Unlocking Targeted Underwater Delivery of Coral Probiotics

Alginate-based underwater delivery of probiotic Pseudoalteromonas peptidolytica enables strong coral colonization, with Pseudoalteromonas relative abundance reaching 12.7% after 48 h using hydrogels.

• Why it matters: Coral reef decline is driving interest in microbial therapies, but effective underwater delivery of beneficial microorganisms to corals remains a key bottleneck.
• What they did: The study engineered three biodegradable alginate formats—beads, hydrogels, and filaments—loaded at 10^(4) CFU/g dry polymer, then compared them with syringe inoculation using in vitro release/viability tests and in vivo coral microbiome profiling.
• The result: After deployment, microbiome analyses confirmed probiotic colonization, with Pseudoalteromonas increasing to 11.5% after 48 h (beads), 12.7% after 48 h (hydrogels), and 12.6% after 24 h (filaments), supporting further development for aquaria and reef use.

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