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CRISPR used to genetically edit coral
In a proof-of-principle study, Stanford scientists and their colleagues used the CRISPR-Cas9 gene-editing system to modify genes in coral, suggesting that the tool could one day aid conservation efforts. [...] "Up until now, there hasn't been a way to ask whether a gene whose expression correlates with coral survival actually plays a causative role," Cleves said. "There's been no method to modify genes in coral and then ask what the consequences are."
[...] Corals pose a bit of a problem when it comes to CRISPR because of their spawning cycles. Most corals, including the Acropora millepora that was the focus of the study, breed only once or twice a year, during October and November in the Great Barrier Reef, cued by the rise of a full moon. During this fleeting window, corals release their sex cells into the ocean. When the eggs and sperm meet, they form zygotes, or fertilized single cells. During the narrow time window before these cells begin to divide, a researcher can introduce CRISPR by injecting a mixture of reagents into these zygotes to induce precise mutations in the coral DNA.
Retrieving the zygotes is quite a logistical challenge, Cleves acknowledged. Fortunately, his collaborators in Australia have the timing down pat; they can predict when the moon spawn will occur within a couple of days, allowing them to take coral samples from the reef to gather zygotes for experimentation.
CRISPR/Cas9-mediated genome editing in a reef-building coral (DOI: 10.1073/pnas.1722151115) (DX)
(Score: 2) by MostCynical on Thursday April 26 2018, @02:18AM (7 children)
do we end up with coral that doesn't bleach, or coral that fights back against crown of thorns starfish [abc.net.au], or does it just cope with warmer, more saline water?
"I guess once you start doubting, there's no end to it." -Batou, Ghost in the Shell: Stand Alone Complex
(Score: 2) by Arik on Thursday April 26 2018, @02:58AM (2 children)
If laughter is the best medicine, who are the best doctors?
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Thursday April 26 2018, @03:36AM (1 child)
Might not be affordable for an organism that is having difficulty surviving day to day.
(Score: 2) by Arik on Thursday April 26 2018, @04:03AM
No, you missed the point. A strain that could be more easily induced to reproduce would allow them a more reliable and less expensive supply of zygotes, with which to do further research.
IF they came up with something that should be introduced to the wild, at some point down the road, they could of course reverse this particular modification before doing so.
If laughter is the best medicine, who are the best doctors?
(Score: 2) by JoeMerchant on Thursday April 26 2018, @03:10AM (1 child)
I think we end up with all kinds of coral variants, including some we didn't expect. Coral that grows in places it didn't used to is almost a given.
🌻🌻 [google.com]
(Score: 2) by MostCynical on Thursday April 26 2018, @03:27AM
"Crabs walk sideways, lobsters walk straight. (looks down at crotch) Oh no! I've got lobsters!" (Thanks to Mikey Robins [mikeyrobins.com])
Now, potentially, coral infestation as an STI..
"I guess once you start doubting, there's no end to it." -Batou, Ghost in the Shell: Stand Alone Complex
(Score: 2) by Immerman on Thursday April 26 2018, @04:19AM (1 child)
Probably cope with warmer water - not kicking out the algae it depends on for survival would be a good start.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Thursday April 26 2018, @07:58AM
Maybe what might help is releasing/developing zooxanthellae that can cope with high temperatures while in coral.