Coral disease: Direct and indirect agents, mechanisms of disease, and innovations for increasing resistance and resilience

Climate change is intensifying coral decline worldwide, and disease outbreaks are further eroding reef resilience. This review synthesizes emerging insights into coral‑disease mechanisms, including newly identified pathogens across bacteria, viruses and eukaryotes, as well as genetic factors that confer host resistance. Innovative interventions—such as probiotics and antibiotics and selective breeding for disease‑resistant corals—are reshaping restoration strategies. The widespread stony coral tissue loss disease in the Caribbean has galvanized the research community, driving advances in understanding disease processes and applying them to conservation. These developments highlight both the urgency and the promise of integrating disease science into global reef‑restoration efforts.