Download New sequencing technologies enable biologists to obtain complete

Open projects for BSc & MSc
Next Generation Sequencing
New sequencing technologies enable biologists to obtain complete genome and
New sequencing technologies enable biologists to obtain complete
transcriptome data of non-model organisms.
genome
and
transcriptome
data
of
non-model
organisms.
A complete genome even of tiny organisms like oribatid mites consist of an
A complete genome,enormous
even of tiny
organisms
like
oribatid
mites,
amount of data.
consistamount
of an enormous
amount of
data. biologists to
This unprecedented
of genetic information
enables
This unprecedented
quantity and
of genetic
information
investigate
a variety of evolutionary
ecological
questionsenables
with a single
dataset.
biologists to investigate a variety
of evolutionary and ecological
questions with a single dataset.
We are interested in the genetic patterns
of long-term asexual reproduction.
Oribatid mites, our (non-) model organisms, are small soil-living arthropods.
Many oribatid mite species consist of all female populations indicating that
females produce daughters from unfertilized eggs (also known as thelytoky).
The long-term existence of genetic lineages without recombination of female
and male genomes is theoretically not possible due to the accumulation of
mutations and limited adaptability to changing environmental conditions. Only few
animals (oribatid mites and bdelloid rotifers) managed to persist as so called
evolutionary scandals.
We compare complete genome and transcriptome data of sexual and
parthenogenetic oribatid mite species to identify consequences of long-term
asexual reproduction and to understand how oribatid mites managed to sustain
as evolutionary scandals.
Analytical methods include Comparative Genomics,
Phylogenomics and Population Genomics.
For more information on running and upcomming projects, contact:
Ina Schaefer ([email protected])
Jens Bast ([email protected])
Mark Maraun ([email protected])
also check:
http://www.uni-goettingen.de/en/107728.html
Open projects for BSc & MSc
Next Generation Sequencing
Population Genomics with springtails (Collembola) near
Göttingen
Some species of Collembola are ubiquitous in a diversity of habitats but it is not
clear, if these species are generalists or if they form a cryptic species complex
that specialized along an ecological gradient.
With RAD-Seq data we are investigating, if gene flow exists between populations
or if populations differ genetically between habitats.
In this study, three
populations of one
springtail species will be
sampled from three
different habitats
Forest
Agriculatural Field
Grassland
Genetic diversity within and between populations
will be compared and
combined with
environmental parameters from the different
habitats including feeding preferences (fatty acid
analyses) of populations.
The combination of fine-scale population structure and ecological traits
allows to investigate ecological speciation of soil-living arthropods.
For more information contact:
Ina Schaefer ([email protected])
Ting-Wen Chen ([email protected])
Mark Maraun ([email protected])
also check:
http://www.uni-goettingen.de/en/107728.html
Open projects for BSc & MSc
Phylogeography of earthworms in Europe
Phylogeography reconstructs colonization and dispersal events at a
large geographic scale. Genetic diversity of many European species
show a pattern of „southern richness and northern purity“ that
resulted from the recolonisation of central and northern Europe by a
fraction of animals that survived in larger populations in southern Europe
during the past glacial cycles.
Earthworms probably did not survive in glaciated areas during the last
ice age. But today they are distributed across whole Europe. As
earthworms have very limited dispersal ability, human mediated
dispersal by trading soil-born goods and transport of soil due to traffic
and construction works probably is of major importance.
We are going to analyse the genetic
structure of two common earthworm species from six countries
across Europe. For this, four genes
will be sequenced from individual
earthworms and investigated with
phylogenetic and spatial analyses.
Results of this study provide insight into small and large scale
distribution of earthworms in Europe and the impact of anthropogenic
dispersal in natural populations.
For more information contact:
Ina Schaefer ([email protected])
Andreas Klein ([email protected])
Mark Maraun ([email protected])
also check:
http://www.uni-goettingen.de/en/107728.html
Open projects for BSc & MSc
Populationgenetics of invasive earthworms in North America
European earthworms are invasive species in North America. Introduced by
European settlers they are now established in wide areas in northern USA and
Canada. Their presence has strong (negative) effects on community structure
and biodiversity of native plants and animal species and is a major concern
across the North American continent.
Human mediated transport along roads and dumping of fishing baits
contributes massivley to the wide distribution of earthworms and their potential
as invasive species.
This study will investigate the genetic structure
of two common fishing bait species in
Minnesota using microsatellite markers. Both
species differ in tolerance to abiotic environmental factors, life-style and mobility.
Gene flow, migration (human mediated) and
genetic similarity will be investigated in
neigbouring and distant populations.
We expect that genetic patterns differ between
species and that populationsof the more mobile
and tolerant species are genetically divers and
have stronger genetic structure. Additionally, we
expect that anthropogenic influence will have a
stronger effect on population structure of the
less tolerant and less mobile species.
This is the first study that investigates population genetic structure in
invasive earthworm species and will provide information on factors
facilitating invasiveness of European earthworms in North America.
For more information contact:
Ina Schaefer ([email protected])
Andreas Klein ([email protected])
Mark Maraun ([email protected])
also check:
http://www.uni-goettingen.de/en/107728.html
Open projects for BSc & MSc
Above ground dispersal of soil-living animals
Oribatid mites and springtails (Collembola) are tiny soil-living arthropods and
many species occur everywhere in the northern hemisphere. Dispersal agents
are little known, but due to their small body size and the strong texture of their
habitat, active dispersal is very limited.
Within the Swedish Malaise Trap Project
flying insects were collected in liquid
traps for three years across Sweden.
Although traps are designed for flying
insects many soil-living arthropods are
also present in these traps.
The potential for phoresy (passive transport by attachment to other
animals) and wind dispersal is apparently high in these animals but only
very few studies are available with detailed and long-term records of above
ground traps. Further, long-distance dispersal is probably not equally
developed in all species of oribatid mites and Collembola.
In this project we are going to investigate if aboveground dispersal is a
common trait in soil-living arthropods or if only certain taxa are able of
long-distance dispersal. Further, we are analysing with statistical and
phylogenetic methods if phoresy or wind dispersal are adaptive traits.
This project comprises an excellent and unprecedented long-term and
large-scale sampling for comprehensive analyses of dispersal ability of
soil-living microarthropods.
For more information contact:
Ina Schaefer ([email protected])
Mark Maraun ([email protected])
also check:
http://www.uni-goettingen.de/en/107728.html
Open projects for BSc & MSc
Oribatid mite and springtail communities in temperate forests
- the enigma of soil-animal diversity Oribatid mites and springtails (Collembola) show high alpha diversity but low
beta diversity. This means that the number of species are high at local scale,
but differ little at regional scale.
Communities (species assembly) of soil-living microarthropods can be
determined by several factors.
Phylogeny:
Regional Processes:
Coexistence Of Species Due To
Dispersal
Similar Traits
Environmental Hetergogeneity
Similar Evolutionary History
Landscape Connectivity
Local Processes:
Niche Differentiation
Microhabitat Heterogeneteity
Local Environment
Despite superficial similarities in
ecology, function, feeding types and
evolutionary age, communities of
oribatid mites and Collembola likely
are structured by different factors.
In this project oribatid mite and
springtail communities of three
coniferous and beech forests will be
analysed with phylogenetic, statistical
and spatial methods.
This project investigates if environmental filtering or density-dependent
interactions structure the communities of important and ubiquitous
functional groups in the soil-system.
For more information contact:
Ina Schaefer ([email protected])
Bernhard Eitzinger ([email protected])
Ting-Wen Chen ([email protected])
Mark Maraun ([email protected])
also check:
http://www.uni-goettingen.de/en/107728.html