The First Proof of Concept Demonstration of Nanowarming in Coral Tissues

Jonathan Daly, Jessica Bouwmeester, Riley Perry, Chris Page, Kanav Khosla, Joseph R Kangas, Claire Lager, Katherine Hardy, John C. Bischof, Mary Hagedorn

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

2 Scopus citations

Abstract

Coral reefs are threatened by anthropogenic climate change, which causes ocean acidification and warming that can result in coral death and the loss of genetic diversity on reefs around the world. Global efforts to secure the genetics of threatened populations using cryopreservation and biobanking are underway but are limited to coral sperm and larvae, available only during brief annual spawning events. Methods to cryopreserve adult coral tissues to enable biobanking activities year-round are urgently needed, but are challenging due to the presence of a calcium carbonate skeleton and algal symbionts within the tissues, and chill sensitivity. In this study, vitrification and laser nanowarming permitted successful recovery of adult coral tissues in a novel sample type, the single-polyp microfragment. Fluorescence and confocal microscopy shows clearly defined green fluorescent protein auto-fluorescence around the polyp mouth post-warming, with an overall survival rate of 39.7 ± 7.4% at 24 h post-warming and 23.3 ± 9.7% at 1 month, but relatively few algal symbionts are present in the tissues, indicating poor survival of these cells. These proof-of-concept results provide a basis for continued research and development of a field-ready protocol for cryopreservation of adult coral tissues, which will be essential to prevent extinctions and support reef restoration.

Original languageEnglish (US)
Article number2300303
JournalAdvanced Sustainable Systems
Volume7
Issue number10
DOIs
StatePublished - Oct 2023

Bibliographical note

Publisher Copyright:
© 2023 The Authors. Advanced Sustainable Systems published by Wiley-VCH GmbH.

Keywords

  • biobanking
  • corals
  • cryopreservation
  • nanowarming
  • reef restoration
  • vitrification

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