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Researchers Studying Symbiotic Relationships at the Cellular Level With Small Squid

Hawaiian bobtail squid
UF/IFAS - Dr. Jamie Foster
Hawaiian bobtail squid

A team of researchers at the University of Florida is embarking on a 3 year project that will study the symbiotic relationship happening between the small Hawaiian bobtail squid, and a bioluminescent bacteria that lives inside of it, which provide the squid with a way to camouflage itself. They will be developing new tools allowing them to track what’s happening with that relationship at the cellular and even molecular level.

The project is one of 42 from around the world that are being funded by the Gordon and Betty Moore Foundation as part of its Symbiosis in Aquatic Systems Initiative. The UF team was awarded $550,000 for a three year study.

We’re joined by UF microbiology and cell science professor, Dr. Jamie Foster, the project’s principal investigator. She is working on the project with Carlos Rinaldi, Dean’s Leadership Professor and chair of the department of chemical engineering, and David P. Arnold, UF’s George Kirkland Engineering Leadership Professor in the department of electrical and computer engineering.

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