“We are seriously tackling conservation of coral reefs in
Okinawa,” said Dr. Chuya Shinzato of the OIST Marine Genomics Unit. Coral reefs
face various extinction risks. To avert coral demise, Shinzato is providing his
expertise to the Coral Reef Preservation and Restoration Project spearheaded by
the Okinawa Prefectural Government. In a paper published in Frontiers in Marine
Science, Shinzato and colleagues reported the establishment of DNA markers that
might be applicable to all species of the Acropora reef-building coral, giving
accurate identification to individual corals. The technique, similar to DNA
profiling in humans, enables scientists to study genetic diversity and
connectivity among the Acropora coral populations, thus finding clues to help
with the conservation of coral reef ecosystems in waters around Okinawa and the
world.