“Coral reefs are increasingly threatened by disease outbreaks, yet little is known about the genetic mechanisms underlying disease resistance. Since the 1970s, White Band Disease (WBD) has decimated the Caribbean staghorn coral Acropora cervicornis. However, 15% or more of individuals are highly disease-resistant, and the genes controlling the production of Argonaut proteins, involved in microRNA (miRNA) post-transcriptional gene silencing, are up-regulated in WBD-resistant corals. … In this study, we conducted an in situ disease transmission experiment. … We identified 67 bona fide miRNAs in A. cervicornis.”

Find the paper and full list of authors in Ecology and Evolution.