Todd Lajeunesse

Professor of Biology

Todd Lajeunesse

Research Summary

Microbial Ecology and Evolution

Huck Graduate Students

Huck Affiliations

Links

Publication Tags

Coral Reefs Ecology Corals Coral Anthozoa Symbionts Symbiodinium Symbiont Symbiosis Reefs Dinoflagellida Ribosomal Dna Miozoa Coral Reef Sampling Reef Dinoflagellate Scleractinia Ecosystem Endosymbionts Genetic Markers Genome Symbiodiniaceae History Animals

Most Recent Publications

Mutualistic dinoflagellates with big disparities in ribosomal DNA variation may confound estimates of symbiont diversity and ecology in the jellyfish Cotylorhiza tuberculata

Todd C. LaJeunesse, Pilar Casado-Amezúa, Benjamin C.C. Hume, Caleb C. Butler, Solenn Mordret, Roberta Piredda, Pasquale De Luca, Raimondo Pannone, Diana Sarno, Joerg Wiedenmann, Isabella D’Ambra, 2022, Symbiosis on p. 1-10

Robert Kent Trench (1940–2021): a life devoted to symbiotic mutualisms and seeking nature’s truth.

Todd Lajeunesse, 2022, Symbiosis on p. 393–400

Revival of Philozoon Geddes for host-specialized dinoflagellates, ‘zooxanthellae’, in animals from coastal temperate zones of northern and southern hemispheres

Todd C. LaJeunesse, Joerg Wiedenmann, Pilar Casado-Amezúa, Isabella D’Ambra, Kira E. Turnham, Matthew R. Nitschke, Clinton A. Oakley, Stefano Goffredo, Carlos A. Spano, Victor M. Cubillos, Simon K. Davy, David J. Suggett, 2022, British Phycological Journal on p. 166-180

Robert Kent Trench (1940–2021): a life devoted to symbiotic mutualisms and seeking nature’s truth

Todd C. LaJeunesse, Anastazia T. Banaszak, Charles R. Fisher, J. Malcolm Shick, Mark E. Warner, James W. Porter, Armand M. Kuris, Roberto Iglesias-Prieto, William K. Fitt, 2021, Symbiosis on p. 393-400

Mutualistic microalgae co-diversify with reef corals that acquire symbionts during egg development

Kira E. Turnham, Drew C. Wham, Eugenia Sampayo, Todd C. LaJeunesse, 2021, ISME Journal on p. 3271-3285

Different functional traits among closely related algal symbionts dictate stress endurance for vital Indo-Pacific reef-building corals

Kenneth D. Hoadley, Daniel T. Pettay, Allison Lewis, Drew Wham, Chris Grasso, Robin Smith, Dustin W. Kemp, Todd LaJeunesse, Mark E. Warner, 2021, Global Change Biology on p. 5295-5309

Solar Symbionts: Casting new light on the ancient partnership of reef-building corals and the micro-algae known as zooxanthellae, family Symbiodiniaceae

John Parkinson, Todd Lajeunesse, 2021,

Stress endurance among critical Indo-Pacific reef building corals is influenced by the unique physiology of their recently evolved photobionts.

Kenneth Hoadley, Todd Lajeunesse, 2021, Global Change Biology on p. 5295–5309

Miliolidium n. gen, a New Symbiodiniacean Genus Whose Members Associate with Soritid Foraminifera or Are Free-Living

Xavier Pochon, Todd C. LaJeunesse, 2021, Journal of Protozoology

Philozoon: a new dinoflagellate genus of host–specialized endosymbionts found in Cnidaria from coastal temperate zones in northern and southern hemispheres.

Todd LaJeunesse, 2021, European Journal of Phycology

Most-Cited Papers

Systematic Revision of Symbiodiniaceae Highlights the Antiquity and Diversity of Coral Endosymbionts

Todd C. LaJeunesse, John Everett Parkinson, Paul W. Gabrielson, Hae Jin Jeong, James Davis Reimer, Christian R. Voolstra, Scott R. Santos, 2018, Current Biology on p. 2570-2580.e6

Genomes of coral dinoflagellate symbionts highlight evolutionary adaptations conducive to a symbiotic lifestyle

M. Aranda, Y. Li, Y. J. Liew, S. Baumgarten, O. Simakov, M. C. Wilson, J. Piel, H. Ashoor, S. Bougouffa, V. B. Bajic, T. Ryu, T. Ravasi, T. Bayer, G. Micklem, H. Kim, J. Bhak, T. C. LaJeunesse, C. R. Voolstra, 2016, Scientific Reports

Assessing Symbiodinium diversity in scleractinian corals via next-generation sequencing-based genotyping of the ITS2 rDNA region

Chatchanit Arif, Camille Daniels, Till Bayer, Eulalia Banguera-Hinestroza, Adrian Barbrook, Christopher J. Howe, Todd C. Lajeunesse, Christian R. Voolstra, 2014, Molecular Ecology on p. 4418-4433

Host-specialist lineages dominate the adaptive radiation of reef coral endosymbionts

Daniel J. Thornhill, Allison M. Lewis, Drew C. Wham, Todd C. Lajeunesse, 2014, Evolution; international journal of organic evolution on p. 352-367

Ecologically differentiated stress-tolerant endosymbionts in the dinoflagellate genus Symbiodinium (Dinophyceae) Clade D are different species

Todd C. Lajeunesse, Drew C. Wham, D. Tye Pettay, John Everett Parkinson, Shashank Keshavmurthy, Chaolun Allen Chen, 2014, Phycologia on p. 305-319

Microbial invasion of the Caribbean by an Indo-Pacific coral zooxanthella

D. Tye Pettaya, Drew C. Whama, Robin T. Smith, Roberto Iglesias-Prietoc, Todd C. LaJeunessea, 2015, Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America on p. 7513-7518

SymPortal: A novel analytical framework and platform for coral algal symbiont next-generation sequencing ITS2 profiling

Benjamin C.C. Hume, Edward G. Smith, Maren Ziegler, Hugh J.M. Warrington, John A. Burt, Todd C. LaJeunesse, Joerg Wiedenmann, Christian R. Voolstra, 2019, Molecular Ecology Notes on p. 1063-1080

Blind to morphology: Genetics identifies several widespread ecologically common species and few endemics among Indo-Pacific cauliflower corals (Pocillopora, Scleractinia)

Jorge H. Pinzón, Eugenia Sampayo, Evelyn Cox, Leonard J. Chauka, Chaolun Allen Chen, Christian R. Voolstra, Todd C. Lajeunesse, 2013, Journal of Biogeography on p. 1595-1608

Considerations for maximizing the adaptive potential of restored coral populations in the western Atlantic

Iliana B. Baums, Andrew C. Baker, Sarah W. Davies, Andréa G. Grottoli, Carly D. Kenkel, Sheila A. Kitchen, Ilsa B. Kuffner, Todd C. LaJeunesse, Mikhail V. Matz, Margaret W. Miller, John E. Parkinson, Andrew A. Shantz, 2019, Ecological Applications

Biogeography and molecular diversity of coral symbionts in the genus Symbiodinium around the Arabian Peninsula

Maren Ziegler, Chatchanit Arif, John A. Burt, Sergey Dobretsov, Cornelia Roder, Todd C. LaJeunesse, Christian R. Voolstra, 2017, Journal of Biogeography on p. 674-686

News Articles Featuring Todd Lajeunesse

Nov 08, 2022

Professor of biology awarded Maskalick Biodiversity Seed Grant

Todd LaJeunesse, professor of biology at Penn State, was recently awarded the David G. Maskalick and Kathleen A. Maskalick Biodiversity Healthcare Seed Grant by the Eberly College of Science Office for Innovation.

Full Article

Jul 01, 2021

Scientists resurrect 'forgotten' genus of algae living in marine animals

In the late 1800s, scientists were stumped by the “yellow cells” they were observing within the tissues of certain temperate marine animals, including sea anemones, corals, and jellyfish. Were these cells part of the animal or separate organisms? If separate, were they parasites, or did they confer a benefit to the host?

Full Article

May 24, 2021

Widespread coral-algae symbioses endured historical climate changes

One of the most important and widespread reef-building corals, known as cauliflower coral, exhibits strong partnerships with certain species of symbiotic algae, and these relationships have persisted through periods of intense climate fluctuations over the last 1.5 million years, according to a new study led by researchers at Penn State.

Full Article

Sep 30, 2020

Coral’s resilience to warming may depend on iron

How well corals respond to climate change could depend in part on the already scarce amount of iron available in their environment, according to a new study led by Penn State researchers.

Full Article

Apr 22, 2020

Iron deficiency in corals?

When iron is limited, the tiny algae that live within coral cells — which can provide the majority of a coral’s nutritional needs — change how they take in other trace metals, which could have cascading effects on vital biological functions.

Full Article

Aug 20, 2019

Biology graduate student receives three awards for outstanding presentation

Penn State biology graduate student Hannah Reich has been honored with three awards for a presentation she gave at three scientific conferences during summer 2019.

Full Article

Jul 23, 2019

How to restore a coral reef

New guidelines drafted by a consortium of concerned experts could enable corals to adapt to changing environments and help restore declining coral populations in the Caribbean.

Full Article

Jun 30, 2019

Bleached Corals Compensate For Stress By Eating More Plankton

In healthy corals, symbiotic algae housed within the coral photosynthesize during the day while the coral itself feeds on zooplankton, tiny shrimp and bug-like organisms, during the night.

Full Article

Aug 13, 2018

Algae and Coral Have Been BFFs Since the Dinosaur Age

A new study shows that the relationship between coral polyps and zooxanthellae that produces colorful coral reefs began 160 million years ago.

Full Article

Aug 10, 2018

Coral reefs 'weathered dinosaur extinction'

Corals may have teamed up with the microscopic algae which live inside them as much as 160 million years ago, according to new research.

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