Project title: Genetically modified corals: a useful technology to restore reefs?

Project lead: Dr. Nicole Fogarty

Co-applicants: Dr. Michael Atrigenio, Dr. Jacob Warner, Dr. Cecilia Conaco, Dr. Nathan Crowe

Countries involved: United States of America and the Philippines

Takes place: United States of America and the Philippines

Supporting institutions: University of North Carolina Wilmington, University of the Philippines

Total budget: USD $1,498,095

Duration: 36 months

Project overview

Coral reefs are facing global declines driven by several stressors, such as rising sea temperatures, pollution, and diseases. Given the varied nature of the threats corals face, it is unlikely that a ‘one size fits all’ approach to their conservation and restoration will be sufficient. Genome engineering provides opportunities to develop highly tailored solutions to address these issues and has been successfully used in other ecosystems. For example, genetic modification is credited with saving papaya trees from near extinction due to ringspot virus. However, this technology remains unfeasible in corals, mainly due to technical difficulties and the logistical challenges of using advanced gene editing techniques in remote field stations where coral spawning research often occurs. This research team has previously overcome both limitations, successfully applying a genome editing technique to corals. In this project, the team will leverage this technique to develop transgenic corals capable of activating protective genes in response to stress. This project does not involve the release of transgenic corals into the wild, instead the aim is to create scalable tools and protocols that could support reef restoration efforts in the future. In parallel, the ethical, ecological, and policy implications of transgenic technologies will also be studied, providing essential guidance to conservationists and policymakers.

Specific objectives

1. Identify stress promoters: pinpoint genomic regions activated during heat stress to drive the expression of protective genes.
2. Create genetically modified corals: insert stress promoter genes in corals that activate a protective response from the organism.
3. Analyze ethical implications: explore the societal, ecological, and ethical dimensions of transgenic corals, generating recommendations for their potential use.

How the objectives will be met

• Thermal stress experiments: larvae and adult corals from the Atlantic and Indo-Pacific regions will be submitted to stress experiments.
• Genomic studies: the genome of the corals used in the experiments will be sequenced and analyzed.
• Development of transgenic corals: the selected genes will be transferred by injecting them into fertilized coral eggs after laboratory spawning events.
• Drafting policy recommendations: engage different stakeholders in interdisciplinary and cross-cultural exchanges in various venues — including conferences and workshops — to develop ethical and policy guidelines for transgenic coral use.

Impact of the project

This project will revolutionize coral biology and conservation by enabling functional genomic studies and developing scalable methods for producing transgenic corals. Immediate outputs include:

• Publication of genomic data on stress-responsive promoters.
• Publicly accessible protocols for coral engineering.
• Ethical and policy recommendations on the use of transgenic corals.

In the long term, the team expects to inform global policy on transgenic organisms and pave the way for innovative reef restoration strategies.

Major highlights

• Development of transgenic corals with inducible protective genes.
• Publication of three peer-reviewed papers and open-access genomic data.
• Hosting of two workshops and one symposium on transgenic technologies.
• Ethical and policy guidance for stakeholders to support informed decision-making.

In 2024:

✅ Established a coral culture facility in the Philippines.
✅ Conducted heat stress experiments.
✅ Hosted a workshop at an international conference with 40 participants.

To learn more about this project, watch the episode 2 of our web series.