About the Symbiosis

All animals form associations with beneficial microbes and it is becoming increasingly apparent that the co-existence between animals and their microbial consortia, known as the microbiome, is essential for health and normal development. 

To study the effects that beneficial microbes have on animals, model systems are need that can easily be manipulated in the lab and can teach important lessons regarding the language of microbial communication.

One such system that has been a critical model in understanding the role that microbes play in animal health has been the symbiosis between the bobtail squid, Euprymna scolopes, and a bioluminescent bacterium.

The little “glow-in-the-dark” squid has enabled researchers from all over the world to improve our working knowledge of how bacteria shape animal development.

Although invertebrates, such as squid, have fewer associations with bacteria and less complex immune systems than humans, using tractable animal models such as the squid/vibrio association, has been pivotal to providing key insight into homologous pathways in human physiology.

This website is dedicated to providing educational and scientific resources to those individuals wishing to learn more about the symbiosis and research progress over the past 30 years.

More details about mechanisms of this symbiosis will coming over the next few months.