Download - ARC Centre of Excellence for Coral Reef Studies

Continued from page 6…“This gene mapping project has both practical and scientificsignificance. It will help us to understand how corals buildreefs, and why they fail to do so when they are under stress.“It will enable us to predict, with much greater confidence,how corals are likely to respond to changes in the oceans suchas warming, acidification, the spread of coral diseases, andvarious forms of pollution.”The mapping of the coral genome is a joint undertaking bythe ARC Centre of Excellence for Coral Reef Studies andthe Australian Genome Research Facility, in collaborationwith the ANU, The Walter and Eliza Hall Institute, andThe University of Queensland.“This is a fabulous example of a multi-nodal collaborationamong many players, creating a new world-class researchprogram in coral reef genomics”, says Centre Director andARC Federation Fellow, Professor Terry Hughes.The sequencing project builds on earlier collaborationsbetween the ANU and James Cook University, sponsoredby the ARC Special Research Centre for the MolecularGenetics of Development under the Directorship ofProfessor Robert Saint.Future plans for the Centre include mapping the genomeof the coral’s symbiotic partner, the dinoflagellateSymbiodinium—a primitive marine plant, with its associatedmicrobes. Symbiodinium is essential for coral growth becauseit carries out photosynthesis and provides the coral withcarbohydrates and energy.A bacterial community is also important for the health ofthe coral animal. Only by understanding all communityinteractions, and how they change under conditions ofstress, will we be able to understand how the entire coralorganism functions.For more information contact Professor Terry Hughes atterry.hughes@jcu.edu.au or on + 61 7 4781 4000.Great Barrier Reef corals. Photos courtesy of the ARC Centre ofExcellence for Coral Reef Studies32 ARC Centre of Excellence for Coral Reef Discovery Studies• Spring 2009 • Page 7