Presenter: Matteo Monti

Session: 4A - Open Session: Microbial ecology, holobionts and model organisms.

During this presentation I will discuss 2 projects I am conducting which are focused on understanding if Caribbean octocorals host bacterial communities that are stable across space and time and if members of the bacterial community may affect gorgonian resistance to pathogens and resilience under current and predicted future ocean scenarios. I will discuss microbial community analyses and host-associated bacterial networks as well as results indicating that octocorals support a diverse group of culturable bacteria that might be playing an important role as a defense mechanism in the resistance and resilience of their hosts against pathogens through the production of bioactive compounds.

Contact Matteo

mmonti@crimson.ua.edu

Twitter: @ScubaMettiu