Coral probiotics: From the Laboratory to the Real World

Coral reefs face intensifying heatwaves and disease, motivating nature-based interventions that strengthen holobiont resilience. I will present how we developed a practical framework for discovering, formulating, and deploying Beneficial Microorganisms for Corals (BMCs)—“coral probiotics”—from lab to reef. The pipeline integrates (i) strain sourcing with a preference for native, host-associated taxa; (ii) function-anchored screening (e.g., pathogen antagonism, antioxidant capacity, nitrogen/sulfur cycling, stress-response modulation); (iii) consortium design and delivery optimization (solution, microencapsulation); and (iv) staged validation (controlled assays from mesocosms to pilot field trials). I will share results showing reduced bleaching severity, improved survival, and beneficial microbiome restructuring across multiple coral species. A risk-assessment effort addressing non-target effects, ecological fit, supporting transparent go/no-go decisions will also be presented. Finally, I will discuss lessons from real-world applications, and outline how this stewardship approach can scale responsibly to protect and restore reefs under a warming ocean.