Great Barrier reef infested with chlamydia bacteria coral, researchers stunned

View of Heart Reef on the Great Barrier Reef, Australia. Photo / 123rf

Researchers have made a surprising discovery on Australia’s Great Barrier Reef, finding that coral clusters on the iconic reef contain a bacteria closely related to a sexually transmitted infection in humans.

Like Koalas that also carry a similar bacteria, these coral clusters have been infected with a chlamydia-causing bacteria.

A team from the University of Melbourne discovered two types of bacterial infestations in coral tissue, one similar to the type humans can contract (Chlamydiales), said the Daily Mail.

Dr Justin Maire who leads the Melbourne team described the find as “a bit of a surprise”.

According to Yahoo, lead author of the study Dr Maire said “It’s not necessarily the downfall of the coral. There is a wide range of chlamydia in the environment that can infect anything from amoebae, to humans, to koalas,” he said. “And a lot of them are not actually pathogenic.”

Researchers believe the bacteria will not spread too far and it may actually help the corals. Dr Maire also told Yahoo News it could be possible the bacteria may help it survive the impacts of climate change.

“There is a possibility that this bacterium gets nutrients and energy from other coral-associated bacteria, and for those of us working to understand coral biology, the possibility that the bacteria living inside coral tissues are interacting with each other is quite thrilling,” Dr Maire told New Atlas.

Co-author of the study Madeleine van Oppen added, “One of the focus areas in my lab is the development of bacterial probiotics for corals, helping to improve their resistance to thermal stress and survival rates caused by climate warming.”

Coral reacts to marine heat waves by turning white as a result of a chemical reaction. This is also evident in other reefs around the world.

The bleaching of coral beds is a harmful process that can take decades to recover, destroying ecosystems that rely on healthy coral to thrive.

The studies from the University of Melbourne were made in collaboration between the Australian Institute of Marine Science (Townsville) and the University of Vienna. It was published in Sciences Advances earlier this week.

Researchers want to look more closely into the role the bacteria play in the coral to determine the potential benefits.

Researchers hope the strains of bacteria help coral synthesise vitamin B, which could mitigate the effects of bleaching, said the Daily Mail.