Raina Lab

Research focus

ERC Consolidator Grant · 2024

Characterising the role of microbial behaviour and nutrient exchanges in coral symbioses

Coral reefs are the most diverse marine ecosystems, but are currently threatened by anthropogenic stressors that disrupt the relationship between the coral host and its microbial symbionts (i.e., endosymbiotic microalgae and bacteria). While these symbionts are fundamental to coral health, corals do not generally transmit them to their offspring, who have to acquire them from the environment. Despite the critical roles of microbial symbionts for coral health, we still do not know how they find and colonise their coral hosts, which key compounds are exchanged between the various partners once in symbiosis, and to what extent bacterial symbionts contribute to coral growth. My previous…

From the public funding record at EU CORDIS. Describes the funded project, not the reviews below.