Speaker

Prof. Maren Ziegler

Abstract

Stony corals, the foundation species of coral reefs, associate with a large diversity of microorganisms as holobionts. In this seminar, I will take you on a dive into my laboratory’s discoveries about the microbial world of these iconic ecosystems. We will discover microbiome engineering approaches that can be leveraged to disentangle the functional roles of key microbial partners in the holobiont. In addition, our research has revealed how microbes contribute to genomic innovation, thereby enhancing coral resilience to climate change through microbiome flexibility. This knowledge can now be harnessed for innovative probiotic strategies to actively manipulate the phenotype of corals. Notably, the associated microbes and their metabolites extend beyond the coral colony, creating a dynamic interaction zone in which microorganisms and biomolecules are exchanged between holobionts. The seminar will conclude by illustrating the effects of microbial interactions among reef neighbours on productivity of individual holobionts and the reef community at large. The existence of this complex and interdependent network has broader implications for the preservation and restoration of endangered reef ecosystems