Coral Microbiomes as Unique Reservoirs for Novel Natural Product Discovery
Coral reefs are the “rainforests of the sea”, supporting a third of all marine macroscopic species. However, their true diversity is microbial, that is, invisible to the naked eye. By analyzing 820 microbiome samples from 99 different reefs across the Pacific Ocean, collected during the Tara Pacific expedition and financed in part by France Génomique, this work has mapped the microbial landscape of reef-building corals at an unprecedented scale.
The team, with researchers, engineers and technicians from Genoscope, Evry, reconstructed the genomes of 645 microbial species, finding that over 99% of them had never been genomically described. These microbes are not just transient passengers; they are highly specific residents of their coral hosts and act as prolific chemical engineers. The study revealed that these coral-associated bacteria contain a greater variety of “biosynthetic gene clusters”, the blueprints for natural products, than has so far been documented in the entire global open ocean.
Biochemical characterization of previously unknown enzymes and compounds suggests an immense, untapped potential for biotechnology and medicine. This research highlights a critical, often overlooked dimension of conservation: when coral reefs die, we don’t just lose the corals, sponges and fish; we lose a vast “molecular library” of microbial life. The findings emphasize that protecting reefs must include a microbial perspective to preserve the unique chemical diversity poised to enable future scientific breakthroughs.
