Margaret McFall-Ngai, Faculty Associate, Division of Biology & Biological Engineering, Caltech, will give a seminar by Zoom titled: "First contact: Ecological to molecular challenges during recruitment of bacterial symbionts from the environment"

ABSTRACT

In symbioses established through horizontal transmission, which occurs in a wide variety of animals, from sponges to mammals, evolution has selected for mechanisms that promote the recruitment of symbionts from the environment. Using the binary association between the Hawaiian bobtail squid, Euprymna scolopes, and its symbiont, Vibrio fischeri, we have explored this phenomenon. This presentation will focus on the first minutes to hours of host-symbiont interaction. Our research has discovered that a complex biophysical and biochemical dialogue between the symbiotic partners promotes the establishment of a highly specific association.