The XVIIIth (New) International Congress of Zoology

Le XVIIIème (Nouveau) Congrès International de Zoologie

Although all animals have specific and persistent relationships with prokaryotes, little is known about how these alliances evolve and how they persist within and between the generations of a given animal species. The cooperative associations between the sepiolid squids and their luminous bacterial partners, Vibrio fischeri and Vibrio logei, have proven to be effective model systems with which to examine the 'dialogue' between the two distinct genomes. In these associations, both partners can be raised independently under laboratory conditions, which allows for the experimental manipulation of the colonization of the animal with each generation. This presentation will focus upon our recent findings concerning: 1) the mechanisms underlying recognition and specificity; 2) the genetic basis of the reciprocal influences of the partners on the development of the symbiosis; and, 3) the influences that function to maintain a stable association that persists over the life time of an individual, as well as between generations.