Negotiations between animals and bacteria: the 'diplomacy' of the squid-vibrio symbiosis

A shared characteristic among animals is their propensity to form stable, beneficial relationships with prokaryotes. Usually these associations occur in the form of consortia, i.e. a diverse assemblage of bacteria interacting with a single animal host. These complex communities, while common, have been difficult to characterize. The two-partner symbiosis between the squid Euprymna scolopes and the marine luminous bacterium Vibrio fischeri offers the opportunity to study the interaction between animal and bacterial cells, because both partners can be cultured in the laboratory and the symbiosis can be manipulated experimentally. This system is being used to characterize the mechanisms by which animals establish, develop and maintain stable alliances with bacteria. This review summarizes the progress to date on the development of this model.