To begin, drain excess sea water from the sample collection bag containing coral fragments. Submerge the samples in liquid nitrogen for at least 30 seconds. To remove coral tissue from the skeleton, place a sterile sample collection bag on ice ensuring it is stable and open but not submerged in the ice.
Add 10 milliliters of cold ultrapure water to the bag. Using sterile tweezers, select a coral fragment placed on ice and rinse it with cold ultrapure water until no seawater residue remains. Place the rinsed coral fragment in the bag containing the ultrapure water.
Next, cut approximately five-millimeter end of the one milliliter pipette tip and tape it over the end of an air gun using electrical tape. Aim the air gun onto the coral fragment with the bag half sealed and the airflow on low medium to gently remove tissue using a circular water movement over the fragment. After three minutes, or when all tissue is removed from the skeleton, turn off the air and remove the airbrush.
Seal the bag completely and squeeze all the removed coral tissue into the bottom corner of the bag. Cut off the opposite corner of the bag and gently pour the content into a 15-milliliter tube on ice.
