====== RESEARCH PROJECTS ======

{{Aiptasia.jpg | Aiptasia pallida}}

{{ aiptasia_gfp.jpg | Aiptasia autofluorescence}}

===== Comparative stress biology of cnidarian symbiosis =====
 

Vassar student collaborators

  * Stephen Evans '08 (URSI 2007, Senior Thesis 2008):    Effects of copper-based antifouling paint on the Aiptasia symbiosis
  * Annika Odea '08 (Senior Thesis 2008):   Effect of thermal stress on the Aiptasia symbiosis\\
  * Lisl Esherick '08 (Senior Thesis 2008):   Expression patterns of stress-response genes under different environmental stressors\\
  * Nick Hebert '09 (Senior Thesis 2009):   Environmental and symbiotic controls of sym32 gene expression
  * Nooreen Rubin '09 (Senior Thesis 2009): Phylogeny of sym32 
  * Shirley Shangguan'10:    Genotyping assays for identification of //Symbiodinium// 

===== Aiptasia holobiont genomics =====

Vassar student collaborators

  * Biol 324 students: annotation of genes
  * Biol 244 students: identification and annotation of stress-response genes; expression patterns of selected stress response genes
  * Biol/CS 353 students: characterization of 5'UTR 


Collaborators
   * Monica Medina and Shini Sunagawa at UC Merced (http://qsb.ucmerced.edu/mmedina/)
   * Virginia Weis  at Oregon State University (http://oregonstate.edu/~weisv/)
   * John Pringle at Stanford University (http://med.stanford.edu/profiles/John_Pringle/)
   * Marc Smith, Vassar College (http://www.cs.vassar.edu/~mlsmith/)

===== Coral ecotoxicology =====
Field work at the Bermuda Institute for Ocean Sciences with collaborators:
  * Ross Jones and Alex Venn at BIOS (http://www.bios.edu/
  * Carys Mitchelmore at CBL (http://www.cbl.umces.edu/) \\ \\

|{{ pam1_small.jpg | photo by Alex Venn}}| {{ M_franksii_small.jpg | photo by Denise Yost}} \\ |
|**PAM fluorometric assessment of photosynthetic impairment** |**Coral nubbins exposed to copper in temperature-controlled chamber** |




===== Publications =====

  * Schwarz, J.A.  In press. **Understanding the intracellular niche in cnidarian-//Symbiodinium// symbioses: parasites lead the way.**  Vie et Millieu: Life and the Environment. \\
  * Ronsheim, M., Pregnall, A.M., Schwarz, J. , Schlessman, M., Susman, K. **Teaching Outside the Can: a new approach to Introductory Biology**.  Accepted pending revision. Bioscene. \\
  * Voolstra, C., Sunagawa, S.,  Schwarz, J.A., Coffroth, M.A., Yellowlees, D., Leggat, W.,  Medina, M.  2008. ** A comparison of cDNA libraries from cultured and symbiotic dinoflagellate symbionts of reef-building corals (Dinophyceae: //Symbiodinium//)**. Accepted Comparative Physiology and Biochemistry. \\
  * DeSalvo, M.,Voolstra, C., Sunagawa, S., Schwarz, JA.., Coffroth, M.A., Szmant, A., Stillman, J.H., Medina, M. 2008. **Differential gene expression during thermal stress and bleaching in the Caribbean coral //Montastraea faveolata//**. Molecular Ecology 17: 3952-3971. \\
  * Schwarz, J.A., Brokstein, P.B., Voolstra, C., Terry, A.Y., Szmant A., Coffroth, M.A., Miller, D.J., and Medina, M. 2008. **Coral Life History and Symbiosis: functional genomic resources for two reef building Caribbean corals, //Acropora palmata// and //Montastraea faveolata//**.  BMC Genomics 9:97. http://www.biomedcentral.com/1471-2164/9/97 \\
  * Schwarz, J.A., Brokstein, P., Manohar, C., Szmant, A., Coffroth, M.A., and M. Medina. 2006. **Coral Reef Genomics: Developing tools for functional genomics of coral symbiosis**. Proc 10th ICRS \\
  * Schwarz, J.A., Fouts, A.E., Cummings, C., Ferguson, D. and J.C. Boothroyd.  2005. **A novel rhoptry protein in Toxoplasma gondii bradyzoites and merozoites**.  Molecular and Biochemical Parasitology 44:159-66. {{schwarz_et_al_2005.pdf | pdf}} \\
  * Schwarz, J.A. and V.M. Weis.  2003. **Localization of a symbiosis-related protein, sym32, in the //Anthopleura elegantissima-Symbiodinium muscatinei// association**.  Biological Bulletin 205: 339-350. {{schwarz_weis_2003.pdf | pdf}}\\
  * Schwarz, J.A., V.M. Weis, and D. Potts.  2002. **Feeding behavior and acquisition of symbiotic dinoflagellates by larvae of the sea anemone //Anthopleura elegantissima//**. Marine Biology 140: 471-478. {{schwarz_et_al_2002.pdf | pdf}}\\
  * Schwarz, J.A., D.A. Krupp, and V.M. Weis.  1999.  **Late larval development and onset of symbiosis in the scleractinian coral //Fungia scutaria//**.  Biological Bulletin  196: 70-79. {{schwarz_et_al_1999.pdf | pdf}}\\
  * Reynolds, W.S., J.A. Schwarz, and V.M. Weis.  2000.  **Symbosis-enhanced gene expression in cnidarian-algal associations: cloning and characterization of a cDNA, sym 32, encoding a possible cell adhesion protein**.  Comparative and Biochemical Physiology, A:126.  33-39. \\
  * Mitchelmore, C.L., J.A. Schwarz, and V.M. Weis.  2002. **Development of symbiosis-specific genes as biomarkers for the early  detection of cnidarian-algal symbiosis breakdown**. Marine Environmental Research 54: 345-349. \\
  * Weis, V.M., Verde, E.A., Pribyl, A., and J.A. Schwarz. 2002.  **Aspects of the larval biology of the sea anemones //Anthopleura elegantissima// and //A. artemesia//**.  Invertebrate Biology 121(3):190-201. \\