critical ecosystem services to human populations including coastal protection, food (e.g. fish) and personal income by way of fishing and tourism. However, recent pan-tropical coral ‘bleaching’ (the paling of corals due to the separation of corals and their algal endosymbionts following exposure to environmental stress) has led to coral mortality, thus jeopardising the persistence of reef ecosystems. Consequently, it has been recognised that direct interventions may be needed for coral survival, and ‘manipulation of the community composition of microbial organisms associated with the coral holobiont’ has been proposed as one solution. Such probiotic strategies would allow corals to adapt rapidly (days to weeks) to changing environmental conditions, relative to mutation and selection taking many years. This review describes corals, and research that has demonstrated the potential of probiotic approaches to protect them from environmental stressors.