Graduate School (GBR)

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The Leibniz Graduate School on Genomic Biodiversity Research (GBR) is a cooperative initiative of the Münster Graduate School of Evolution Initiative (MGSEI) at the University of Münster and the Bonn International Graduate School (BIGS) of the University of Bonn.

As a common theme within the Graduate School, PhD projects will address questions of genome evolution within holometabolous insects. Holometabolous insects (insects with complete metamorphosis) are the most species-rich lineage of insects and comprise more species of agricultural, medical, ecological, and economic importance than any other group of organisms.
The scientific output of the Graduate School will have an extraordinary and long-standing high impact on basic and applied research and we assume that it will significantly increase the perception of all participating students, principal investigators, and research institutes in the scientific community and in the public.

The primary goals of this graduate school are

(i) to educate a new generation of scientists to master essential skills for integrated and interdisciplinary biodiversity research by employing cutting-edge technologies in evolutionary genomics and classical systematic biology, and

(ii) to strengthen ties between research groups focusing on computational and evolutionary-systematic topics, thus fostering integrative thinking and establishing a common language.

The GBR will promote highly talented students to achieve a PhD within three years that qualifies them for a career in genomics research and/or administration.
Additionally, it will extend the cooperation between universities and institutes that have a leading role in their specific field of biodiversity research.

Alumni

Former students

Jan-Philip Oeyen

PhD student

Tel: +49 228 9122-351

Fax: +49 228 9122-212

E-Mail: Janphilipoeyen [at] gmail.com

Malte Petersen

former PhD Candidate Graduate School (GBR)

Fax: +49 228 9122-295

E-Mail: mptrsen [at] uni-bonn.de

Jeanne Wilbrandt

former PhD Graduate School (GBR)

E-Mail: jeanne.wilbrandt [at] leibniz-fli.de

Projects

2013

Gene repertoire Characterization

Comparative genomics is in its infancy. Genome sequencing just now generates the data to compare not only model organisms and vertebrates but to actually assess biodiversity. Explaining biodiversity relies on an understanding of underlying mechanisms of genome evolution, which in turn is based on a thorough knowledge of genomic characters and the driving forces shaping them.

Project lead:

Prof. Dr. Bernhard Misof

Funding:

Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft

2011

Trachysphaera Dwarf Pill Millipedes in the UK

Less than 30 years ago, an isolated population of thwe dwarf pill millipede genus Trachysphaera was discovered on the English Isle of Wight, which were tentatively identified as T. lobata (Ribaut, 1954), albeit male specimens were lacking (Joes & Keay 1986 ). T. lobata is a species known mainly from SE France (Kime & Enghoff 2011), and is difficult to distinguish from four other little known Trachysphaera species occurring at the Spanish-French border, which are above all the very similar T. pyrenaica (Ribaut, 1907), as well as the little known T. rousseti (Demange, 1959), T.

Project lead:

Dr. Thomas Wesener

2010

The evolution of…

We try to reconstruct a robust backbone tree of holometabolous insects based on extensive transcriptome/genome data. With our transcriptome data we cover all orders within these group of insects and optimize the procedures of tree inference based on these data. Additionally, Rolf Beutel's group is providing extensive 3D morphological data of head, thorax and abdominal structures. Together we are working on the most extensive morphological and molecular data addressing the above mentioned phylogenetic questions. Within this project we have also started to specifically address the "Strepsiptera…

Project lead:

Prof. Dr. Bernhard Misof

Funding:

Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft

Publications

Published in

2021

Bayless, K. M., Trautwein, M. D., Meusemann, K., Petersen, M., Shin, S., Donath, A., Podsiadlowski, L., Mayer, C., Niehuis, O., Peters, R. S., Meier, R., Kutty, S. N., Liu,S., Zhou, X., Misof, B., Yeates, D. K., Wiegmann, B. M. (2021): Beyond Drosophila: resolving the rapid radiation of schizophoran flies with phylotranscriptomics. - BMC Biology 19: 1-17. https://doi.org/10.1186/s12915-020-00944-8.

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Graduate School (GBR)

Reiter

Former students

2013

Gene repertoire Characterization

2011

Trachysphaera Dwarf Pill Millipedes in the UK

2010

The evolution of…

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