Unified methods in collecting, preserving, and archiving coral bleaching and restoration specimens to increase sample utility and interdisciplinary collaboration

作者：Rebecca L. Vega Thurber, E. Schmeltzer, A. Grottoli, R. van Woesik, R. Toonen, M. Warner, K. Dobson, R. Mclachlan, K. Barott, D. Barshis, J. Baumann, L. Chapron, David J. Combosch, A. M. Correa, T. DeCarlo, M. Hagedorn, L. Hédouin, Kenneth D. Hoadley, T. Felis, C. Ferrier-Pagès, C. Kenkel, I. B. Kuffner, J. Matthews, Mónica Medina, C. Meyer, Corinna Oster, J. Price, H. Putnam, Y. Sawall · 发表于：PeerJ · 年份：2022 · DOI：10.7717/peerj.14176 · 被引用次数：16 · 研究领域：Medicine

Coral reefs are declining worldwide primarily because of bleaching and subsequent mortality resulting from thermal stress. Currently, extensive efforts to engage in more holistic research and restoration endeavors have considerably expanded the techniques applied to examine coral samples. Despite such advances, coral bleaching and restoration studies are often conducted within a specific disciplinary focus, where specimens are collected, preserved, and archived in ways that are not always conducive to further downstream analyses by specialists in other disciplines. This approach may prevent the full utilization of unexpended specimens, leading to siloed research, duplicative efforts, unnecessary loss of additional corals to research endeavors, and overall increased costs. A recent US National Science Foundation-sponsored workshop set out to consolidate our collective knowledge across the disciplines of Omics, Physiology, and Microscopy and Imaging regarding the methods used for coral sample collection, preservation, and archiving. Here, we highlight knowledge gaps and propose some simple steps for collecting, preserving, and archiving coral-bleaching specimens that can increase the impact of individual coral bleaching and restoration studies, as well as foster additional analyses and future discoveries through collaboration. Rapid freezing of samples in liquid nitrogen or placing at −80 °C to −20 °C is optimal for most Omics and Physiology studies with a few exceptions; howev...