BioEssays 2/2026

In article 70110, Bhattacharya et al. discuss the causes of coral bleaching, which results in a ghostly white appearance of colonies due to photosymbiont loss. Algal expulsion is widely considered an act of defense by corals to survive oxidative stress produced by these cells under heat (or other) stress. Using recently generated multi-omics and genetics data, the authors surmise that coral bleaching is in fact a multifactorial response that reflects a wide array of causes and effects and is often population specific. This perspective suggests that a “personal genomics” approach to coral conservation may prove useful to protect endangered reefs.