Todd LaJeunesse

IEE Faculty Member
Titles and Affiliations
Professor, Biology

Research Summary

Focuses on the evolutionary ecology of mutualistic symbioses, mainly coral-dinoflagellate associations. Examines ecological, biogeographic, and phylogenetic patterns in order to deduce fundamental ecological and evolutionary processes involving microbial eukaryotes. Part of this research seeks to understand how coral communities globally are responding to climate warming.

In the News

Research Keywords

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Recent Publications

Formal recognition of host-generalist species of dinoflagellate (Cladocopium, Symbiodiniaceae) mutualistic with Indo-Pacific reef corals

Butler, C. C., Turnham, K. E., Lewis, A. M., Nitschke, M. R., Warner, M. E., Kemp, D. W., Hoegh-Guldberg, O., Fitt, W. K., van Oppen, M. J. H. & LaJeunesse, T. C., Aug 2023, In: Journal of Phycology. 59, 4, p. 698-711 14 p.

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

Building consensus around the assessment and interpretation of Symbiodiniaceae diversity

Davies, S. W., Gamache, M. H., Howe-Kerr, L. I., Kriefall, N. G., Baker, A. C., Banaszak, A. T., Bay, L. K., Bellantuono, A. J., Bhattacharya, D., Chan, C. X., Claar, D. C., Coffroth, M. A., Cunning, R., Davy, S. K., del Campo, J., Díaz-Almeyda, E. M., Frommlet, J. C., Fuess, L. E., González-Pech, R. A., Goulet, T. L., & 41 othersHoadley, K. D., Howells, E. J., Hume, B. C. C., Kemp, D. W., Kenkel, C. D., Kitchen, S. A., LaJeunesse, T. C., Lin, S., McIlroy, S. E., McMinds, R., Nitschke, M. R., Oakley, C. A., Peixoto, R. S., Prada, C., Putnam, H. M., Quigley, K., Reich, H. G., Reimer, J. D., Rodriguez-Lanetty, M., Rosales, S. M., Saad, O. S., Sampayo, E. M., Santos, S. R., Shoguchi, E., Smith, E. G., Stat, M., Stephens, T. G., Strader, M. E., Suggett, D. J., Swain, T. D., Tran, C., Traylor-Knowles, N., Voolstra, C. R., Warner, M. E., Weis, V. M., Wright, R. M., Xiang, T., Yamashita, H., Ziegler, M., Correa, A. M. S. & Parkinson, J. E., May 2 2023, In: PeerJ. 11, e15023.

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

Similarities in biomass and energy reserves among coral colonies from contrasting reef environments

Keister, E. F., Gantt, S. E., Reich, H. G., Turnham, K. E., Bateman, T. G., LaJeunesse, T. C., Warner, M. E. & Kemp, D. W., Dec 2023, In: Scientific reports. 13, 1, 1355.

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

Thermotolerant coral-algal mutualisms maintain high rates of nutrient transfer while exposed to heat stress

Kemp, D. W., Hoadley, K. D., Lewis, A. M., Wham, D. C., Smith, R. T., Warner, M. E. & Lajeunesse, T. C., Sep 20 2023, In: Proceedings of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences. 290, 2007, 20231403.

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

Acclimatization of a coral-dinoflagellate mutualism at a CO2 vent

Prada, F., Franzellitti, S., Caroselli, E., Cohen, I., Marini, M., Campanelli, A., Sana, L., Mancuso, A., Marchini, C., Puglisi, A., Candela, M., Mass, T., Tassi, F., LaJeunesse, T. C., Dubinsky, Z., Falini, G. & Goffredo, S., Dec 2023, In: Communications Biology. 6, 1, 66.

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

High physiological function for corals with thermally tolerant, host-adapted symbionts

Turnham, K. E., Aschaffenburg, M. D., Pettay, D. T., Paz-García, D. A., Reyes-Bonilla, H., Pinzón, J., Timmins, E., Smith, R. T., McGinley, M. P., Warner, M. E. & Lajeunesse, T. C., Jul 26 2023, In: Proceedings of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences. 290, 2003, 20231021.

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

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

LaJeunesse, T. C., Casado-Amezúa, P., Hume, B. C. C., Butler, C. C., Mordret, S., Piredda, R., De Luca, P., Pannone, R., Sarno, D., Wiedenmann, J. & D’Ambra, I., Dec 2022, In: Symbiosis. 88, 1-3, p. 1-10 10 p.

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

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

LaJeunesse, T. C., Wiedenmann, J., Casado-Amezúa, P., D’Ambra, I., Turnham, K. E., Nitschke, M. R., Oakley, C. A., Goffredo, S., Spano, C. A., Cubillos, V. M., Davy, S. K. & Suggett, D. J., 2022, In: European Journal of Phycology. 57, 2, p. 166-180 15 p.

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

Bioprinted Living Coral Microenvironments Mimicking Coral-Algal Symbiosis

Wangpraseurt, D., Sun, Y., You, S., Chua, S. T., Noel, S. K., Willard, H. F., Berry, D. B., Clifford, A. M., Plummer, S., Xiang, Y., Hwang, H. H., Kaandorp, J., Diaz, J. M., La Jeunesse, T. C., Pernice, M., Vignolini, S., Tresguerres, M. & Chen, S., Aug 25 2022, In: Advanced Functional Materials. 32, 35, 2202273.

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

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

Hoadley, K. D., Pettay, D. T., Lewis, A., Wham, D., Grasso, C., Smith, R., Kemp, D. W., LaJeunesse, T. & Warner, M. E., Oct 2021, In: Global Change Biology. 27, 20, p. 5295-5309 15 p.

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

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

LaJeunesse, T. C., Banaszak, A. T., Fisher, C. R., Shick, J. M., Warner, M. E., Porter, J. W., Kuris, A. M., Iglesias-Prieto, R. & Fitt, W. K., Dec 2021, In: Symbiosis. 85, 3, p. 393-400 8 p.

Research output: Contribution to journalEditorialpeer-review

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

Pochon, X. & LaJeunesse, T. C., Jul 1 2021, In: Journal of Eukaryotic Microbiology. 68, 4, e12856.

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

Iron Availability Modulates the Response of Endosymbiotic Dinoflagellates to Heat Stress

Reich, H. G., Tu, W. C., Rodriguez, I. B., Chou, Y., Keister, E. F., Kemp, D. W., LaJeunesse, T. C. & Ho, T. Y., Feb 2021, In: Journal of Phycology. 57, 1, p. 3-13 11 p.

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

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

Turnham, K. E., Wham, D. C., Sampayo, E. & LaJeunesse, T. C., Nov 2021, In: ISME Journal. 15, 11, p. 3271-3285 15 p.

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

Zooxanthellae

LaJeunesse, T. C., Oct 5 2020, In: Current Biology. 30, 19, p. R1110-R1113

Research output: Contribution to journalComment/debatepeer-review