Biology and Evolution of Symbiosis (BESymb)-
New work out! New protist genomes, codon usage, and giant viruses!
In collaboration with Anouk Willemsen (Uniersity of Vienna), we sequenced high-quality genomes of protists known as hosts of giant viruses (GVs). Matching of codon usage preferences...
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Project funded! “SymBirth: Development of an artificial symbiont’s birth” (FWF 1000 ideas)
Very happy the first group project SymBirth: Development of an artificial symbiont’s birth has been funded by the FWF’s 1000 ideas program. This program aims to...
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New work out! Discordance between phylogenomic datasets in aphids: who is telling the truth?
After many years in the making (and an eternal cycle of adding new data….) our work on the discordance among phylogenomic datasets in is out! Relationships...
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New work out! Serendipitous discovery of a novel leech-associated nutritional symbiont
Pluralibacter now joins the (very) selected group of genera from which obligate nutritional symbionts of leeches have evolved from. As the previously known Providencia, this novel...
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Another great year of the International FISH course at DOME
Another year of the International FISH course, where participants bring challenging samples and we help them design and apply the best strategy possible to analyse and...
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Back from the FEMS 2023 meeting in Hamburg
Back from a great FEMS 2023 edition. This year, a symbiosis session was organised by Martin Kaltenpoth (MPI – Jena). There was a great line-up of...
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Back from the GRS/GRC Animal-Microbe Symbioses 2023 edition!
Another year of the GRS/GRC animal-microbe symbioses meeting! As always great science all-around. As chair of the GRS meeting, got to read great abstracts, visit posters...
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New work out! Evolution of alternative genetic codes in leech endosymbionts
Obligate vertically-transmitted endosymbionts are weird… Given their particular lifestyle and mode of inheritance, they have evolved all sorts of particular genomic features (small to tiny genomes,...
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New work out! Aphids, aphids, and more aphids!
After many years of work, our paper on co-obligate symbioses across aphids is finally out! Aphids are a large family of hemipterans with around 5,200 species...
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New work out! face mites!
Demodex folliculorum mites, members of the arachnid class, inhabit the skin of (almost) all humans and other mammals. They spend their whole lives as living as...
