[Coral-List] ICRS Workshop: Symbiodiniaceae Taxonomy and Diversity Tools

[Parkinson, John]

Hi all,

Registering for ICRS soon? When you do, don’t forget to sign up for some of the great workshops on offer, most of which are free with admission. Please consider attending our Symbiodiniaceae taxonomy workshop (“How can we develop new tools and best practices to accurately delimit Symbiodiniaceae diversity in reef research?”). It will be a friendly environment to discuss anything and everything related to resolving symbiont diversity and incorporating said diversity into experimental designs. We’ll take a historical look at the “zooxanthellae,” cover some new genera and species, and review the latest molecular tools and genomic resources (e.g. SymPortal). We encourage anyone with interest to attend, especially students and researchers new to the field. For more information, see the abstract below. We hope to catch up with you soon in Bremen.

John, Matt, Ben, & Raul

Title:
How can we develop new tools and best practices to accurately delimit Symbiodiniaceae diversity in reef research?

Abstract:
The photosynthetic symbionts of reef-building corals, dinoflagellates in the family Symbiodiniaceae, are inherently challenging to resolve taxonomically because individual cells are small and morphologically non-descript. Hidden within this simple form are at least 15 distinct, genus-level lineages containing extensive genetic and phenotypic diversity. As scleractinian corals receive a significant portion of their daily carbon requirements in the form of photosynthates, these micro-algae play a central role in the maintenance of reef health and function. Critically, functional traits that vary across Symbiodiniaceae lineages appear to mediate coral survival during stress. As such, coral reef research relies on the accurate delineation of these endosymbionts. In this 2.5 hour workshop, four core themes will be presented and discussed: I) the history of “Symbiodinium” taxonomy and the contemporary systematic framework of the family Symbiodiniaceae; II) the genetic resolution provided by different gene markers within Symbiodiniaceae; III) analytical approaches for studying the diversity and community composition of mutualistic and free-living Symbiodiniaceae; and IV) the use of ‘omics’ data for phylogenetic and functional classification of Symbiodiniaceae taxa and ‘cybertypes.’ Presentations will be given by the co-chairs and followed by 10-minute question and answer sessions. The remainder of the time will be reserved for an open discussion period with a larger panel of invited experts. From this workshop we aim to gather feedback from participants regarding how best to facilitate practical advances in the field.

Chairs:
John Parkinson, Matt Nitschke, Benjamin Hume, & Raul Gonzalez-Pech


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John E. Parkinson, Ph.D.
Assistant Professor
University of South Florida
Office: SCA 132

4202 East Fowler Ave
Department of Integrative Biology, SCA 110
Tampa, FL 33620

twitter: @parkinsonje
website: thelifeaquatic.net
email: jparkinson at usf.edu

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