Dr. Mónica Medina
Professor, Penn State, Eberly College of Science
Department of Biology
Lab Website

Tuesday, September 24 @ 11:30am
AHF 153 (Torrey Webb Room)

Eco-Evo-Devo drivers of microbial assemblage dynamics in tropical marine holobionts

Abstract: Cnidarian photosynthetic holobiont members – which include the host, at least one unicellular algal symbiont, and a poorly characterized consortium of other diverse microbial taxa – have different generation times and effective population sizes. These differences can have pronounced evolutionary and ecological consequences for holobiont members, especially under a rapidly changing climate. Hosts (e.g. corals, jellyfish) tend to have slow generation times relative to their microbes, on the order of decades. Algal symbionts with different physiological adaptations to light and temperature are known to shift in abundance within a host over months to years. Host associated prokaryotic microbial assemblages not only have very fast generation times, but their community composition can shift rapidly under changing environmental conditions.

We have performed experiments on different coral and jellyfish holobionts across the life cycle and physiological states. These studies have uncovered diverse responses linked to developmental and physiological phenotypes as well microbiome-associated responses helping define holobiont niche boundaries.

We have only scratched the surface of complex holobiont dynamics, yet these studies highlight the need for additional data and a comprehensive theoretical framework that integrates ecological and evolutionary time scales.