04 February, 2019
Aiptasia is the emerging model organisms for the study of cnidarian - dinoflagellate symbioses. In our latest publication by Rädecker et al. we describe a new phenotype in symbiotic Aiptasia during severe nutrient stress. During these stress conditions developing animals no longer grown any tentachles. The resulting elongated body shape lead us to term this the 'Wurst' phenotype (German for sausage). Interestingly, the process of 'Wurstification' is easily induced and reversible by altering nutrient availability. As such, the 'Wurst' may serve as new experimental framework to study nutrient cycling in Aiptasia.
https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007%2Fs13199-019-00603-9