Research Groups

Group Leader: Catia Igreja

Environmental changes shape developmental and behavioral traits in the nematode Pristionchus pacificus. The molecular mechanisms associated with such phenotypic plasticity are under scrutiny at the Sommerlab. I have spent the last years studying how eukaryotic cells control messenger RNA (mRNA) and protein levels. more

Group Leader: Matthias Herrmann

Many scientists work in the field of entomology, few in the field of nematology and almost none in the area between. And while almost one million species of insects have been named so far, merely 20,000 nematode species have been formally described.  more

Group Leader: Christian Rödelsperger

How do processes like duplication, genomic rearrangements, and formation of novel genes shape genomes? Do these processes generate heritable differences in the phenotypes that we care about? To extend our understanding of these two questions, we combine large-scale sequencing data with statistical analysis to find the genetic basis of various traits in the nematode P. pacificus. more

Group Leader: Adrian Streit

We study various aspects of the biology of Strongyloides spp. nematodes. This genus consists of more than 50 species, which are small-intestinal parasites of vertebrates. Among them is the human pathogen S. stercoralis. According to recent WHO estimates more than 600 million people are infected with this parasite world wide. more