RAPID:NSF-BSF: Can Reef-Building Corals Bypass Aging?

该项目将在以色列和美国进行综合实地和实验室实验，利用罕见风暴造成的条件来确定珊瑚是否表现出衰老的分子-细胞生理效应，并将解开年龄和大小对衰老的影响。造礁珊瑚是长寿的生物，有些物种比地球上大多数其他生物活得更久。衰老的生物体通常会经历功能下降和死亡率上升，但珊瑚群落可能是这一衰老过程的例外，因为它们的生育力增加，死亡率随着年龄的增长而下降。然而，关于珊瑚是否在功能或细胞水平上经历衰老的问题仍然存在。该项目将测试珊瑚的实际年龄是否与端粒长度（一种成熟的衰老生物标志物）有关，并测量年龄对代谢率、生长和繁殖的影响。世界上的珊瑚礁正处于危机之中，据预测，到2030年，珊瑚礁将不再是数千万人赖以生存的丰富多样的生态系统。因此，必须了解珊瑚与年龄有关的生理机能，以便为子孙后代可持续地管理珊瑚礁生态系统。此外，由于珊瑚礁修复工作经常使用来自较老亲本群体的小片段的无性繁殖，因此了解这些片段在移植后是否经历衰老是至关重要的。该项目还将资助一名硕士研究生，他将编写和传播有关珊瑚健康和老化的公共教育材料。珊瑚群落的珊瑚虫无性繁殖产生数千个克隆体，被描述为负衰老的典型，尽管最近的证据表明情况可能并非如此。2020年3月在亚喀巴湾北部发生的罕见的温带气旋为研究衰老和衰老创造了一个特殊的、具有时间敏感性的机会，因为受损的珊瑚群落正在经历异常快速的组织再生，年老和年轻的珊瑚虫立即并在一起。这就允许了不同寻常的研究设计，可以解决研究珊瑚和殖民地动物衰老所固有的挑战。利用尖端技术和互补的跨学科合作伙伴关系，研究人员将在亚喀巴湾进行实地研究，在以色列的一个自动化的80个水族箱设施中进行精确控制的中观研究，并在美国一个领先的衰老研究中心进行高级分子生物学研究。这些创新实验将：确定珊瑚虫的实足年龄(1)是否与端粒长度（一种已建立的生物标志物和细胞衰老的中心机制）有关；(2)影响代谢率、生长和繁殖的生理功能。该项目将极大地促进对造礁珊瑚生物功能和跨门老化的关键方面的理解，并可能为在珊瑚礁修复工作中使用珊瑚群碎片的实践提供信息。纽约州立大学石溪分校海洋保护与政策项目的一名硕士学生将前往以色列参加该项目，并为公众教育宣传准备视频演示、博客和社交媒体宣传活动。该奖项由海洋科学部生物海洋学和综合有机体系统部生理机制和生物力学共同资助。该奖项反映了美国国家科学基金会的法定使命，并通过使用基金会的知识价值和更广泛的影响审查标准进行评估，被认为值得支持。

This project’s integrated field and laboratory experiments in Israel and the US will leverage conditions created by a rare storm to establish whether corals show molecular-cellular-physiological effects of aging, and will disentangle the effects of age and size on senescence. Reef building corals are long-lived organisms, with some species living longer than most other organisms on the planet. Aging organisms typically experience a decline in function and an increased death rate, but coral colonies may be exceptions to this aging process because they show an increase in fertility and a decline in mortality with age. Questions remain, however, about whether corals undergo senescence on a functional or cellular level. This project will test whether a coral’s chronological age is linked to telomere length, an established biomarker of aging, and measure effects of age on metabolic rate, growth, and reproduction. The world’s coral reefs are in crisis, and it is predicted that by 2030 reefs will no longer be the rich and highly diverse ecosystem that tens of millions of people rely on for their livelihood. It is therefore imperative to understand age-related physiology in corals so that coral reef ecosystems may be sustainably managed for future generations. Furthermore, because reef restoration efforts often use asexual propagation of small fragments originating from older parent colonies, it is critical to know whether these fragments experience senescence after transplantation. The project will also support a master’s level graduate student who will develop and disseminate public educational materials about coral health and aging. Coral colonies, whose polyps bud asexually to produce thousands of clones, have been described as an archetype of negative senescence, although recent evidence suggests that this may not be the case. The rare extratropical cyclone that occurred in March 2020 in the northern Gulf of Aqaba created an extraordinary and time-sensitive opportunity to study aging and senescence because damaged coral colonies are undergoing unusually rapid tissue regeneration, with immediate juxtaposition of old and young polyps. This permits unusual study designs that can address challenges inherent in investigating aging in corals, and in colonial animals generally. Leveraging cutting-edge technology and a complementary, interdisciplinary partnership, the researchers will conduct field studies in the Gulf of Aqaba, precisely controlled mesocosm studies in an automated, 80-aquaria facility in Israel, and advanced molecular biology studies at a leading center for the study of aging in the US. These innovative experiments will: determine whether a coral polyp’s chronological age (1) is linked to telomere length, an established biomarker and central mechanism of cellular aging, and (2) affects the physiological functions of metabolic rate, growth, and reproduction. This project will significantly advance the understanding of key aspects of the biological functioning of reef building coral and of aging across phyla, and may inform the practice of using coral colony fragments in reef restoration efforts. An MS student in the SUNY Stony Brook Marine Conservation and Policy program will travel to Israel to participate in the project and prepare video presentations, blogs, and social media outreach activities for public educational outreach. This award was co-funded by GEO-Division of Ocean Sciences-Biological Oceanography and by BIO-Division of Integrative Organismal Systems-Physiological Mechanisms and Biomechanics.This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.