The overarching goal of our research is to define the regulatory principles underlying associations of microbial communities with hosts from diverse taxonomic groups.
Novel insights into above topics have already been obtained by the members of the CRC 1182. Our consortium is thus in an ideal position to join forces to deepen our understanding of the metaorganism and validate our findings across the different model systems. In summary, the CRC 1182 “Origin and Function of Metaorganisms” will focus on a research field of high current interest, namely the evolutionary dynamics within metaorganisms and the molecular interactions involved.
To achieve such an integrated view on the metaorganism, our consortium will focus on three main themes:
Host-microbe cross talk in the early metazoan taxa Porifera and anthozoan Cnidaria
We live in a symbiotic world. All metaorganisms alike must have mechanisms in place to discriminate between microorganisms and to establish bacterial colonization during host development. However, the factors that are influencing the processes remain …
Microbiota-host interactions at the base of the metazoan tree
The project continues to address the establishment and functional consequences of the microbiota in the two basal metazoan animals, the Scyphozoan jellyfish Aurelia aurita (Cnidaria) (B2.1, PI Schmitz-Streit) and the comb jelly Mnemiopsis leidyi (Ctenophora) …
Microbial interactions within the metaorganism: mechanisms of bacterial niche specialization and warfare in symbiosis
Bacterial organisms inhabit diverse eukaryotes where their presence can have consequences for important traits of their host such as host development, nutrition or behavior. Eukaryotes thus constitute an ecological niche for microbial communities that utilize …
