Aki H. Ohdera, Professor Ph.D., Penn. State University Fluid Dynamics, Regeneration, Comparative Genomics, Symbiosis Driven Development Email: aohdera@arizona.edu  Office:  Phone:  (631) 632-8600 Lab Website: Aki Ohdera

Research Summary:

I am interested in how ecological and evolutionary forces drive network integration of
multiple biological units to establish a single functional organism. Nearly all animals are
host to a collection of microbes (bacteria, fungi, etc.), and as a result exist as a singular
unit termed the holobiont. Animal evolution took place within this microbial context, and
thus, microbes have become integrated into many aspects of animal life history,
including. I integrate molecular and computational approaches to study how microbes
become integrated into animal processes, such as development and metabolism. In
particular, I am interested in understanding how microbes become integrated as
regulators of metamorphosis and regeneration.

Developmental symbiosis
The long-held assumption of animal development is that its regulation is solely rooted in
the animal’s genome, which defines developmental timing and phenotype. Although the
environment is now accepted as a key factor in dictating developmental phenotypes,
our understanding of the regulatory role of microbes in animal development is only
becoming appreciated. Our understanding of how developmental networks evolve within
a symbiosis context is limited. My lab will investigate how the evolution of symbiosis
leads to modifications of genomic architecture (e.g. regulatory elements, transcription
factors), thereby leading to the integration of the symbiont as a regulator of animal
development (e.g. metamorphosis, regeneration). Using the emerging jellyfish model
system Cassiopea and Aurelia, we will utilize computational and molecular approaches
under a comparative framework to identify changes to the genome, and to determine
how developmental regulatory networks are modified.

Molecular biology of cnidarian-algal symbiosis
Symbiosis with the photosynthetic dinoflagellate family Symbiodiniaceae has evolved
multiple times in the phylum Cnidaria. This symbiosis holds particular ecological
importance as it is foundational to coral reefs. While we have gained significant
understanding of this association over the last decades, there is much that we don’t
know in regard to the molecular mechanisms regulating the establishment and
maintenance of the symbiosis. Using the emerging jellyfish model system Cassiopea,
which was established for researchers to gain deeper insights into cnidarian-algal
symbiosis, we will disentangle the genetic pathways that underlie the establishment and
maintenance of symbiosis. By taking both a computational (gene expression analysis,
metabolic modeling) and molecular (gene knockdown, pharmacological assays)
approach, we will derive a mechanistic understanding of how the symbiont is integrated
into the host cellular context.