Stem Cell Transplantation in Hexacorallia: Successful Proof of Concept in Nematostella vectensis

Hexacorallia is a sub-class containing the foundation of coral reefs – stony corals, along with the anemone Nematostella vectensis. Currently, reef-building corals are under threat due to rising temperatures in the oceans, which also affects the coral reefs` biodiversity. Intriguingly, some individuals of the same species of coral survive the heat stress while the rest do not, leading to the assumption of genetic variants resistance. Therefore, we aim to develop the transformation of resilience through stem cell therapy. To do that, we begin our work on the anemone N. vectensis which is the only hexacorallian species that has a transgenic strain with a fluorescent tag. Therefore, we developed a transplantation method to transplant fluorescent-tagged cells from a donor N. vectensis into a non-fluorescent recipient animal, suggesting the presence of candidate stem cells by the proliferation of the transplanted cells and the ability to rescue the transplanted animals from lethal doses of chemotherapy. This leads to the isolation of candidate stem cells by using a species non-specific cell marker, that can be used on other hexacorallians, including corals. These results, show the ability of these candidate stem cells to integrate, proliferate, differentiate after transplantation, and be isolated in an enriched cell population for candidate stem cells. Here we show the first capabilities of cell transplantation therapies in hexacorallians, leading to the ability to rescue endangered hexacorallian species and using these tools for further research.