A gene-editing study found the gene for heat tolerance in corals

An international research project used gene editing technology to examine the heat tolerance of coral on the Great Barrier Reef with the set results to guide efforts in combating the effects of climate change.

The study published in the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS) involving researchers from Stanford University, the Australian Institute of Marine Science (AIMS) and Queensland University of Technology (QUT), it used the CRISPR-Cas9 technique to make precise and targeted changes to the coral’s genome.

Using this new technique, the research team demonstrated the importance of a particular gene on heat tolerance in coral Acropora millepora.

Lead author, Dr Philip Cleves, principal investigator at Carnegie Institute for Science -Department of Embryology (formerly Stanford University), developed novel genetic methods to study corals and their response to climate change while conducting postdoctoral research. with Professor Pringle at Stanford University and colleagues in Australia.

“We developed an improved CRISPR-Cas9 method that allowed us to test gene function in coral for the first time.” Dr. Cleves said.

“As a proof of concept, we used CRISPR-Cas9 genome editing to understand the function of a key gene that affects the coral’s ability to survive heat.”

AIMS Principal Research Scientist and head of the Reef Recovery, Restoration and Adaptation Team Dr Line Bay said the emergence of CRISPR-Cas9 over the past decade has provided a powerful tool for studying genes that affect heat and bleaching tolerance in corals.

“Understanding the genetic traits of coral heat tolerance is the key to understanding not only how corals will respond to climate change naturally, but also to balance the benefits, opportunities and risks of new management tools such as selective breeding. and the movement of corals between coral reefs, “she said.

CRISPR-Cas9 acts like a pair of genetic scissors, allowing scientists to make precise changes to an organism’s DNA that allow them to deactivate a target gene or replace it with another piece of DNA.

In this study, the researchers used CRISPR-Cas9 to deactivate the Heat Shock Transcription Factor 1 (HSF1) gene, which plays a crucial role in the heat response in many other organisms.

The modified larvae survived well in water with a temperature of 27 degrees Celsius but quickly died when the water temperature was increased to 34 degrees. In contrast, the unmodified larvae survived well in the warmer water.

Dr. Dimitri Perrin, chief investigator at the QUT Center for Data Science, said the use of CRISPR technology in this study allowed for a greater understanding of the fundamental biology of corals.

“By removing the gene and then exposing the coral larvae to heat stress, we showed that the modified coral larvae died while the unmodified larvae remained unscathed under the increase in temperature,” said Dr.

“This result shows the key role played by HSF1 in coping with rising coral temperatures.”

Researchers said they were excited about this technological advance as it paved the way for new genetic tools and knowledge for coral that would support their management and conservation in the future.

Scientists who discovered the CRISPR-Cas 9 technique recently received the Nobel Prize in Chemistry.

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