News
Giraffe genomics support four species
05.05.2021
Visually, they are hardly distinguishable, but genetic analyses show: There are four distinct species of giraffe and seven subspecies. This result was obtained by an international team led by Prof. Dr. Axel Janke from the LOEWE Centre for Translational Biodiversity Genomics. According to their comprehensive genome analyses, the four giraffe lineages have been evolving separately for thousands of years. Relationships within the genus of giraffes have been debated before. For a long time, it was assumed that there was one, then four and later three species. The study published in the scientific journal “Current Biology” provides new insights into the evolution of giraffes and relevant information for their adequate conservation in Africa. Read the article in „Current Biology” and the press release at Senckenberg. (Photo: Julian Fennessy, Giraffe Conservation Foundation)
Genome of a raccoon dog sequenced - potential reservoir host of SARS-CoV-2
04.05.2021
Researchers from the LOEWE Centre for Translational Biodiversity Genomics (TBG) have sequenced the genome of a raccoon dog for the first time. Genetic data support its potential to transmit SARS-CoV-2. Being native to East Asia, racoon dogs have spread widely over Europe and are currently listed in asan invasive species in Germany. Raccoon dogs are closely related to foxes and known to carry various viruses that can be transferred to humans. The study suggests that the raccoon dog could also be a reservoir host for coronaviruses. Read the article in the scientific journal "Frontiers in Genetics" and the press release at Senckenberg (Photo: Dorian D. Dörge)
Millions of tiny fungi species so far unnamed
28.04.2021
Millions of small fungi species do not yet have names, including pathogens for humans, animals and plants. But that could change soon. A team of researchers has now presented new ways of naming fungi. Prof. Dr. Marco Thines from the LOEWE Center for Translational Biodiversity Genomics (TBG) and leading international systematists collaborated on the project. So-called microfungi are partly only known from genetic analyses of environmental samples, such as soil samples. Common identification keys are not suitable for them. The methods presented in the journal “Nature Microbiology” are based on the naming of bacteria and molecular genetic properties.. Read the article in "Nature Microbiology" and the press release at Senckenberg. (Photo: Marco Thines)
Lecture by Andreas Vilcinskas: Animal Venoms and Genomics
23.04.2021
More than 200.000 animal species produce toxins to defend themselves against enemies or to kill their prey. These toxins are a barely tapped bioresource for the development of new medicines. In his lecture "Tiergifte und Genomik: Tiergifte als Bioressource für neue Medikamente" Prof. Dr. Andreas Vilcinskas (LOEWE-TBG / Fraunhofer-IME) will talk about new methods for screening substances for potential ingredients of new medicines. The lecture will take place digitally at 7:15 p.m. on Wednesday, April 23. A livestream can be found at www.senckenberg.de/live. The event is part of the Senckenberg lecture series " Bauplan der Natur – Wie Genomik unseren Blick auf die biologische Vielfalt revolutioniert". More info at https://senckenberg.de/bauplandernatur (Foto: Tim Lüddecke)
Paper published on European research network on animal poisons
13.04.2021
An article has recently been published describing the COST Action European Venom Network (EUVEN CA19144), synergy and future perspectives of modern venomics. TBG researcher Dr. Björn M. von Reumont is co-author of the study and member of the German management committee. The network unites European animal venom researchers aiming at developing protocols and methods, establishing technological procedures and animal models as well as studying previously unknown venomous animal species and their venoms. As the application of the new findings for biomedical, diagnostic and agrochemical purposes is an important goal, collaboration with companies is also planned. Read the article in "GigaScience" and the press release at Justus Liebig University Giessen. (Photo: B. M. von Reumont)
Lecture by Michael Hiller: Is there really evolution?
08.04.2021
The diversity of species has developed through evolution over the course of many millions of years. Through processes such as variation and selection, certain characteristics have emerged and others have disappeared – says the doctrine. But is this actually true? Or were humans and other species created by an intelligent being, as some believe? In his lecture " Hat Evolution wirklich stattgefunden? Belege aus der Paläontologie, Entwicklungsbiologie und Genom-Forschung" (in German), Prof. Dr. Michael Hiller from the LOEWE Centre for Translational Biodiversity Genomics will talk about valid arguments as well as visual and genetic similarities between species. The lecture will take place digitally at 7:15 p.m. on Wednesday, April 14. A livestream can be found at www.senckenberg.de/live. The event is part of the Senckenberg lecture series " Bauplan der Natur – Wie Genomik unseren Blick auf die biologische Vielfalt revolutioniert". More info at https://senckenberg.de/bauplandernatur
Skin deep: When mammals re-entered water
06.04.2021
New insights in the evolution of mammals when re-entering water: The smooth, nearly hairless skin of whales and hippos look similar, but evolved independently. This is revealed by genomic and anatomical analyses partly conducted by Michael Hiller at LOEWE Centre for Translational Biodiversity Genomics. The skin of these mammals fine-tuned for life in the water was long assumed to have come from a shared amphibious ancestor. The study published in “Current Biology” contradicts this assumption. It rather suggests that the last common ancestor was land-dwelling. Hence “aquatic” skin with specific adaptions developed more than once in mammal’s phylogeny. Read the article in “Current Biology” and the press release at Senckenberg (Photo: Zoo Duisburg gGmbH)
Biodiversity Genomics Symposium: agenda online, registration open
29.03.2021
The Agenda for Senckenberg Biodiversity Genomics Symposium (21st of April 2021) is online including schedule, speakers and discussion slots. Among speakers are TBG scientists Prof. Dr. Miklos Bálint and Prof. Dr. Imke Schmitt. Registration for the one-day event is free, but required and still possible. The Symposium is co-organised by the LOEWE-TBG, the Senckenberg Research Institute and PacBio. Scientists from Europe and beyond will share their experiences using highly accurate long-read sequencing, known as HiFi sequencing, to generate reference-quality genomes of taxonomically diverse organisms. The event will feature a mix of scientific presentations, lightning talks, a poster session and breaks with opportunities to network with your peers. Read more and register here.
Lecture: Dr. Kornelia Hardes about her research on influenza
26.03.2021
The Senckenberg lecture series "Bauplan der Natur – Wie Genomik unseren Blick auf die biologische Vielfalt revolutioniert" enters its second round on Wednesday, March 31. TBG project leader Dr. Kornelia Hardes from the Fraunhofer Institute for Molecular Biology and Applied Ecology (IME) in Giessen will speak about her research on influenza virus and antiviral strategies to prevent future pandemics starting at 7:15 p.m. Read all information at Senckenberg. (Photo: Désirée Schulz/Fraunhofer)
Excellent plant protection: Heitefuß Award for TBG-PI Marco Thines
18.03.2021
The German Phytomedical Society e.V. (DPG) awards TBG-PI Prof. Dr. Marco Thines of the Senckenberg Biodiversity and Climate Research Center in Frankfurt a prize for his research on filamentous pathogens. The Rudolf Heitefuß Preis is awarded for outstanding scientific achievements. Thines is studying the diversity of plant pathogens and their hosts. For example, he investigates oomycetes, a group that includes pathogens causing widespread plant diseases such as late blight of potatoes and tomatoes and downy mildew. Worldwide, plant-parasitic oomycetes and blight fungi cause losses in the billions every year. Despite their economic importance, only a fraction of their actual biodiversity has been discovered to date. At LOEWE-TBG Thines leads the project “Landscape genomics of plant-pathogen interactions”. Read press release at Senckenberg. (Photo: Marco Thines)
TBG starts public lecture series on genomics
08.03.2021
Scientists from the LOEWE Center for Translational Biodiversity Genomics (TBG) and guest speakers from other institutions will provide insights into current genomics research. The public lecture series "Bauplan der Natur – Wie Genomik unseren Blick auf die biologische Vielfalt revolutioniert" (in German) will start on Wednesday, 17th of March, with TBG-Speaker Prof. Dr. Axel Janke. He will explain the basics of genomics and introduce LOEWE-TBG. Lectures take place virtually via Livestream (including YouTube-Video) until July almost every second week. The lecture series is organized in cooperation with Senckenberg. Find information on talks and participation here: www.senckenberg.de/bauplandernatur
Image: © iStock.com/ktsimage
TBG is co-organising Biodiversity Genomics Symposium – Registration and submission of abstracts open
06.03.2021
Senckenberg Biodiversity Genomics Symposium will take place at 21st of April 2021. It is a one-day event co-organised by the LOEWE-TBG, the Senckenberg Research Institute and PacBio. Scientists from Europe and beyond will share their experiences using highly accurate long-read sequencing, known as HiFi sequencing, to generate reference-quality genomes of taxonomically diverse organisms, ranging from plants, lichens, insects, and snails to vertebrates to address key questions. The event will feature a mix of scientific presentations, lightning talks, a poster session and breaks with opportunities to network with your peers.
Read more and register here. / Submit your abstract here
Project seeks to replace the use of animal components in toxicology research
19.02.2021
Prof. Henner Hollert und Dr. Andreas Schiwy from the Department for Evolutionary Ecology and Environmental Toxicology at Goethe University and the LOEWE Centre TBG, together with the environmental toxicologist Prof. Beate Escher from the Helmholtz Centre for Environmental Research in Leipzig (UFZ) and the companies BiodetectionsSystems in Amsterdam and Scinora in Heidelberg seek to find alternatives to animal components in toxicology research such as serum or liver cell tisses. Their project won the “CRACK IT” innovation challenge by NC3Rs, a British organisation that works to reduce reliance on animal models in research. The challenge is sponsored by AstraZeneca and Unilever.
Holotype of newly discovered snake species sequenced at LOEWE-Centre TBG
15.02.2021
Senckenberg scientist Prof. Dr. Gunther Köhler and an international team from East Yangon University in Myanmar discovered a new species of mud snake. Morphological and genetic analyses showed that Myanophis thanlyinensis belongs to a genus so far unknown to science, the team recently reported in the journal "Zootaxa". The genome of the holotype is already available for further research: it was sequenced as a novel digital taxonomic resource at the LOEWE Centre for Translational Biodiversity Genomics.
Argonauta argo - Mollusc of the Year 2021
01.02.2021
The Mollusc of the Year 2021 has been announced today, February 1, 2021 by Prof. Julia Sigwart, Section leader at the Malacology Department of the Senckenberg Museum, Dr. Carola Greve Lab manager of the LOEWE-Centre TBG, Dr. Tilman Schell, Bioinformatician of the LOEWE-Centre TBG, and Prof. Dr. Yasunori Kano, secretary of the worldwide society for Mollusc Research (Unitas Malacologica).
The Mollusc of the Year 2021 was selected from over 120 nominations submitted by international researchers and members of the public. The jury then selected five species that entered the second round as finalists. During this final round, the LOEWE-Centre for Translational Biodiversity Genomics website was open for the public to votes.
The title "Mollusc of the Year 2021" was won by the Greater Argonaut (Argonauta argo). As a prize, Argonauta argo will get its whole genome sequenced at the LOEWE-Centre TBG.
Nominate your favourite mollusc for FREE genome sequencing by the Senckenberg Museum and LOEWE-Translational Biodiversity Genomics centre!
30.11.2020
Let's have a good start to 2021!! Senckenberg/LOEWE-TBG and Unitas Malacologica will select 5 top molluscs from the nominations, and the final winner will be determined by a popular vote in January.
Any living species of mollusc, in any habitat, anywhere in the world is eligible!
Researchers of the Senckenberg Biodiversity and Climate Research Centre and the LOEWE Centre for Translational Biodiversity Genomics (TBG) develop a new test to better assess environmental impact of substances
20.11.2020
(SGN/TBG press release on a publication in the journal Environmental Pollution)
Image: © Markus Pfenninger
Animal poisons as a source of novel bioresources
19.11.2020
(Article about the research field of Venomics by TBG scientists Tim Lüddecke und Björn von Reumont in the journal BIOspektrum (in German))
Partial autonomy. How species separate, but not entirely
Image: © lkpro / shutterstock.com
Controlled poisoning. Study provides deeper insight into the regulation of bacterial agents
03.11.2020
(TBG press release on a publication in the journal Nature Microbiology)
Image: © D. Kucharski, K. Kucharska/Shutterstock.com
Deciphering the genome of bats
31.10.2020
(Interview with TBG Prof. Dr. Michael Hiller on the Senckenberg website)
Read more
Image: Myotis myotis © Oliver Farcy
New in the LOEWE TBG team: PI Dr. Kornelia Hardes, who has just been granted BMBF funding to establish her own junior research group in infection research and is heading the level three security laboratory at the new Fraunhofer Institute for Bioresources in Gießen.
01.10.2020
Read more:
Measuring and monitoring biodiversity with molecular biological methods. Functional Environmental Genomics in Focus: Joint appointment of the University of Giessen and the Senckenberg Society for Nature Research
24.09.2020
(SGN/JLU press release on the appointment of PD Dr. rer. nat. Miklós Bálint as Professor and Head of the Project Area Functional Environmental Genomics of the LOEWE Centre for Translational BiodiversityGenomics (TBG))
Image: © JLU / Katrina Friese
Characterize living beings and learn from them. Genomist Michael Hiller takes over new professorship at LOEWE Centre for Translational Biodiversity Genomics
02.09.2020
(TBG press release on the appointment of Dr. Michael Hiller as Professor at Senckenberg Society for Nature Research and Goethe University Frankfurt, and PI in the Project Area Comparative Genomics of the LOEWE Centre for Translational Biodiversity Genomics (TBG))
Read more:
Image: © Sven Tränkner/Senckenberg Gesellschaft für Naturforschung
Island of Methuselah. Researchers have deciphered the tuatara’s genetic makeup. These primordial animals once emerged from a catastrophe. Now they could help us understand why we age
14.08.2020
(article with quotations from Dr. Stefan Prost, TBG, in the print edition of “Der Spiegel”, No. 34 of 14.08.2020; in German)
When the worm reaches for the poison. Research into native nematodes provides insight into the evolutionary development and economic use of animal toxins
10.08.2020
(TBG press release (in German) on a publication in the journal Marine Drugs)
read more
Image: © Rainer Borcherding / Schutzstation Wattenmeer
The tuatara – a living fossil
06.08.2020
(article with quotations from Dr. Stefan Prost, TBG, at Wissenschaft.de under " Picture of the week"; in German)
Evolutionary secret of "living fossil" revealed. The world's first sequencing of the tuatara genome sheds light on the relationship between reptiles and longevity in the animal kingdom
06.08.2020
(TBG press release (in German) on a publication in the journal Nature)
read more
Image: © Bernard Spragg. NZ
Article in the NZZ am Sonntag on the discussion about wild animal markets and their role in the corona pandemic
01.08.2020
(with comments by Dr. Stefan Prost, TBG; in German)
"Why do you have eye color?" Interview with Dr. Carola Greve, LOEWE-TBG laboratory manager, on the occasion of the 100th birthday of the British biochemist and DNA specialist Rosalind Franklin
25.07.2020
(Die Sendung mit der Maus – Lach- und Sachgeschichten zum Hören. Under: Podcast 60 Min, starting at minute 41:33, in German)
Promising biomolecules discovered from the unusual venom of the wasp spider
22.07.2020
(Press release of the Justus-Liebig-University of Gießen on a publication of the TBG research group “Animal Venomics” in the journal “Biomolecules”; in German)
Evolutionary geneticist and LOEWE-TBG speaker Prof. Axel Janke in the television programme “hallo hessen” of Hessischer Rundfunk about his research at the Senckenberg Institute and the biodiversity of mammals
21.07.2020
(starting at minute 39:48, in German)
Early warning system for pandemics. International group of researchers develops strategies against virus transmission from wild animals to humans
10.07.2020
(TBG press release (in German) on a comment in the journal Science)
read more
Image: © Dan Bennett / CC BY
dpa-article on the current UN report on the illegal trade in wild animals and plants
10.07.2020
(with quotation from Dr. Stefan Prost, TBG, published among others in the Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung, in German)
With the backpack lab into the jungle – portable PCR and sequencing devices revolutionize genomic field studies
07.07.2020
(article by Dr. Stefan Prost, TBG, in “Laborjournal”, in German)
The benefits of biological diversity – LOEWE Centre TBG on board the MS Wissenschaft 2020
29.06.2020
(report and links on the ProLOEWE website, in German)
“Evolutionary Vertebrate Genomics” – LOEWE-TBG develops and tests course concept for the Goethe University Frankfurt
08.06.2020
(report and links to publications on the ProLOEWE website, in German)
Honeybees as drug investigators – FAZ reports on Andreas Vilcinskas (LOEWE-ZIB and LOEWE-TBG) and the versatile application possibilities of the insects
04.05.2020
(summary of the article and link to the FAZ Plus page on the ProLOEWE website, in German)
Closing all wildlife markets is too short a plan.
16.04.2020
In conversation with Senckenberg researcher Stefan Prost (contribution on the Senckenberg website, in German)
Corona Virus origin: doubts about bat and pangolin as carriers
01.04.2020
Stefan Prost of LOEWE-TBG expresses himself in a contribution of science.ORF.at (in German)
TBG-Press release regarding the international conference
25.02.2020
4th Annual Meeting in Conservation Genetics – From Genomes to Application“ held in Frankfurt am Main from 26.-28.02.2020 at the Senckenberg Research Institute and Natural History Museum (press release in German)
TBG-Press invitation to the international conference
25.02.2020
4th Annual Meeting in Conservation Genetics – From Genomes to Application“ held in Frankfurt am Main from 26.-28.02.2020 at the Senckenberg Research Institute and Natural History Museum (press invitation in German)
Press release of the Hessian Ministry for Science and Art regarding the future LOEWE research funding
14.02.2020
(with picture of LOEWE-TBG speaker Prof. Axel Janke) (press release in German)
TBG-Press release regarding the Nature Microbiology-Publication of Prof. Helge B. Bode
17.10.2019
A deeper look into the treasure chest within microbes published in the online-magazine of Goethe-University Frankfurt
Public release of the Wellcome Trust Sanger Institute:
02.11.2018
Launch of global effort to read genetic code of all complex life on earth
Public release of the Wellcome Trust Sanger Institute:
02.11.2018
Launch of global effort to read genetic code of all complex life on earth
News item on Bioökonomie.de (in German)
17.4.2018
Tausende Genome entziffern
Press release of the Goethe-University Frankfurt (in German):
5.4.2018
Blauwal-Erbgut enthüllt Paarung über Artgrenzen hinweg
News item in transkript (in German)
12.3.2018
Sequenziere, wer kann
Press release of ANSA (in Italian)
9.3.2018
L”Arca di Noè’ delle specie dimenticate
Press release of the Frankfurter Rundschau (in German)
8.3.2018
Hessische Forscher wollen den Code allen Lebens knacken – Startschuss für LOEWE-Forschungszentrum
Press release of the Senckenberg Nature Research Society (in German)
8.3.2018
Hessische Forscher wollen den Code allen Lebens knacken – Startschuss für LOEWE-Forschungszentrum
Press release of the Hessian Ministry of Higher Education, Research and the Arts (in German)
8.3.2018
Neues LOEWE-Zentrum untersucht Gen-Vielfalt bei Pflanzen und Tieren
Press release of the Senckenberg Nature Research Society (in German)
5.7.2017
Die Vielfalt des Erbgutes – 17,6 Millionen Euro für die Erforschung genomischer Diversität im Tier- und Pflanzenreich
Press release of the Hessian Ministry of Higher Education, Research and the Arts (in German)
5.7.2017
Wissenschaftler erhalten 66,5 Millionen Euro aus dem Forschungsförderprogramm LOEWE