Understanding Coral Resilience Through Genomics and Microbiome Analysis

Researcher Highlight: Rachael Bay, PhD and Anya Brown, PhD

by Diana Lazo
May 11, 2026

Rachael Bay, PhD and Anya Brown, PhD both in the Department of Evolution and Ecology, use HPC@UCD to study how corals respond to rising ocean temperatures, focusing on why some corals are more heat-tolerant than others. Their work combines long-term field experiments in the Cook Islands with genomic and microbiome analysis to better understand coral resilience under climate change.

Photo of Rachael Bay, PhD and Anya Brown, PhD examining a shell in a lab and at the bottom a scuba diver holds a tray of coral fragments underwater

Their work has benefited from access to HPC@UCD resources as they expand their research. By comparing hundreds of coral specimens grown under identical environmental conditions, the team generates complex datasets on host genetics and microbial communities that require substantial computational resources for genome comparisons, microbiome profiling, and large-scale data analysis. They can pinpoint the specific genes and variants that underlie heat tolerance when performing heat stress.

These findings could ultimately help scientists identify naturally resilient populations, informing conservation and restoration strategies/ tools prioritizing which reefs to protect as ocean temperatures continue to rise.

Together, their fieldwork in Rarotonga, the largest island in the Cook Islands, was recently highlighted by National Geographic, which recognized the impactful work led by UC Davis researchers to better understand and protect coral reefs threatened by rising ocean temperatures.

“We sequence and analyze whole genomes of hundreds of corals at a time, comparing individuals that are susceptible to bleaching with those that are more tolerant. This scale of data analysis would be impossible without HPC.” —Rachael Bay, PhD.