Eun Sun Song

Photosymbiotic associations between animal hosts and photosynthetic algae, crucial to healthy and productive marine ecosystems, are under immediate threat in a changing climate. Our ability to restore and enhance such symbiotic relationships is limited due to the lack of molecular knowledge in this area. My project aims to construct a dual-species gene regulatory network bridging a photosymbiotic pair, the acoel, Convolutriloba longifissura, and its obligate symbiont, Tetraselmis green algae. By combining biophysical measurements, functional genomic analysis, and deep learning models for single-cell multiomic analysis, I will identify a genetic pathway through which the host modulates photosynthesis of the symbiont.