Microbes represent the vast majority of eukaryotic diversity, yet we have barely scratched the surface of this extraordinary reservoir of genetic information. Without such information, it is currently impossible to comprehensively understand important evolutionary transitions of the eukaryotic cell. In my group, we are looking at the fascinating diversity of protists to understand major events in the evolution of eukaryotes, such as the origin and spread of plastids, transition to parasitism, or the reductive evolution of mitochondria.
Current projects include:
Current projects include:
- Reconstructing the eukaryotic tree of life using phylogenomics, with particular focus on plastid evolution from a host perspective.
- Phylogeny-driven eco-evolution of microbial eukaryotes using PacBio long-read sequencing of environmental amplicons.
- Diversity and evolution of protozoan parasites of aquatic invertebrates.
- Characterisation of a novel photosymbiosis in the marine protist Meringosphaera.
We warmly thank the following institutions for financial support:
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