Genetic diversity of endangered Acropora spp. corals in Bonaire: implications for restoration and gene banking

RRFB gene banks in Bonaire captured high microsatellite genotypic richness for Acropora palmata (0.971) and Acropora cervicornis (1.0), retaining 88.9% and 74.7% of asymptotic allelic diversity.

• Why it matters: Restoration of critically endangered corals can miss genetic diversity when many individuals are clones, limiting the value of gene banks and local breeding plans.
• What they did: Microsatellite genotyping was performed on RRFB-maintained lineages—35 for Acropora palmata and 25 for Acropora cervicornis—to quantify genotypic richness, allelic diversity capture, and spatial genetic structure.
• The result: Bonaire Acropora palmata showed relatively low expected heterozygosity versus other Caribbean locations, while Acropora cervicornis was greater than about half; no genetic structuring was detected among spatial subpopulations, supporting well-connected island-wide gene flow.

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