2026: Engineering Resilience: Synthetic Symbiosis Approaches to Protect Coral Reefs From Thermal Bleaching
Coral reefs worldwide are experiencing unprecedented bleaching and mortality due to warming oceans, threatening marine biodiversity and ecosystem stability. This project seeks to improve coral resilience by engineering the microbial partnerships that help corals survive environmental stress. Researchers will modify or experimentally evolve bacterial and algal symbionts associated with corals to increase production of antioxidant compounds and enzymes that protect against heat-induced oxidative damage, a key driver of bleaching. The interdisciplinary team combines expertise in biochemistry, genome engineering, algal biology, and coral ecology in partnership with Mote Marine Laboratory in Florida. By creating proof-of-concept methods for enhancing coral stress tolerance, the project aims to establish a new field of “symbiosis engineering” focused on climate adaptation. The resulting biological tools, data, and collaborations could support future reef restoration efforts and larger-scale field trials to protect coral ecosystems under accelerating climate change.
Investigators: Gaurav Moghe (Cornell CALS/School of Integrative Plant Science/Plant Biology), Adam Bogdanove (Cornell CALS/School of Integrative Plant Science/Plant Pathology, and Plant-Microbe Biology), Beth Ahner (Cornell CALS/Biological and Environmental Engineering)