A5008580900- Aquatic life and conservation
- Aquaculture disease management and microbiota
- Vibrio bacteria research studies
- Microbial Community Ecology and Physiology
- Animal Behavior and Reproduction
- Evolution and Genetic Dynamics
- Invertebrate Immune Response Mechanisms
- Bacteriophages and microbial interactions
- Parasite Biology and Host Interactions
- Antimicrobial Peptides and Activities
- Aquaculture Nutrition and Growth
- Reproductive System and Pregnancy
- Genomics and Phylogenetic Studies
- Insect symbiosis and bacterial influences
- Neuroendocrine regulation and behavior
- Fish Biology and Ecology Studies
- Genetic diversity and population structure
- Animal Genetics and Reproduction
- Insect Utilization and Effects
- Identification and Quantification in Food
- Microplastics and Plastic Pollution
- Neurobiology and Insect Physiology Research
- Genetic and Clinical Aspects of Sex Determination and Chromosomal Abnormalities
- Marine and fisheries research
- Ichthyology and Marine Biology
Kiel University
2020-2025
GEOMAR Helmholtz Centre for Ocean Research Kiel
2016-2025
Zoological Institute
2023
ETH Zurich
2008-2020
University of Göttingen
2020
Board of the Swiss Federal Institutes of Technology
2020
Western New England University
2020
University of Münster
2008-2014
Swiss Integrative Center for Human Health
2014
Institute for Biodiversity
2014
As invertebrates lack the molecular machinery employed by vertebrate adaptive immune system, it was thought that they consequently ability to produce lasting and specific immunity. However, in recent years, has been demonstrated defence of is far more complicated than previously envisioned. Lasting immunity following an initial exposure proves protection on a secondary shown several species invertebrates. This phenomenon become known as priming. In cases where explicitly tested, this priming...
1. Parasitized females in mammals, fish and birds can enhance the immune defence of their offspring by transferring specific antibodies for embryo. Likewise, social insect mothers transfer immunity despite fact that invertebrates lack antibodies. 2. Female trans-generational priming is consistent with parental investment theory, because invest more into rearing than fathers. However, when not directly linked to care, as often case insects abandon eggs after oviposition, both sexes might...
A fundamental problem for the evolution of pregnancy, most specialized form parental investment among vertebrates, is rejection nonself-embryo. Mammals achieve immunological tolerance by down-regulating both major histocompatibility complex pathways (MHC I and II). Although pregnancy has evolved multiple times independently knowledge associated immune system adjustments restricted to mammals. All them (except monotremata) display full internal making evolutionary reconstructions within class...
Virus discovery by genomics and metagenomics empowered studies of viromes, facilitated characterization pathogen epidemiology, redefined our understanding the natural genetic diversity viruses with profound functional structural implications. Here we employed a data-driven virus approach that directly queries unprocessed sequencing data in highly parallelized way involves targeted viral genome assembly strategy wide range sequence similarity. By screening more than 269,000 datasets numerous...
Early life microbial colonizers shape and support the immature vertebrate immune system. Microbial colonization relies on vertical route via parental provisioning horizontal environmental contribution. Vertical transmission is mostly a maternal trait making it hard to determine source of in order gain insight into establishment community during crucial development stages. The evolution unique male pregnancy pipefishes seahorses enables disentanglement both transmission, but also facilitates...
The major histocompatibility complex (MHC)-mediated adaptive immune system is the hallmark of gnathostome defence. Recent work suggests that cod-like fishes (Gadidae) lack important components MHC class II mediated immunity. Here, we report a putative independent loss functionality this pathway in another species, pipefish Syngnathus typhle, belongs to distantly related fish family (Syngnathidae). In deep transcriptome sequencing approach comprising several normalized and non-normalized...
Abstract While originally acquired from the environment, a fraction of microbiota is transferred parents to offspring. The immune system shapes microbial colonization, while commensal microbes may boost host defences. Parental transfer in viviparous animals remains ambiguous, as two routes (transovarial vs . pregnancy) are intermingled within maternal body. Pipefishes and seahorses (syngnathids) ideally suited disentangle transovarial contribution during pregnancy due their egg production...
In vertebrates, maternal transfer of immunity via the eggs or placenta provides offspring with crucial information on prevailing pathogens and parasites. Males contribute little to such transgenerational immune priming, either because they do not share environment parasite pressure sperm are too small for immunity. teleost group Syngnathids (pipefish, seahorses, sea dragons), males brood female in a placenta-like structure. Such sex-role-reversed species provide unique opportunity test...
Abstract In diverse animal species, from insects to mammals, females display a more efficient immune defence than males. Bateman’s principle posits that males maximize their fitness by increasing mating frequency whereas gain benefits maximizing lifespan. As longer lifespan requires system, these implications of may explain widespread dimorphism among animals. Because in most extant animals, the provisioning eggs and higher parental investment are attributes female sex, sex‐role reversed...
Phenotypic changes in response to environmental influences can persist from one generation into the next. In many systems parental parasite experience offspring immune responses, known as transgenerational priming (TGIP). TGIP vertebrates is mainly maternal and short-term, supporting adaptive system of during its maturation. However, if fathers have a close physical connection, evolution additional paternal be adaptive. Biparental may result maximized immunological protection. Here, we...
The transfer of immunity from parents to offspring (trans-generational immune priming (TGIP)) boosts defence and parasite resistance. TGIP is usually a maternal trait. However, if fathers have physical connection their offspring, are born in the paternal parasitic environment, evolution can become adaptive. In Syngnathus typhle, sex-role reversed pipefish with male pregnancy, both invest into defence. To connect parental investment, we need know how share task TGIP, whether asymmetrically...
Abstract Gene flow shapes spatial genetic structure and the potential for local adaptation. Among marine animals with nonmigratory adults, presence or absence of a pelagic larval stage is thought to be key determinant in shaping gene populations. In addition, distribution suitable habitats expected influence biological populations their connectivity patterns. We used whole genome sequencing study demographic history reduced representation (double‐digest restriction associated DNA) data...
Microparasites have a higher evolutionary potential than their hosts due to an increased mutation rate and shorter generation time that usually results in parasites being locally adapted sympatric hosts. This pattern may not apply generalist pathogens as adaptation host genotypes is disadvantageous narrowing of the range, particular under strong gene flow among populations. Under this scenario, we predict immune defense reveals common pathogen phylotypes. was tested four populations pipefish...
Abstract The red flour beetle, T ribolium castaneum , secretes quinones that control the microbial flora in surrounding environment. These secretions act as an external immune defence provides protection against pathogens. At high concentrations, however, these are harmful to host itself, and selection may thus have optimized level of expression under natural conditions. Here, we show immunity responded during experimental evolution within a few generations. same time, one component internal...
Teleost adaptive immune systems have evolved with more flexibility than previously assumed. A particularly enigmatic system to address modifications in the evolutionary past is represented by Syngnathids, family of pipefishes, seahorses and seadragons. These small fishes their unique male pregnancy lost spleen as an important organ well a functional major histocompatibility class II (MHC II) pathway. How these changes impacted cell population dynamics up this point remained unexplored. Here,...
In the highly derived syngnathid fishes (pipefishes, seadragons & seahorses), evolution of sex-role reversed brooding behavior culminated in seahorse lineage's male pregnancy, whose males feature a specialized brood pouch into which females deposit eggs during mating. Then, are intimately engulfed by placenta-like tissue that facilitates gas and nutrient exchange. As fathers immunologically tolerate allogenic embryos, it was suggested pregnancy co-evolved with specific immunological...
Sexual dimorphism, the divergence in morphological traits between males and females of same species, is often accompanied by sex-biased gene expression. However, majority research has focused on species with conventional sex roles, where have highest energy burden both egg production parental care, neglecting diversity reproductive roles found nature. We investigated expression
ABSTRACT Caloric restriction (CR) studies have traditionally focused on species with conventional reproductive roles, emphasising female's greater investment in costly gametes and parental care. While the divergent impact of CR males females is evident across species, factors driving this variation, that is, resource allocation to elements as part distinct life history strategies, remain unclear. To address this, we investigated effects development, gene expression intestinal microbiota...
Evolutionary shifts in bacterial virulence are often associated with a third biological player, for instance temperate phages, that can act as hyperparasites. By integrating prophages into the genome they contribute accessory genes, which enhance fitness of their prokaryotic carrier (lysogenic conversion). Hyperparasitic influence tripartite biotic interactions has so far been largely neglected empirical host-parasite studies due to inherent complexity. Here we experimentally address whether...