Researchers at UF and the Mote Marine Laboratory in Sarasota have discovered that bacteria natural to coral are capable of slowing a white pox disease that plagues many Florida coral reefs.
"The white pox disease eats away at the coral tissue and leaves behind only a skeleton," said Cory Krediet, 27, one of the researchers and a Ph.D. candidate in interdisciplinary ecology.
The disease is caused by a pathogen known as serratia marcescems that attacks when defenses are weak, Krediet said.
The pathogen originates from mistreated sewage runoff. Researchers studied how the pathogen colonizes on the coral and how to prevent it from spreading.
Because real coral is difficult to grow in a lab, researchers used a coral model during the experiment, Krediet said.
Researchers discovered that high doses of the natural bacteria can slow white pox but not cure the disease altogether.
"It's hugely significant, but people have a hard time grasping that you can't go from basic research to applied research," said Kim Ritchie, senior scientist and manager for the Center for Coral Reef Research at Mote Marine Laboratory.
"It's never really been shown [before] that a bacteria can help prevent a disease in coral," Ritchie added.
Nothing can be done to coral already infected in Florida's reefs, but the researchers can pre-treat coral that will be transplanted into the reef.
However, no implementation has been discovered to introduce the bacteria into the reefs.
"We can't use the bacteria like we would an antibiotic because while it may be beneficial to the coral, we have no idea how it would affect all the other organisms on the reef," Krediet said.
"Right now, I hesitate to say that we are anywhere close to the application part," Krediet said. "The bacteria are capable of slowing the progression of white pox, but we are still very young in understanding the dynamic interactions on the reef."
Sales of specialty "Protect our Reefs" license plates that cost $25 annually primarily funded the research.
