TBG project areas and projects

Genomic biodiversity research at the LOEWE Centre TBG is divided into four research areas and several subprojects each:

Comparative Genomics

The diversity of organismic life has its origin in the differences between the genomes of species and individuals. The Comparative Genomics project area lays the foundations for

1. a functional understanding of the relationship between genotype and phenotype by analyzing and comparing a taxonomically broad selection of species
2. a deeper understanding of the basis and origin of biodiversity and divergence under genetic exchange, which also has an  impact on conservation efforts
3. uncovering the genomic structure that is shaped by repetitive and mobile genetic elements
4. analyzing the evolution and function of species interaction networks at the genomic level.

Projects

• Strategies to optimize the analysis of gene flow in speciation at the example of giraffes, bears, whales and seals
  
• Disentangling a strand of silk: evolution of silk biosynthesis and associated behaviour in caddisflies
  
• Mobile Genetic Elements – novel treasures in unexplored genomes
  
• Evolution and function of species interaction networks on the example of pioneering species
  
• Landscape genomics of plant-pathogen interactions
  
• Uncovering the genomic underpinnings of exceptional traits in bats
  
• Computational biology and evolutionary genomics: discovering phenotype-genotype associations
  

Natural Products Genomics

The Natural Products Genomics project area focuses on natural products in mutualistic and parasitic systems as well as on toxins in poisonous animals that can have application potential. In silico analyses of genomes and transcriptomes are used to identify biosynthetic genes or gene clusters relevant for the production of natural products or toxins.

Projects

• Preclinical in vitro testing of natural compounds
  
• Animal Venomics
  
• Characterization of natural products on biological activity and potential pharmaceutical application
  
• Ecological functions of bioactive natural products from lichens
  
• Ecological function and application of bacterial natural products
  
• Screening of bioresources in order to identify new antiviral substances for the treatment of influenza infections
  
• Explorative natural product genomics
  

Genomic Biomonitoring

The project area Genomic Biomonitoring serves the development and expansion of application-oriented genomic detection systems that are used in nature conservation and environmental monitoring. The focus is on the use of extracellular DNA from environmental samples (eDNA, also called environmental DNA), which is quantitatively detected by genomic chips.

Projects

• MiGen Analysis: Microbiome and genome analyses of medically relevant hematophagous arthropods
  
• eDNA Chips
  

Functional Environmental Genomics

Environmental change affects both the molecular composition of organisms and their communities, and their functions in ecosystems. The goal of the project area Functional Environmental Genomics is to use genomic and metagenomic methods to detect functional changes, causally link them to anthropogenic impacts, and assess their potentials in routine environmental monitoring.

Projects

• Soil Metagenomics
  
• Influence of anthropogenic substances on the germ cell mutation rate
  
• Freshwater Crayfish and Their Invasive Disease in Europe
  
• Monitoring adaptive changes: Revealing anthropogenic selection pressures from genomic time series