Thai scientists race to freeze coral dna as reefs face climate crisis

In a cutting-edge laboratory at Phuket Rajabhat University, molecular biologist Preeyanuch Thongpoo is literally freezing time to save Thailand’s dying coral reefs. Her team is cryopreserving coral larvae and their essential symbiotic algae at bone-chilling temperatures of -196°C (-321°F), creating what researchers call a “living seed bank” for future reef restoration efforts.

The microscopic specimens—including hardy cauliflower coral larvae and the dust-sized algae that provide corals with most of their energy—represent a biological insurance policy against extinction. This innovative approach, part of the Coral Research & Development Accelerator Platform (CORDAP) initiative, aims to preserve genetic material that could one day help restore damaged reef ecosystems when environmental conditions improve.

The urgency of this work cannot be overstated. Thailand’s coral reefs, home to over 300 species of reef-building corals, are under severe threat from climate change, tourism pressure, and coastal development. Recent nationwide surveys reveal that repeated mass bleaching events between 2022 and early 2024 have devastated these underwater ecosystems, causing them to lose structural complexity and undergo dramatic shifts in species composition. With additional heat stress expected in 2024-2025, the situation continues to deteriorate.

By preserving these coral building blocks in suspended animation, Thongpoo and her colleagues hope to buy “crucial time” to prevent extinctions while the world works to address the root causes of reef degradation. This cryobank represents both scientific innovation and a race against time to preserve one of Earth’s most biodiverse and economically important ecosystems.