A new Nature Protocols publication provides the first comprehensive, step-by-step method for using CRISPR-Cas9 gene editing in reef-building corals, giving scientists a powerful new tool to better understand how corals grow, tolerate heat stress, and form their essential partnerships with algae. Co-authored by Dr. Phil Cleves, the Herbert W. Hoover Foundation’s 2023 Pew-Hoover Fellow in Marine and Biomedical Science in partnership with The Pew Charitable Trusts, the protocol establishes the foundation for a new era of coral functional genomics. By making gene editing more accessible and reproducible, the work will accelerate research aimed at protecting coral reefs from the impacts of climate change. 

Read the full article: https://www.nature.com/articles/s41596-025-01293-y