“If you really want to study evolution, you’ve got go outside sometime, because you’ll see symbiosis everywhere!
LYNN MARGULIS
Welcome!
We are the Marine Symbiomes Research Group.
Basic science drives our work. We test hypotheses at the intersection of microbial ecology, biogeochemistry, and ecosystem ecology. Our goal is to uncover how host-microbe interactions shape both organism and ecosystem functioning in the marine environment.
We focus on the symbiome — a complex community where metaorganisms (hosts and their microbes) are interconnected through symbiotic interactions. These interactions range from loose associations to intimate partnerships. Over time, the symbiome develops to a climax state under the environmental conditions of its habitat. As a result, it plays a key role in shaping marine ecosystem dynamics.
Dr. Elena Quintanilla wins a Marie Skłodowska-Curie Fellowship to conduct marine symbiosis research in our group, while Dr. Alice Blanckaert moves to the Centre Scientifique de Monaco for her next postdoc. Read about their exciting career milestones in marine research!
Check out the latest news about an experiment that was conducted at the Aquarium of Livorno, within the frame of the PRIN ENGAGE project, to test the resistance of a tripartite association between marine plants, bivalves and bacteria to global warming!
We invite applications in the frame of the ENGAGE project, for a postdoctoral researcher to work with Dr Laura Carugati (UNICA) on meiofaunal ecology and positive species interactions.