Meghan Ferguson

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!

The final paper from my PhD is out! Give it a read if you're into immunity, stem cells and guts! Thanks to @edanfoley.bsky.social and the rest of the team 💪

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During my PhD, I met so many colleagues who only read papers for journal clubs or when their PI demanded it.

Reading the literature is a must for PhDs. It keeps you sharp, sparks ideas, builds critical thinking, and once it’s a habit, it’s even fun.

Young scientists: READ!

Congrats!! 🥳🥳

Together these data suggest RGD-binding integrins facilitate the uptake of symbionts but not non-symbiotic algae. Huge kudos goes out to @mela-doerr.bsky.social and all authors for these amazing insights. Integrins rock!

Fluorescence images of HEK cells over expressing (A) RGD binding integrins, (B) mutated integrins, or (C) fGFP control (yellow). Symbionts (pink) can be found inside cells with integrins over expressed but not in the control or when integrins are mutated. Quantification of this is shown as a percent of infected cells. Over expression of integrins increases the uptake of symbionts but not non symbiotic algae, whereas expression of mutated integrins or control plasmid shows low levels of algae uptake, regardless of whether it is symbiotic or not.

Finally, we over expressed the phagocytic RGD-binding integrins in HEK cells, which increased their capacity to phagocytose symbionts, but not non-symbionts. Mutation of the integrin binding site abolished the increase in phagocytosis.

Fluorescence images of Aiptasia anemone, Acropora coral and Nematostella anemone larvae. Quantification of symbionts per larvae when exposed to either the RGD integrin blocking peptide or to a scrambled peptide control is shown. The quantifications show that RGD inhibits symbiont uptake into Aiptasia and Acropora larvae, both symbiotic cnidarians. However RGD does not inhibit the uptake of symbionts into Nematostella, a non-symbiotic anemone. Furthermore, inert beads coated with RGD peptide are phagocytosed by Aiptasia and Acropora larvae more readily than control coated beads. The last quantification show that RGD blockage only inhibits the uptake of symbiotic algae, but not non-symbiotic algae.

Using RGD peptides to compete with integrin binding sites we found that addition of RGD inhibited the uptake of symbionts into Aiptasia and Acropora coral larvae, but had no effect on non-symbiotic algae or in the non-symbiotic anemone Nematostella.

Phylogenetic tree showing that certain integrins from cnidarians cluster along with known RGD binding integrins from vertebrates. This particular RGD binding integrin is also shown to be expressed in endodermal tissue of Aiptasia larvae with in situ hybridisation. Since symbiosis takes place in the endoderm this suggests a function in symbiosis for this integrin.

By comparing cnidarian integrins with vertebrates we could identify alpha integrins that are similar to those that bind to RGD peptides, which are known to facilitate phagocytosis in other systems. This alpha integrin is expressed in endodermal tissue where symbiosis takes place.

A heatmap of differentially expressed integrin and integrin signalling genes. Expression is compared between Aiptasia larvae endodermal cells that contain symbionts (SSB01), non-symbiotic algae (M. gaditana), or do not contain any algae. Multiple integrins and downstream signalling genes are significantly downregulated in cells with symbionts, while cells with the non-symbiotic algae have little to no effect on integrin expression.

We show that symbionts alter the expression of integrins and downstream signalling components in endodermal cells that take up symbionts, but not non-symbiotic algae.