Probiotics Revive Heat-Stressed Red Sea Corals

Scientists improved the health of heat-stressed Acropora corals in the Red Sea using both live probiotic bacteria and inactivated postbiotic treatments during a natural marine heat wave. The 15-day open-ocean trial, published in Cell Reports, is among the first to show that microbial therapies previously tested in aquariums can work under field conditions. Researchers applied treatments made from beneficial bacteria isolated from healthy Red Sea corals and assessed recovery through coral coloration and the photosynthetic performance of the algae living within them. One probiotic formula and one postbiotic formula significantly improved coral health, suggesting that restoring corals’ microbiomes may help increase their resilience to warming seas. Scientists said postbiotics could be easier to scale because they may have longer shelf lives, require simpler storage and transport, and cost less to produce, though broader testing will be needed to determine whether the approach can help protect reefs worldwide.