PhycoSymbiology
Algae in symbiotic relationships
Culturing non-model organisms advances PhycoSymbiology.
Maintaining stable cell culture lines of non-model organisms is a fundamental step towards creating customized resources on par with ‘model organism’ conspecifics. For symbiotic systems, cell cultures provide the ability to evaluate how each partner functions alone & as part of a team. During my PhD, I cultured Symbiodiniaceae to study their ecophysiology & nutritional needs. As a postdoc, I’ve expanded my repertoire to include cnidarian cell and coral-on-a-chip culturing as well as bacterial-coccolithophore co-culturing.
Maintaining stable cell culture lines of non-model organisms is a fundamental step towards creating customized resources on par with ‘model organism’ conspecifics. For symbiotic systems, cell cultures provide the ability to evaluate how each partner functions alone & as part of a team. During my PhD, I cultured Symbiodiniaceae to study their ecophysiology & nutritional needs. As a postdoc, I’ve expanded my repertoire to include cnidarian cell and coral-on-a-chip culturing as well as bacterial-coccolithophore co-culturing.
Collaboration with the Baums Lab facilitated the resurrection of an endangered dinoflagellate's genome (Fig 1, Reich et al 2021 Mol Ecol)
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Molecular genetics sheds light on diversity.
The application of molecular genetic approaches elucidates unrecognized diversity in PhycoSymbioses. At each stage of my career, I used genetic and genomic techniques to characterize the diversity of coral-dinoflagellate symbioses. These contributions include studying the symbiosis ecology of juvenile corals (joint BA-MS), working with The Baums Lab to improve genomic resources for endangered corals, and joining a collaborative team to create a consensus roadmap for evaluating Symbiodiniaceae diversity. |
MetalloPhysiology
Metal influences on physiology
Application of iron-limitation indices to the coral holobiont. Metal limitation is widespread in all ocean basins but seldom characterized in coral reef environments. My NSF EAPSI project demonstrated that Symbiodiniaceae experience iron (Fe) limitation. Fe-limitation halted the cell duplication rates of Symbiodiniaceae (Reich et al. 2020). As Fe supplies approached starvation, shifts in Symbiodiniaceae metallomes reflected these specialties (Reich et al. 2020) and were corroborated by elevated expression of genes indicative of Fe-stress (Reich et al. In Prep). Further, Symbiodiniaceae with elevated metal contents were better equipped to meet the greater Fe-demands of heat stress (Reich et al. 2021), highlighting a potential accelerator of coral bleaching.
SymbioElementology
Nutrient exchange in symbiosis
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Nutrient variability perturbations of coccolithophore-bacterial cellular communication. The cosmopolitan inter-kingdom partnerships of coccolithophores (genus Emiliania) and bacteria (genus Pseudoalteromonas) range from symbiotic to pathogenic. I recently joined the Harvey Plankton Lab @ UNH to join a multidisciplinary team characterizing cellular crosstalk in this algal-bacterial partnership as well as the chemical communication exercised by bacteria to induce algal cell death. My specialization within this working framework will involve investigating metal limitation's influence on inter-partner crosstalk. More soon!
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Metallomes reflect how a heat-tolerant symbiont adapts to many hosts. Symbiodiniaceae from the genus Durusdinium (etymology: tough, whirling) are celebrated for their ability to thrive in harsh conditions. In Palau, Micronesia, unusually warm and acidic lagoonal reefs provide a crystal ball into how corals may cope with conditions expected in the year 2100. Some corals brave these seemingly inhospitable environments by partnering with symbionts from the genus Durusdinium spp. As a PhD student, I discovered that the metallomes of Durusdinium spp. reflect host coral affinity, demonstrating how a generalist symbiont manages the balancing act of adapting to meet the needs of many hosts while maintaining the finesse to thrive in a harsh environment (Reich et al. In Prep). This compliments a larger ongoing collaborative effort tackling the functional ecology of heat tolerant coral symbionts.
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