Award: OCE-1756616

Intellectual merit: The outcomes of our NSF grant entitled, "Elucidating Adaptive Potential Through Coral Holobiont Functional Integration" (OCE1756616, 2018-2023) are numerous and provide many valuable insights into coral biology and evolution. The research aimed to characterize the stress response of corals to changing environments using tools referred to as multi-omics (e.g., genomics, proteomics, metabolomics) to elucidate the basis of coral resilience. After an exciting period of collaborative research with work done in Hawaii and Australia, we have made the following advances. Using Hawaii as a model system, we generated genome sequences for four, locally dominant reef builders and built a model for the evolution of Hawaiian corals. Using multi-omics with our favorite coral, Montipora capitata, we determined how these different, complex data layers fit together, showing that protein and metabolite data are the best tools for understanding the coral stress response (Figure 1). We developed robust markers of coral stress using metabolomics and proteomics that can be applied worldwide to diagnose coral stress and aid conservation. We adapted the human Urinalysis test strips, and developed software, and a smartphone holder that can be used to rapidly and inexpensively assess coral stress levels in the field. We generated and analyzed the first triploid coral genome to investigate how polyploidy may underlie coral resilience. Broader impacts: We trained three Ph.D. students, two postdocs, and four undergraduates during the project period. Our data was shared with the NSF BCODM Office and the lab website. Our research results were published in multiple scientific journals, presented at national and international conferences, and shared with the public using Twitter, Instagram, and a project website. We produced an animated video (Figure 2) on coral biology and conservation that was an official selection of the 2022 Toronto Short Film Festival and was broadcast live in March 2022, won the Best Trailer in the Kiez Berlin Film festival, was awarded at the 2022 Mannheim Arts and Film Festival, won Best Children/Family Short at the Various Artists Independent Film Festival (VAiFF) in Chicago, and was an official selection of the 2023 GRACE! International Film Festival in Berlin. A second live action video describing how we can bring sophisticated scientific tools to reef managers to aid coral conservation is in the running in 2023/2024 for awards (Figure 3). Two provisional patents regarding coral stress monitoring were submitted and a startup is being launched to apply the diagnostic tools that have been partially supported by this grant to be applied as a service worldwide. Last Modified: 08/17/2023 Submitted by: Debashish Bhattacharya