Corals’ resistance to disease is highly dependent on their ability to maintain healthy surface microbiomes, a community of microorganisms, such as bacteria and fungi. For several years, it has been shown that corals harbor unique microbes at their surfaces, but the mechanisms of how this community is recruited and maintained were not known. In a new study published in Communications Biology, NYU Abu Dhabi Assistant Professor of Biology Shady Amin, along with Philippe Schmitt-Kopplin from the Helmholtz Center Munich, report that corals, though they are stationary organisms, can alter their surroundings by producing unique molecules that can help recruit healthy microbiomes and fight parasitic microbes.