Speaker: Prof. Alex C. C. Wilson, Professor of Biology; Department of Biology, University of Miami [website]

Title: The host/symbiont interface: tales from aphid models

Abstract:

Intracellular endosymbionts occupy an extraordinary niche – they live inside host cells. In that niche they face the challenge of evading host immunity while securing sufficient resources to persist, while their hosts face the challenge of maintaining growth and reproduction while housing an endosymbiont. What are the mechanisms that support the evolutionary persistence of endosymbiosis? Wilson will share insights into some of the genomic, molecular and cellular mechanisms that support maintenance of endosymbionts from her group’s work in aphid models.