SYDNEY (AFP) — Australian scientists on Thursday announced a ground-breaking genome-mapping project that could help the Great Barrier Reef fight off the twin threats of climate change and toxic farm chemicals.
Geneticists said they would unlock the secrets of the colourful acropora millepora coral, one of the main components of the northeastern tourist attraction, the growth of which has slowed markedly in recent years.
"This gene-mapping project has both practical and scientific significance," said professor David Miller of Australia's Centre of Excellence for Coral Reef Studies and James Cook University.
"It will help us to understand how corals build reefs -- and why they fail to do so when they are under stress." … the reef has come under growing threat from climate change and chemical run-off with Australia announcing a crackdown in January on farmers who let pesticides and fertilisers leak into the sea. …
Monday, August 3, 2009
Scientists to unlock Great Barrier Reef genome
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