Impact/Purpose:

Our general hypothesis is that the pattern of coral stress gene expression can be used to diagnose which environmental factors are responsible for the decline in coral abundance and diversity on coral reef habitat in the U.S. The objective of this work is to develop an array of specific gene probes that can characterize stressor signatures through analysis of coral stress gene expression to determine and prioritize water quality problems impacting coral reefs. The product can be used by any federal or state agency or public institution involved with activities affecting coral reef habitat or coral reef protection.

Description:

An efficient, low cost method was developed for the detection of rapid changes in coral gene expression at the messenger ribonucleic acid (mRNA) level. Hermatypic (stony) corals were exposed to a variety of organic and inorganic toxicants and physical stressors at several concentrations for short time periods. Using several molecular techniques, mRNA was extracted from exposed coral tissues and reverse transcribed into complementary DNA (cDNA), which was amplified and isolated. Differentially expressed cDNA fragments were then developed into molecular probes that can be used to determine changes in transcription levels of target transcripts. These probes show varying degrees of sensitivity to different levels of environmental stressors as well as specificity among them. -EPA is not a funding participant, at this juncture, yet remains interested in 'fruits of this ongoing study,' and is staying in contact with participants.'

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