Research Pillars
As an African stool relies on its three legs to remain stable, our lab is anchored on three interconnected pillars to support its research goals and vision.
Pillar I
We will employ cutting-edge computational and data-driven approaches for virus discover and taxonomic classification of viruses (DNA and RNA) in seawater, those infecting coral species, as well as corallivorous fishes (fish that feed on these corals). This pillar uses a data-driven approach to explore the ecology and evolution of viruses within this ocean ecosystem.
Pillar II
We will leverage 'omic' datasets obtained from co-cultures experiments of coral-virus-microbes (bacteria) and/or dinoflagellates to generate hypotheses on the ecological and evolutionary roles of viruses within the coral holobiont. Additionally, we aim to qualitatively and quantitatively assess the role of viruses within the coral holobiont.
Pillar III
This research pillar includes tank experiments with coral, in vitro tissue culture, and gene editing using the CRISPR/Cas9 system, combined with reverse genetic approaches such as gene knockdown and/or gene knockout. The goal is to create synthetic corals that will be used in co-culture experiments to generate hypotheses and assess the impacts of viruses on metabolic and biogeochemical processes. Additionally, the research will provide input for metabolic modeling to assess the impact of anthropogenic stress on corals, their microbial consortia including viruses in the coastal ecosystem in general.
Pillar I
We will employ cutting-edge computational and data-driven approaches for virus discover and taxonomic classification of viruses (DNA and RNA) in seawater, those infecting coral species, as well as corallivorous fishes (fish that feed on these corals). This pillar uses a data-driven approach to explore the ecology and evolution of viruses within this ocean ecosystem.
Pillar II
We will leverage 'omic' datasets obtained from co-cultures experiments of coral-virus-microbes (bacteria) and/or dinoflagellates to generate hypotheses on the ecological and evolutionary roles of viruses within the coral holobiont. Additionally, we aim to qualitatively and quantitatively assess the role of viruses within the coral holobiont.
Pillar III
This research pillar includes tank experiments with coral, in vitro tissue culture, and gene editing using the CRISPR/Cas9 system, combined with reverse genetic approaches such as gene knockdown and/or gene knockout. The goal is to create synthetic corals that will be used in co-culture experiments to generate hypotheses and assess the impacts of viruses on metabolic and biogeochemical processes. Additionally, the research will provide input for metabolic modeling to assess the impact of anthropogenic stress on corals, their microbial consortia including viruses in the coastal ecosystem in general.
