Investigation of Coral Growth at the Organismal and Molecular Levels

Coral growth is a critical aspect to reef health, resiliency under rapidly changing environmental conditions, and restoration efforts. Although fragmenting has been occurring for many years in an effort to restore reefs, recently it was discovered that microfragmenting, the process of cutting one coral into many small pieces (~3-5 polyps), induces exponential growth. In an ongoing project investigating the growth process, two species of stony corals Acropora palmata and Orbicella faveolata microfragments were examined using timelapse photography both in a tank and under a high-powered dissecting microscope to document which tissues begin and continue exponential growth. The tissues identified will be utilized to determine if the HIPPO pathway is involved in the exponential growth process. The HIPPO pathway is a conserved signaling pathway that is known to regulate organ growth in Drosophila and mammals, including humans. We hypothesize that this conservative growth pathway is initiated upon tissue damage during the microfragmenting process. Although this is an ongoing project, available data and in-progress results will be presented.