Genotypic variation in disease susceptibility among cultured stocks of elkhorn and staghorn corals.

ABSTRACT: Disease mortality has been a primary driver of population declines and the threatened status of the foundational Caribbean corals, Acropora palmata and A. cervicornis. There remain few tools to effectively manage coral disease. Substantial investment is flowing into in situ culture and population enhancement efforts, while disease takes a variable but sometimes high toll in restored populations. If genetic resistance to disease can be identified in these corals, it may be leveraged to improve resistance in restored populations and possibly lead to effective diagnostic tests and disease treatments. Using a standardized field protocol based on replicated direct-graft challenge assays, we quantified this important trait in cultured stocks from three field nurseries in the

SUBMITTER: Miller MW 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC6459175 | biostudies-literature | 2019

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature