From Australian Oceans Data Network
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Interspecific hybridisation provides a low-risk option for increasing genetic diversity of reef-building corals

Created 18/11/2025

Updated 18/11/2025

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Interspecific hybridisation increases genetic diversity and has played a significant role in the evolution of corals in the genus Acropora. In vitro fertilisation can be used to increase the frequency of hybridisation among corals, potentially enhancing their ability to adapt to climate change. Here, we assessed the field performance of hybrids derived from the highly cross-fertile coral species Acropora sarmentosa and Acropora florida from the Great Barrier Reef. Following outplanting to an inshore reef environment, the 10-month survivorship of the hybrid offspring groups was intermediate between that of the purebred groups, although not all pairwise comparisons were statistically significant. The A. florida purebreds, which had the lowest survivorship, were significantly larger at 10 months post-deployment compared to the other three groups. The four offspring groups harboured the same intracellular photosymbiont communities (Symbiodiniaceae), indicating that observed performance differences were due to the coral host and not photosymbiont communities. The limited differences in the performance of the groups and the lack of outbreeding depression of the F1 hybrids in the field suggest that interspecific hybridisation may be a useful method to boost the genetic diversity, and as such increase the adaptive capacity, of coral stock for restoration of degraded and potentially genetically eroded populations.

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Additional Info

Field Value
Title Interspecific hybridisation provides a low-risk option for increasing genetic diversity of reef-building corals
Language eng
Licence Not Specified
Landing Page https://data.gov.au/data/en/dataset/26f7b78a-4d3e-4550-8ed8-e17df718f4f8
Contact Point
Australian Ocean Data Network
reception@aims.gov.au
Reference Period 28/01/2025
Geospatial Coverage
Map data © OpenStreetMap contributors
{
  "coordinates": [
    147.6485595619306,
    -18.81230010771265
  ],
  "type": "Point"
}
Data Portal Australian Oceans Data Network

Data Source

This dataset was originally found on Australian Oceans Data Network "Interspecific hybridisation provides a low-risk option for increasing genetic diversity of reef-building corals". Please visit the source to access the original metadata of the dataset:
https://catalogue.aodn.org.au/geonetwork/srv/eng/csw/dataset/interspecific-hybridisation-provides-a-low-risk-option-for-increasing-genetic-diversity-of-reef