Research Focus
Host – Symbiont Interactions, Symbiosis Research in Evolutionary Biology
Main Objectives
Functional and evolutionary long & short-term dynamics of mobile genetic elements and endosymbiotic bacteria such as Wolbachia in different eukaryotic host systems.
- Nuclear Symbionts (Transposons)
- Microbial Symbionts (Wolbachia)
Main Scientific Questions
- What are the impacts of symbionts on sexual host behavior and other life history traits?
- What are the epigenetic mechanisms that modulate symbiotic interactions?
- What are the impacts of Wolbachia on insect host speciation?
- Is symbiosis a common driving force in organismic evolution?
Wolbachia bacteria (RED) in the larval brain of a neotropical Drosophila host
