For more than 30 years, the association between the Hawaiian bobtail squid, Euprymna
scolopes, and the bioluminescent bacterium Vibrio fischeri has been studied as a model …

The regulatory noncoding small RNAs (sRNAs) of bacteria are key elements influencing
gene expression; however, there has been little evidence that beneficial bacteria use these …

The development of powerful model systems has been a critical strategy for understanding
the mechanisms underlying the progression of an animal through its ontogeny. Here we …

Bacteriophages (phages) are diverse and abundant constituents of microbial communities
worldwide, capable of modulating bacterial populations in diverse ways. Here, we describe …

Animals often acquire their microbial symbionts from the environment, but the mechanisms
underlying how specificity of the association is achieved are poorly understood. We …

Metabolites are critical products and mediators of cellular and tissue function, and key
signals in cell-to-cell, organ-to-organ and cross-organism communication. Many of these …

Symbiosis, by its basic nature, depends on partner interactions that are mediated by cues
and signals. This kind of critical reciprocal communication shapes the trajectory of host …

In symbioses established through horizontal transmission, evolution has selected for
mechanisms that promote the recruitment of symbionts from the environment. Using the …

Bacterial light organs are present in several species of the squid family Sepiolidae (the
bobtail squids), where they occur in association with the ink sac, often as a conspicuous …

The symbiont-bearing jellyfish Cassiopea live a benthic lifestyle, positioning themselves
upside-down on sediments in shallow waters to allow their endosymbiotic algae to …