Our Probiotic Discovery: A Long-Lasting Way to Protect Corals from Heat

Our team at CUHK, led by Prof. Luo Haiwei, has identified a marine probiotic that gives corals a real survival advantage in warmer waters. Published in The ISME Journal, the study shows it outperforms closely related bacteria from the same coral colony in standardized heat-stress tests.

Why is this strain different? It stays in the host. In a field study, it remained in corals for eight months. Selected using an evolution-guided method that predicts long-term partnership, It doesn’t compete for food, it helps the coral handle stress. Interestingly, it would fail traditional probiotic screens because it isn’t a strong antioxidant. Instead, it avoids high-stress zones and reduces the coral’s own stress.

For business, this is a breakthrough: a probiotic that persists means lower re-application costs and more reliable results. We see clear applications in coral restoration, shellfish farming, and government climate programs. The same platform is being developed for shellfish to improve heat tolerance and growth. We are now moving toward commercial trials.

Source: Trait-based signatures associated with persistence and thermal benefit in a genomically decayed coral probiotic, The ISME Journal.

Link: https://academic.oup.com/ismej/article/20/1/wrag106/8672038