Keywords: Symbiodiniaceae, Dinoflagellates, Coral symbiosis, Cell motility, Chemotaxis, Microscopy, Flow cytometry, Microfluidics
Description:
Symbiodiniaceae are the essential algal symbionts of reef-building corals, providing photosynthates that support the entire coral reef ecosystem. While the importance of this partnership is well known, the establishment of coral–Symbiodiniaceae symbiosis remains poorly understood and is the subject of this project. Specifically, we will test the hypothesis that motility and chemotaxis enable Symbiodiniaceae to actively locate and associate with their coral hosts. Using a combination of chemotaxis assays, microscopy, and flow cytometry, we will investigate the motility and chemotaxis of 3 different strains of Symbiodiniaceae (clades A, C and D), aiming to:
- Quantify the motile fraction of the population (and variation over the day/night cycle)
- Characterize swimming speed and trajectory patterns
- Test and identify chemoattractants (and study behavioural and metabolic responses of cells to these signals)
- Directly test whether cells chemotax towards chemical exudates of corals
Skills you will learn:
- Algal cell culture
- Flow cytometry
- Light microscopy (and image analysis)
- Chemotaxis assays – including the in situ chemotaxis assay device developed in our lab and other microfluidic assays
Goal: Determine whether motility and chemotaxis enable Symbiodiniaceae to actively locate and associate with their coral hosts
Project start: From January 2026
Location: ETH Hönggerberg
Project type: This project can be adapted for a Master Thesis or Master Project
Contact details: Isobel Short – ishort@ethz.ch