Project
Exploration, expansion and reshaping of the tree of life
Driven by the development of powerful sequencing technologies, the existing microbial diversity on our planet is currently being genomically explored in rapid pace.
About the project
The current deluge of microbial genome sequence data allows us to infer characteristics of the physiology, ecology and evolution of organisms without the need for cultivation. Using genome-resolved metagenomics approaches we reconstruct and study genomes of prokaryotic groups that remain poorly studied, including various archaeal and bacterial lineages.
Besides obtaining new insight into the biology and ecophysiology of these new lineages, we perform phylogenomic and comparative genomics analyses to study their evolutionary past. Of particular interest are major evolutionary transitions such as the symbiogenic origin of the eukaryotic cell via the cellular merger between an (Asgard) archaeal host cell and a proteobacterial symbiont.
Aim of the project
Via (phylo)genomic exploration of present-day relatives of the archaeal host cell and bacterial symbiont(s), we aim to elucidate new details about the process of eukaryogenesis.
Researchers
Publications
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Inference and reconstruction of the heimdallarchaeial ancestry of eukaryotes
Nature (2023), Volume: 618 - ISSN 0028-0836 - p. 992-999. -
Gene gain facilitated endosymbiotic evolution of Chlamydiae
Nature Microbiology (2023), Volume: 8, Issue: 1 - ISSN 2058-5276 - p. 40-54. -
Chlamydial contribution to anaerobic metabolism during eukaryotic evolution
Science Advances (2020), Volume: 6, Issue: 35 - ISSN 2375-2548 -
Deep mitochondrial origin outside the sampled alphaproteobacteria
Nature (2018), Volume: 557, Issue: 7703 - ISSN 0028-0836 - p. 101-105. -
Asgard archaea illuminate the origin of eukaryotic cellular complexity
Nature (2017), Volume: 541, Issue: 7637 - ISSN 0028-0836 - p. 353-358. -
Complex archaea that bridge the gap between prokaryotes and eukaryotes
Nature (2015), Volume: 521, Issue: 7551 - ISSN 0028-0836 - p. 173-179.