Moorea Coral Reef Ecological Omics Laboratory

University Of California-Berkeley, Berkeley CA

Investigators

Abstract

In its report guiding ocean science priorities at NSF, Sea Change: 2015-2025 Decadal Survey of Ocean Sciences, the National Research Council highlighted the democratization of genomics and related technologies ('omics) as an opportunity to foster discovery and experimentation. The improvements implemented in this project take full advantage of this opportunity, facilitating cutting-edge behavioral and ecological 'omics experiments at the University of California's Gump South Pacific Research Station. The new Coral Reef Ecological Omics Lab (CREOL) implements plans drawn up with previous NSF support to develop a Coral Reef Genomic Observatory at the Gump Station. The CREOL facility will expand and improve the research station's existing marine lab and mesocosm facilities, providing necessary equipment for sample processing and temporary storage of specimens, prior to analyses at laboratories in California and beyond. This research enhances society's ability to understand and sustain coral reef ecosystems and the services they provide. Coral reefs are hotspots for biological diversity and are sources of great societal significance and economic value. Local and global processes, often associated with human activities, increasingly threaten the continued health of these exceptional natural systems. New research on population dynamics, ecosystem processes, biodiversity and resilience is critical to successful management, conservation, and restoration of coral reefs. The new Coral Reef Ecological Omics Lab expands and extends the types of scientific study carried out at the University of California's Gump South Pacific Research Station (www.moorea.berkeley.edu), increasing the research station's capacity to support genomics and other 'omics-based research. While the new facility primarily serves researchers and students studying marine ecosystems, notably those associated with NSF's Moorea Coral Reef Long Term Ecological Research (LTER) site, it also supports studies in terrestrial and freshwater environments. The new facility has two key components: first increased wet lab capacity to support a suite of new mesocosms, and second, an upgraded molecular laboratory to handle the concomitant increase in biosamples and the need to efficiently process and ship those samples to home institutions for a variety of 'omics analyses. These improvements enable the application of genomics and related new technologies in process-oriented research and long-term studies. The project develops an approach that stabilizes biosamples at the field station, maximizing the quality of contextual information and metadata management. Biosamples are transported to core facilities based at home institutions for the actual omics analyses, while maintaining provenance information and the integrity of the data value chain through advanced biological informatics software, such as the Genomic Observatories Metadatabase (GEOME). This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.