An international consortium leaded by the CIIMAR researcher Jean-Baptiste Ledoux sequenced the genome of Paramuricea clavata, the soft coral largelly distributed in the Mediterranean, including the Portuguese coast, and which is highly threatened by marine heat waves leading to mass mortality events. 

The researchers believe that this information will allow to characterize the different responses of species to the increase in water temperature due to climate change and will pave the way for species and habitats conservation strategies.

Check the study here.