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Published (Version of record)CC BY V4.0, Open Access
Published (Version of record)CC BY V4.0, Open
Journal article
Enhancing the heat tolerance of reef-building corals to future warming
Science Advances, Vol.7(34), eabg6070
01/08/2021
PMID: 34417178
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Source: InCites
Abstract
Reef-building corals thriving in extreme thermal environments may provide genetic variation that can assist the evolution of populations to rapid climate warming. However, the feasibility and scale of genetic improvements remain untested despite ongoing population declines from recurrent thermal stress events. Here, we show that corals from the hottest reefs in the world transfer sufficient heat tolerance to a naïve population sufficient to withstand end-of-century warming projections. Heat survival increased up to 84% when naïve mothers were se-lectively bred with fathers from the hottest reefs because of strong heritable genetic effects. We identified genomic loci associated with tolerance variation that were enriched for heat shock proteins, oxidative stress, and immune functions. Unexpectedly, several coral families exhibited survival rates and genomic associations deviating from origin predictions, including a few naïve purebreds with exceptionally high heat tolerance. Our findings highlight previously uncharacterized enhanced and intrinsic potential of coral populations to adapt to climate warming
Details
- Title
- Enhancing the heat tolerance of reef-building corals to future warming
- Creators
- Emily J Howells (Author) - New York University Abu DhabiDavid Abrego (Author) - University of WollongongYi Jin Liew (Author) - CSIRO Health and BiosecurityJohn A Burt (Author) - New York University Abu DhabiEli Meyer (Author) - Zayed UniversityManuel Aranda (Author) - New York University
- Publication Details
- Science Advances, Vol.7(34), eabg6070
- Publisher
- American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS)
- Identifiers
- 991012961499302368
- Copyright
- Copyright © 2021 The Authors, some rights reserved; exclusive licensee American Association for the Advancement of Science. No claim to original U.S. Government Works. Distributed under a Creative Commons Attribution License 4.0 (CC BY).
- Academic Unit
- Faculty of Science and Engineering; National Marine Science Centre
- Language
- English
- Resource Type
- Journal article