Study of Hard corals Incorporating Molecular Aging (Project SHIMA):
Being young or old may matter for coral regeneration
One of the ‘hallmarks’ of molecular aging is the shortening of telomeres. Telomeres are sequences of DNA that act as a buffer at the ends of chromosomes, which reside in the nucleus of cells. When an organism grows in size and complexity, cells have to multiply to make more copies of themselves. However, telomeres shorten after each cell division due to incomplete replication of DNA.
When telomeric sequences reach a critical length whereby they cannot shorten anymore without eroding important DNA on the chromosomes, the cell will stop dividing. This, in fact, is what happens in aging people, whose cells in various tissues lose capacity to be renewed ... but what about corals? Corals appear to grow indefinitely, seemingly immortal. |
How do you tell the age of corals?
Do they have the ability to extend their chromosomes, something we see in 'immortal' cells like stem cells and cancer cells, or in other long-lived organisms? Does coral age influence their ability to regenerate? |
Jihad Wajdi Erfino aims to answer these questions as part of his MSc research in Project SHIMA. Coral fragments are grown in a nursery at Rawa Island, Johor and samples will be brought back to the lab for molecular analysis (so this project requires someone who is both a diver and a lab rat!). Using both morphological and molecular analysis, Jihad will determine the age of these coral samples and compare it to the regeneration capacity observed in the field. With Project SHIMA, we hope to find out whether selective planting of coral fragments from certain colonies can improve the success rate of coral reef rehabilitation efforts.
Jihad Wajdi Erfino is supervised by Nuradilla Mohamad Fauzi, Affendi Yang Amri, and Nazia Abdul Majid.
Jihad Wajdi Erfino is supervised by Nuradilla Mohamad Fauzi, Affendi Yang Amri, and Nazia Abdul Majid.
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