ISOP (International Society of Protistology) joined the Protistology Section of the Czech Society of Parasitology to commemorate the 65^th anniversary of the first International Congress of Protozoology, in Prague. The conference was hosted by the International Grand Hotel of Prague from April 19^th to April 23^rd, 2026.

Photosymbiosis team participated to this worldwide gathering around protistology, having fascinating discussions about the latest scientific discoveries in the field with the scientific community.

Johan, Liz and Gaëlle gave talks about their ongoing work:

• • Johan DECELLE – “From Symbiont to Organelle Donor: The hidden life of the microalga Phaeocystis in the Ocean”
  • Elizabeth COONEY – “Exploring dinoflagellate-cyanobacterial partnerships to understand how the path to organellogenesis begins”
  • Gaëlle TOULLEC – “Shedding light on photosymbiosis using 3D electron microscopy

Laia and Ananya had also the opportunity to share their latest results during the posters sessions:

• • Laia BURGUES PALAU – “Metamorphosis Toward Gigantism: Charting the Phenotypic Landscape of Symbiotic Microalga in a Planktonic Host”
  • Ananya Kedige RAO – “Hijacking Photosynthesis: Long-Term Retention and Integration of Stolen Organelles in a Planktonic Host”

The event was also the occasion to present PlanktoQuest to a wider audience of experimented ocean explorers. The user’s community is getting wider!

A warm welcome to the organizers and funders (ERC SymbiOCEAN and the Moore Foundation) that made this participation to the event possible.