
Methods in Ecology and Evolution, Journal Year: 2025, Volume and Issue: unknown
Published: March 2, 2025
Abstract Microfluidic systems commenced a new era of coral research, reducing demands for experimental material and minimizing scientific impacts on natural environments. Reduced size also allows continuous microscopy during experiments at unprecedented spatial–temporal resolutions ensures greater homogeneity environmental factors among samples. Since the report coral‐on‐a‐chip platform in 2016 by Shapiro colleagues, modifications microfluidic chips have been reported various purposes. However, existing cultivation were mostly designed isolated polyps specific setups, limiting their flexibility. Moreover, maintenance health miniaturized environments has proven challenging, preventing applications to with long timescales, which are more relevant events. Here, we present two that enable long‐term (over month), stable laboratory without laborious maintenance. Through involving several research topics paramount importance, example flow speed, heating, osmolarity fluctuation pathogen inoculation, tested applicability our system research. Our results demonstrate usefulness different objectives. Furthermore, employing microcolonies, is small fragments, suitable wider spectrum corals compatible analyses, compared polyp‐based previous studies. The presented here considerably extends provides convenient, cost‐effective environmentally friendly future
Language: Английский