Assessment of Symbiont Community in Acropora, Isopora, Montipora, and Goniastrea Broodstock Using ITS2 Sequencing (RRAP_ECT2.1; Years 1+2)

Updated: 2026-06-30

This data was collected as part of the Reef Restoration and Adaptation Program (RRAP). Year 1 samples were collected from Acropora kenti (formerly A. tenuis), A. tersa (formerly A. hyacinthus "neat"), Goniastrea retiformis, Montipora digitifera, and Isopora palifera broodstock. Year 2 samples were collected from A. tersa broodstock. Broodstock colonies used for RRAP Years 1 and 2 experiments were collected in November 2020 and November 2021, respectively. The overall aim was to further our understanding about how the symbiont communities might different within and among broodstock colonies with varying thermal history provenance as this could inform how selective breeding is approached. Mass coral bleaching and mortality events have increased in frequency over the last 30 years. Genetic interventions like assisted gene flow may speed up adaptation in reefs with less heat-tolerant corals by increasing the frequency of heat tolerance-associated genetic variants; however, the ideal approach to broodstock selection for this intervention remain unclear. To investigate, we collected Acropora kenti (formerly A. tenuis), A. tersa (formerly A. hyacinthus "neat"), Goniastrea retiformis, Montipora digitifera, and Isopora palifera broodstock colonies from reefs along a thermal gradient on the Great Barrier Reef. Fragments were then taken from each broodstock colony for DNA extraction and internal transcribed spacer 2 (ITS2) amplification and sequencing.