Scientists with the Smithsonian’s National Museum of Natural History have discovered that a bacterial probiotic helps slow the spread of stony coral tissue loss disease (SCTLD) in already infected wild corals in Florida.
Scientists with the Smithsonian’s National Museum of Natural History have discovered that a bacterial probiotic helps slow the spread of stony coral tissue loss disease (SCTLD) in already infected wild corals in Florida. The findings, published today in the journal Frontiers in Marine Science, reveal that applying the probiotic treatment across entire coral colonies helped prevent tissue loss.
The new treatment provides a viable alternative to antibiotics, which only offer temporary protection and also run the risk of creating resistant strains of SCTLD.
“The goal of using the probiotics is to get the corals to take up this beneficial bacterium and incorporate it into their natural microbiome,” said Valerie Paul, the head scientist at the Smithsonian Marine Station at Fort Pierce, Fla., who co-led the new study. “The probiotics then will provide a more lasting protection.”
Read more at: Smithsonian
A great star coral (Montastraea cavernosa) colony infected with stony coral tissue loss disease (SCTLD) on the coral reef in Fort Lauderdale, FL. The lesion, where the white band of tissue occurs, typically moves across the coral, killing coral tissue along the way. (Photo Credit: Kelly Pitts, Smithsonian)
