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Deep Dive into Coral Plague

Researchers investigate white plague

By studying how seven reef-building coral species in the Caribbean respond to white plague disease, a team of researchers led by Laura Mydlarz, professor of biology, has gained a better understanding of disease progression and outcome.

Dr. Mydlarz says the study responds to an urgent need to understand the differences between immune responses to infection and species-specific resistance mechanisms.

Collaborators from UTA, Mote Marine Laboratory, and University of the Virgin Islands tracked three responses to controlled exposure to white plague disease for each species: how lesions progressed, how gene expression differed, and what expression-level adaptations led to differences in disease risk. The team found that the plasticity of genes associated with disease resistance may be evolutionarily constrained by expression-level adaptation processes.

Nicholas MacKnight (’22 PhD, Biochemistry) collaborated on the study. He hopes these findings will play a role in fortifying vulnerable reefs.

“Our next step is to answer how we can convert these findings into helpful action,” he says. “Understanding which factors promote survival will allow us to predict biodiversity loss in the future. With this information, scientists could focus their attention on retaining resilient species that can strengthen coral reefs under threat.”