Genes and Genomes: Function and Evolution

Life originated at sea. The first living organisms from our planet appeared more than 3500 millions of years ago and led to the vast taxonomic and functional microbial diversity we see today. To identify the ecologically key microorganisms in the ocean and their diversification processes, a combination of different approaches are needed to fully cover the whole spectrum of microbial diversity targeting both the highly abundant and rare microbial taxa. These approaches included the use of phylogenetic and functional genes and the analysis of genomes from isolated species and from uncultured ones, the later retrieved by Single Cell Genomics or Metagenomics. In the EMM Research group, we study the genomic structure and the genetic heterogeneity of keystone microbial species using comparative genomics. We also investigate the evolutionary mechanisms promoting and maintaining the large microbial diversity seen in natural microbial populations.