Meghan Ferguson

Thank you! I'm also a big fan of your recent work!

@mela-doerr.bsky.social and other authors not on bluesky congrats! 🥳

Thanks to all authors for their efforts in getting this paper out there! We found integrins facilitated the specific uptake of symbionts in coral and Aiptasia larvae, shedding new light on the mechanisms of symbiosis establishment in cnidarians.

We're excited to share with everyone a preprint of our manuscript that resolves the cellular origins of the symbiosome in cnidarian-algal symbiosis through proteomics of the symbiosome, RNAi, and CRISPR/Cas9 experiments. ⬇️
www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1...

Read on below!

1/12 🧵

Rel is not essential for DSS-dependent ISC proliferation but impacts survival rates after DSS treatment. (A) 10-day-old unchallenged (UC) esgts/+ flies fed PBS/5% sucrose solution for 48 h; and DSS-treated esgts/+ or esgts/RelRNAi flies fed 3% DSS in 5% sucrose for 48 h. Scale bars: 25 µm. DNA (cyan), esg+ progenitors (yellow), and Dl+ ISCs (magenta) labelled.

Aurélia Joly, @micro-megs.bsky.social & co show that stem cell-intrinsic NF-κB activity is crucial for preventing apoptosis and ensuring proper intestinal epithelial repair following injury in #Drosophila. 🪰

doi.org/10.1242/bio....

#StemCells #Intestine

Call for abstracts We are pleased to announce that the Call for Abstracts is now open. Submissions are invited under the approved sessions, each aligned with one of the eight broad Symposium themes.

CALL FOR ABSTRACTS NOW LIVE! 16th International Coral Reef Symposium

Submit an abstract here: www.icrs2026.nz/call-for-abs...

#coralreefs #symposium #newzealand #icrs #coralresearch #networking #coral #internationalcoralreefsociety #marinescience #marinebiology

Would love to attend but I'm busy traveling. Could you send a link anyways? my student seems also interested 😊

Stem cell-specific NF-κB is required for stem cell survival and epithelial regeneration upon intestinal damage Summary: Stem cell-intrinsic NF-κB activity is essential to prevent apoptosis and ensure proper intestinal epithelial repair following injury.

Last chapter of my PhD is out now! This project got me excited about the various roles of immune regulators like NF-kB. Drosophila taught me a lot about this concept, and I'm happy to apply my knowledge to Aiptasia. I will always treasure my time with the fly journals.biologists.com/bio/article/...

I'd love to be added!

📢#TMHMS25 is just around the corner! 🦠🌊

Join us to dive into the latest discoveries in #marinehostmicrobesymbioses and explore how microbial superpowers can contribute to restoring ocean health!

Please share with fellow marine science and microbiology enthusiasts!

Theory of host-microbe symbioses: Challenges and opportunities Growing insight into microbial symbioses highlights the need to model these systems mathematically. We discuss three areas requiring theoretical advan…

Trainees and faculty that I had the privilege to be a part of did something quite special. The context here is that experimental and theoretical biologists were in a room together on Coconut Island, Hawaii for 3 weeks to hammer out a vision #holobiont theory. 🧵
www.sciencedirect.com/science/arti...

Custom made microscope setup to live image samples from a 96 well plate

Spent the week in Cambridge with @benkinsjenkins.bsky.social testing this custom made microscope to live image Aiptasia larvae. Got some cool videos that we hope to share very soon! Thanks for hosting me Ben!

Coral spawning up close from my travels to Okinawa at this time last year. 😍 I learned a lot about coral fieldwork and gained valuable insights into immune mechanisms of symbiosis establishment, can't wait to go back! #SymbioSky

Call for Session Proposals

1/6 Call for session proposals

16th International Coral Reef Symposium, 19–24th July 2026, Auckland, Aotearoa New Zealand.
Session proposal deadline: Sunday 15th June 2025.
Details and submission link at www.icrs2026.nz/call-for-ses...

🚨 Just under two weeks left to submit your abstract for ESEB2025 - don’t miss the chance to be part of the Symposium on the Evolution of Symbiosis and Interactions in Microbial Eukaryotes 🦠🔬

📅 Abstract deadline: April 25, 2025
🔗 More: eseb2025.com/list-of-symposia
#ESEB25 #Symbiosis #ProtistOnSky

I've been busy the last couple years developing Aiptasia as a genetically tractable model organism to study corals. Here you can see me injecting CRISPR-Cas9 into these fragile little Aiptasia zygotes. Hopefully soon we will have our very first mutant lines!

A picture of an Aiptasia anemone with their dinoflagellate symbionts shining like stars in the surroundings being presented by Meghan Ferguson

Was a pleasure to present my work on immune regulation of symbiosis in corals and anemones at the Wild frontiers of model organisms conference hosted by @events.embl.org Highly recommend you checking out this event again in 2027! #EESWildModels

Cell cycle arrest in the cnidarian-dinoflagellate symbiosis.

Corals maintain stable populations of essential photosynthetic symbionts by controlling their cell cycle, not by eating them! Our new #PNAS paper monitored and modelled #aiptasia cell cycle, autophagy, and expulsion for over a year. #symbiosis #microbiology www.pnas.org/doi/10.1073/...

Molecular and Cell Biology of Symbiosis | Marine Biological Laboratory This is an immersive research-based course designed to teach basic concepts, open research questions, and facilitate state-of-the-art experimental approaches in symbiosis research.

It is happening again! Consider taking our course on the Molecular and Cell Biology of Symbiosis at
@MBLScience. We extended the deadline for
applications to Apr 14, 2025. www.mbl.edu/education/ad...

A flyer for the MBL's 2025 Molecular and Cell Biology of Symbiosis course, which will run July 24 to August 26, 2025. Applications are now due March 31, and financial assistance is available. The image also includes the hashtag #ScienceStartsHere, a logo for the MBL, and a picture of a cephalopod

A flyer for the MBL's 2025 Visual Neuroscience course, which will run from August 1 to 16, 2025. Applications are now due April 1, and financial assistance is available. The image also includes the hashtag #ScienceStartsHere and a logo for the MBL.

Course updates! ⚠️ Molecular and Cell Biology of Symbiosis is REOPENING applications (deadline March 31), and Visual Neuroscience is EXTENDING applications (deadline April 1).

Flyers below ⤵️ Read more and apply here: bit.ly/4acDH2V

#ScienceStartsHere

🧐

Check out our dispatch on apicomplexans that infect corals!

www.sciencedirect.com/science/arti...

These parasite-like partners have lost photosynthesis but retained chlorophyll... are they friend or foe?

@currentbiology.bsky.social #protistsonsky #symbiosky #microsky #coralreefs

Fireworms (Hermodice carunculata) are a reservoir and potential vector for coral-infecting apicomplexans Corals (Cnidaria; Anthozoa) play critical roles as habitat-forming species with a wide range, from warm shallow-water tropical coral reefs to cold-water ecosystems [1-3]. They also represent a complex...

🚨New Preprint Alert: Are bearded fireworms🪱 acting as vectors for Corallicolids? Here we show evidence that H. carunculata is acting as a reservoir for these coral-infecting Apicomplexans, but corallicolid functional roles in the holobiont are still unknown! 🪸🦠.

www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1...

PhD Summer School on Host-Microbe Symbioses 2025 Symbnet PhD Summer School on Host-Microbe Symbioses Gulbenkian Institute for Molecular Medicine (GIMM) & Católica Biomedical Research Centre (CBR) July 06...

🚀 Registrations are open: 2025 SymbNET PhD Summer School on Host-Microbe Symbioses, Oeiras (Lisbon), Portugal
👉 gimm.idloom.events/phd-summer-s...

Please help us sharing this announcement 📣

@gimmfoundation.bsky.social #CBR @moorefound.bsky.social @crc1182.bsky.social #CIFAR

Coral Reef Microbiome This book focuses on Structure, Function and Ecology of the coral microbiome and associated active interventions to conserve and restore coral reefs.

OUT NOW 'coral reef microbiome' by Springer Nature link.springer.com/book/10.1007... .. some 2.5 years in the making, jam packed: check out Ch.16 on Assisted Restoration as the sum of approaches required to deliver effective ecological restoration! Many thanks to all contributors @uni-konstanz.de

Don't miss out, October 22-25, 2025: International Symposium – Trends in Marine Host-Microbe Symbioses with an exciting lineup of speakers marinesymbioses.eu/invited-spea...; looking forward to insightful & inspiring discussions; registration: marinesymbioses.eu/register/ @uni-konstanz.de

Woohoo! Our image made the cover! 🎉 @jexpbiol.bsky.social The image captures photosymbiotic Anemonia viridis pointing it's tentacles towards the light.
journals.biologists.com/jeb

Save the date 📅: The PhD Summer School on Host-microbe Symbioses is taking place from 6-19 of July in Oeiras, Portugal.
Registration is opening soon!
Learn more 👉 gimm.idloom.events/phd-summer-s...

@gimmfoundation.bsky.social @moorefound.bsky.social
@crc1182.bsky.social #CIFAR #CBR

Thanks Ira!