Biology and Evolution of Symbiosis (BESymb)
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 fund “[…] completely new, high-risk, or particularly original research ideas that go beyond our current scientific understanding. The focus is on seed funding for forward-looking topics that have high transformative potential for science and research.”
In this project, we will study symbiont transmission in the European turtle leech Placobdella costata and related leeches. Using what we learn about this unknown process, we will undertake our ultimate goal of triggering a symbiont replacement event in this species. If accomplished, this project will result in the development of a highly promising model system for the study of the triggering of an obligate symbiotic lifestyle in bacteria.