DISSERTATION RESEARCH: The Ecological Role of Fluorescence in a Reef-building Coral

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Reef-building corals are declining worldwide, largely due to negative anthropogenic effects on their habitats. Efforts to mitigate the loss of this economically and ecologically critical group of organisms is hindered by our lack of understanding of their basic biological processes, including the function of specific genes. In typical model organisms such as fruit fly or mouse, the function of a gene is tested by investigating the consequence of its artificial silencing, a process termed "knockdown". The authors propose to develop knockdown methods for studying functions of coral genes, starting with the genes encoding fluorescent proteins. These proteins are natural visible markers of gene activity, making it straightforward to confirm the efficiency of their knockdown. In addition, the authors plan to verify a hypothesis that these proteins play a specific role in facilitating larval dispersal, a trait that may allow coral populations to recover rapidly after disturbances. The PIs will also engage in teaching coral biology to high school students from underrepresented groups, and in other community outreach activities.Specific gene knockdown is a technical challenge that has not yet been met in corals. The project will test several alternative methods of gene silencing and assess the direct effect of these procedures on the quantity of fluorescent proteins as well as their effects on physiological parameters associated with larval dispersal. In addition to addressing this specific improvement on this Dissertation, the availability of coral gene knockdown method will open up rich opportunities for in-depth analysis of gene function in the context of animal development, adaptation, and evolution.