S4 Speaker Series (Sunday, July 3rd, 2pm @ Forbes Hall)
Saturday, August 2, 2025 at 8:51AM “Marine Endosymbioses: The Coolest Russian Nesting Dolls”
an exciting talk about the invisible and intriguing world of marine microbiology with Dr. Nicole Coots.
We will be exploring the evolution of plastids, and the endosymbiotic relationship that evolved from microbial organisms engulfing these photosynthetic organisms. This relationship has been around for billions of years and, in the present-day, takes many different forms in many different groups of microbial life. Dr. Coots will share her favourite examples of this crazy interaction and how it takes place in modern ocean environments. Get hands-on! Live protists will be available under microscopes so you can witness these ancient relationships in action.
About the Speaker:
Dr. Nicole Coots is a current post-doctoral researcher and marine microbial ecologist at the University of British Columbia. She obtained her PhD in Evolutionary Biology at Arizona State University in Phoenix, Arizona. Her research focuses on the evolution of plastids, specifically, a marine microbe called Radiolaria. These organisms perform endosymbiosis with diverse algae present in the open ocean. Though these relationships remain enigmatic to scientists, their study could reveal important implications in the world of marine ecology and biogeochemistry.