Patterning symbionts in cnidarian polyps

Corals internalise photosynthetically active algal symbionts into their cells to form a symbiosis that harnesses energy from the sun and underpins reef ecosystems. The host epithelium in which symbionts are housed lines a fluid-filled gastric cavity and extends the full aboral-oral body axis of cnidarian polyps, with photosynthetically available light varying along this axis. How the host integrates symbionts into its body plan is not well understood.

We tackle this question in our latest preprint: Symbiont spatial organisation is dynamically regulated within cnidarian host tissues - now out on biorxiv! https://doi.org/10.64898/2026.08.28.743919