Molecular Evolutionary Biology

Research group
Head: Prof. Dr. Imke Schmitt

Our molecular evolutionary and ecological research aims at understanding how organisms interact with their abiotic environment. In particular our research addresses the following questions: How do organisms adapt to their environment? Which genomic signatures are a result of environmental conditions? How do climatic factors influence the interaction of organisms and what role does the partner in a symbiosis and microbiomes play in this regard?
To study these questions we use comparative genomics, phylogenetics, population genetics and community ecology methods. We study lichens, i.e. a symbiosis of fungi, algae and bacteria as well as plant- and soil-based fungal communities.

Links 
Third Party funded project LOEWE TBG „Ecological functions of bioactive natural products from lichens"

People
Prof. Dr. Imke Schmitt – Head
Dr. Miklós Bálint – PostDoc
Dr. Francesco Dal Grande – PostDoc
Dr. Gregor Rolshausen – PostDoc
Dr. Garima Singh – PostDoc
Dr. Jürgen Otte – Head of the lab
Anjuli Meiser – Bioinformatician
Anna Sadowska-Des – PhD student
Ricarda Prinz - Coordination

Publications
Rolshausen G, Dal Grande F, Sadowska-Des AD, Otte J, Schmitt I (2018) Quantifying the climatic niche of symbiont partners in a lichen symbiosis indicates mutualist-mediated niche expansions. Ecography. Early view. DOI: 10.1111/ecog.03457.

Dal Grande F, Rolshausen G, Divakar P, Crespo A, Otte J, Schleuning, M, Schmitt I (2018) Environment and host identity structure green-algal communities in lichens. New Phytol 217: 277-289.

Singh G, Dal Grande F, Divakar P, Otte J, Crespo A, Schmitt I (2017) Fungal-algal association patterns in lichen symbiosis linked to macroclimate. New Phytol 214: 317-329