Sponges, the oldest extant multicellular animals (i.e. more than 600 million years old), are holobionts comprised of the host and its symbiotic microbes. Marine sponges are ecologically important components of coral reef ecosystems where they provide habitat for a wide range of species and couple the benthic and pelagic zones through their high seawater filtration capability.

We are hosting a webinar on the Sponge Microbiome, featuring the authors of recent papers in FEMS Microbiology Ecology. Join us for a fascinating discussion of the most recent science on this topic:

Register via this link to attend

Date: Thursday 9th July 2020
Time: 10-11 am EDT / 3-4pm BST / 4-5pm CEST

Moderator: Max Häggblom, Editor-in-Chief of FEMS Microbiology Ecology, Department of Biochemistry and Microbiology, School of Environmental and Biological Sciences, Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey, New Brunswick, NJ, USA.

Speaker 1: Russell Hill, Institute of Marine & Environmental Technology, University of Maryland Center for Environmental Science, Baltimore MD, United States – author of: Zhang F, Jonas L, Lin H, Hill RT. ”Microbially mediated nutrient cycles in marine sponges.” FEMS Microbiology Ecology, 2019, 95:fiz155, https://doi.org/10.1093/femsec/fiz155

Speaker 2: Laura Steindler, Leon H. Charney School of Marine Sciences, University of Haifa, Haifa, Israel – author of: Britstein M, Saurav K, Teta R, Sala GD, Bar-Shalom R, Stoppelli N, Zoccarato L, Costantino V, Steindler L. ”Identification and chemical characterization of N-acyl-homoserine lactone quorum sensing signals across sponge species and time.” FEMS Microbiology Ecology, 2018, 94:fix182, https://doi.org/10.1093/femsec/fix182

Speaker 3: Rodrigo Costa, Department of Bioengineering of Instituto Superior Técnico (IST), Universidade de Lisboa, Lisbon, Portugal – author of: Karimi E, Slaby BM, Soares AR, Blom J, Hentschel U, Costa R. ”Metagenomic binning reveals versatile nutrient cycling and distinct adaptive features in alphaproteobacterial symbionts of marine sponges.” FEMS Microbiology Ecology, 2018, 94:fiy074, https://doi.org/10.1093/femsec/fiy074

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This event is part of a series of webinars being developed by FEMS and in partnership with Oxford University Press.