Scientist makes breakthrough in fight against coral-killing disease: 'A more targeted approach'

Researchers are getting closer to new ways of restoring the world's coral reefs — and AI is helping them do it.

As reported by Northeastern University via Phys.org, scientists recently narrowed their search for the pathogen responsible for white band disease, the illness that's been devastating elkhorn and staghorn coral for decades. The source of the disease has long been a mystery, but Northeastern University professor Steven Vollmer believes they've found the culprit: Cysteiniphilum litorale.

To make this discovery, Vollmer and his team used samples of both diseased and healthy corals to train a machine-learning model to identify the coral's bacteria. The AI model could eventually do so with 97% accuracy.

The team then looked at the 9,355 unique bacterial strains identified and carefully narrowed the potential culprits down to 342. Through transmission experiments, those 342 were ultimately narrowed down to two.

One of those final two was found almost exclusively on diseased corals: Cysteiniphilum.

Marine scientists like Vollmer have long been working to rebuild coral reefs by transplanting nursery-grown disease-resistant ones into the wild. The process is slow and careful, requiring months of quarantine to ensure the transplants are healthy. However, with the white band disease pathogen identified, that process could now move much faster.

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Saving coral reefs does a lot more than preserve the beauty of underwater ecosystems. It's estimated that reefs provide around $2.7 trillion in value to humanity every year. They protect coasts and coastal properties, support the tourism and fishing industries, provide food and resources to vulnerable communities, and much more.

Elkhorn and staghorn coral are particularly important, as they both grow incredibly fast and provide fantastic habitats for all kinds of marine life.

Unfortunately, rising ocean temperatures have helped the white band disease to spread rapidly. Both staghorn and elkhorn coral are now considered critically endangered. Environmentalists have been working to save these beautiful lifeforms for decades, but the discovery of the white band disease pathogen may supercharge their efforts.

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Many other efforts are underway to save the coral reefs. In fact, researchers recently uncovered an unusual new potential solution: ambient sound.

So, what's next after discovering the white band disease pathogen? Vollmer believes it will expedite the process of preserving the reefs by allowing for easier screening and quicker transplants.

"It's possible that now that we know what we're looking for, we could actually have a more targeted approach. Or we could do surveillance so that we don't have to pretreat corals in bulk because we know what's coming in is not infected," Vollmer said.

"If you knew you were bringing a bunch of colonies [to transplant] and you screen 30 of them at a time and none of them has white band disease, then all 30 are clean."