Dr. Karen Meusemann

Scientific Research Assistant

Directorate Staff

Tel: +49 228 9122-307

Fax: +49 228 9122-212

Mail: k.meusemann [at] leibniz-lib.de

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Profile

Field of work

Since April 2021 I am working as a Scientific Research Assistant at the LIB (Bonn, ZFMK). My areas of responsibility include the internal exchange within the LIB between the scientists between the different sites in Bonn and between Bonn and Hamburg, organization, support of projects, assistance of the directorate and the directorate staff, committee work & reporting, support of the graduate school, establishment and support of our mentoring program, etc. Furthermore, I am involved in various projects at the LIB (1KITE, Evolution of Ricefish, Molecular Methods, Evolution of Dexiarchia, etc.).

My scientific focus is on molecular biodiversity research, especially on phylogenomics and transcriptomics of diverse insect groups ( Basal Hexapods, Neuropterida, Mecoptera, Antliophora, Diptera). I am in particular interested in the establishment of new methods and critical evaluation of data sets.

After my Diploma (karyology in Agrodiaetus, Lycenidaeblue butterflies) I did my PhD within the SPP "Deep Metazoan Phylogeny" at the zmb (Centre for Molecular Biodiversity Research, ZFMK Supervision: Prof. Dr. B. Misof) from 2005 - 2012 in the field of molecular phylogenomics of "basal" hexapods and myriapods. Furthermore, I am co-founder and co-coordinator in international 1KITE (www.kite.org(link is external)) and with focus on phylogenomics in insects and method development (transcriptomics). After working on phylogenomics of Diptera & Antliophora from 2013 - 2016 at the Australian National Insect Collection (CSIRO, Canberra), I was Scientific Coordinator of the Research Group (Sociality and the reversal of the fecundity-longevity trade-off: www.so-long.org(link is external)) in the AG Prof. Dr. J. Korb at the University of Freiburg from 2016 - 2020.

Research interests

Project and science management, project coordination and organization in the area biodiversity research, science-policy interactions, molecular evolution, phylogenomics, hexapods, speciation, hybridization, systematics & taxonomy

Memberships

Gesellschaft für Biologische Systematik (GfBS), Deutsche Zoologische Gesellschaft (DZG)

External websites and profiles

http://www.meusemann.de/

https://scholar.google.com/citations?user=uK45QqgAAAAJ&hl=de

https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Karen-Meusemann

https://twitter.com/karenmeusemann

https://linkedin.com/in/karen-meusemann

Projects

2022

SIGI

We initiated SIGI to leverage emerging genomic tools to understand the ecology and evolution of soil invertebrates, their role in ecosystems and soil functions, to develop sustainable management procedures, and to provide resources for bioeconomy.This is a collaboration with the LOEWE Centre for Translational Biodiversity Genomics (lead: M. Balint, Senckenberg). Photo: Andy Murray (German pauropod). Photo: German Pauropod, Andy Murray.

Unit:

Directorate Staff

Project lead:

Dr. Karen Meusemann

2017

AG RICEFISH

The focus of the proposed research group is to study the link between genotype and phenotype of evolutionary adaptive traits, a vital question of evolutionary biology in the postgenomic era. The group will study the morphological and genomic basis of a unique reproduction strategy in Sulawesi ricefishes (Actinopterygii: Adrianichthyidae) called “pelvic brooding”. In pelvic brooding species, females carry the eggs in an abdominal concavity until they hatch, which is assumed to be an adaptation to a predominantly pelagic lifestyle.

Unit:

Evolutionary Genomics, Centre for Taxonomy and Morphology (ztm), Centre for Molecular Biodiversity Research (zmb), Directorate, Chair Systematic Zoology, Ichthyology, Directorate Staff

Project lead:

Dr. Julia Schwarzer

Funding:

Leibniz Association

Evolution of Dexiarchia

The sea slugs of the subgroup Dexiarchia comprise at least 2,000 different species and many more undescribed members. Until today there exists no phylogenetic analysis of Dexiarchia that comprises all major families and corroborates the relationships within this group, which is the aim of our project.

Unit:

Computational Genomics, High-performance Computing, Phylogenetics and Evolutionary Biology, Morphology Laboratory, Chair Molecular Biodiversity Research

Project lead:

Dr. Alexander Donath

Funding:

Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft

2014

The phylogeny of Holometabola

The Holometabola are the insects with complete metamorphosis (larva, pupa, adult) and comprise > 60% of the described animal species. The project aims at solving the open questions in the phylogeny of the group, in order to get a better understanding of t

Unit:

Hymenoptera, Directorate, Chair Systematic Zoology, Directorate Staff

Project lead:

Dr. Ralph S. Peters

Funding:

Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft

2012

MARE

In phylogenomics character matrices with extensive missing data are frequently used. These missing data have potentially detrimental effects on the accuracy and robustness of tree inference. Therefore, many investigators select taxa and genes with high data coverage.

Unit:

Directorate, Chair Systematic Zoology, Directorate Staff

Project lead:

Prof. Dr. Bernhard Misof

1KITE: The evolution of the insects

Insects are one of the most species-rich groups of metazoan organisms. They play a pivotal role in most non-marine ecosystems and many insect species are of enormous economical and medical importance. Unraveling the evolution of insects is essential for understanding how life in terrestrial and limnic environments evolved. The 1KITE (1K Insect Transcriptome Evolution) project aims to study the transcriptomes (that is the entirety of expressed genes) of 1,000 insect species encompassing all recognized insect orders. For each species, so-called ESTs (Expressed Sequence Tags) will be produced…

Unit:

Directorate, Chair Systematic Zoology, Directorate Staff, Biodiversity Informatics, Computational Genomics, High-performance Computing, Statistical Phylogenetics and Phylogenomics, Staff Council, Centre for Biodiversity Monitoring and Conservation Science (zbm), Education, Biobank, Hymenoptera, Chair Molecular Biodiversity Research, Centre for Molecular Biodiversity Research (zmb)

Project lead:

Prof. Dr. Bernhard Misof

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…

Unit:

Directorate, Chair Systematic Zoology, Directorate Staff, Hymenoptera, Graduate School (GBR)

Project lead:

Prof. Dr. Bernhard Misof

Funding:

Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft

FASconCAT - convenient handling of data matrices

FASconCAT is a user-friendly software that concatenates rapidly different kinds of sequence data into one supermatrix file.

Unit:

Algorithmic Development, Chair Molecular Biodiversity Research

Project lead:

Dr. Patrick Kück

Funding:

Zoological Research Museum Alexander Koenig

2009

The Atelocerata - a vanishing…

Berlese pitfalls

Unit:

Directorate, Chair Systematic Zoology, Directorate Staff

Project lead:

Prof. Dr. Bernhard Misof

Funding:

Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft

ALISCORE - Masking of Multiple Sequence Alignments

Random similarity of sequences or sequence sections can impede phylogenetic analyses or the identification of gene homologies.

Unit:

Directorate, Chair Systematic Zoology, Algorithmic Development, Directorate Staff, Biodiversity Informatics

Project lead:

Prof. Dr. Bernhard Misof

Funding:

Zoological Research Museum Alexander Koenig

Publications

A full publication list can be found at Google Scholar

Published in

2012

BARTEL D,, MEUSEMANN K, et al. (2012) Origin of and early splits in hexapoda. – jajaIV. International Congress of Entomology, August 19–25, 2012 Daegu, South Korea. (22. August) (Poster: Koautor)

[more]

DONATH, A., MEUSEMANN, K. et al. (2012) Unraveling the evolution of insects – challenges in the 1KITE project. – DZG-Graduiertentreffen "Beyond tree reconstruction – applications for phylogenetic trees" in Leipzig. (22. März) (Poster: Koautor)

[more]

DONATH, A., MEUSEMANN, K. et al. (2012) Bioinformatic Challenges in the 1KITEProject. Annual Meeting of the Society for Molecular Biology and Evolution, SMBE (poster, co-author). 23.-26-06.2012

[more]

LETSCH, H.O., MEUSEMANN, K., WIPFLER, B., SCHÜTTE, K., BEUTEL, R., MISOF, B. (2012) Insects phylogenomics: results, problems and the impact of matrix composition. Proc R Soc Biol Sciences. 279(1741):3282-90.

[more]

MEUSEMANN, K., PETERS, R.S., KJER, K.M. ZHOU, JA., MISOF, B. (2012) 1000 Insect Transcriptomes - the 1KITE project takes the next step in insect phylogenomics. SMBE 2012 Conference Abstracts: 96.

[more]

Niehuis O, Hartig G, Grath S, Pohl H, Lehmann J, Tafer H, Donath A, Krauss V, Eisenhardt C, Hertel J, Petersen M, Mayer C, Meusemann K, Peters RS, Stadler PF, Beutel RG, Bornberg-Bauer E, McKenna DD, Misof B (2012): Genomic and Morphological Evidence Converge to Resolve the Enigma of Strepsiptera. Current Biology (e-published, in press).

[more]

NIEHUIS, O., HARTIG,G., GRATH, S., POHL, H.,, DONATH, A., EISENHARDT, C., HERTEL, J., KRAUSS, V., LEHMANN, J., MAYER, C.,, TAFER, H., PETERS, R., MEUSEMANN, K., BEUTEL, R.G., STADLER, P.F., BORN, E. (2012) The first sequenced genome of a twisted-wing parasite (Insecta: Strepsiptera) and its phylogenetic implications. 13. Jahrestagung der Gesellschaft für Biologische Systematik (GfBS). Programm und Abstracts: 46-47.

[more]

PETERS, R.S., MEUSEMANN, K., NIEHUIS, O., HARTIG, G., ASPÖCK, U., ASPÖCK, H., GRATH, S., POHL, H., HÜNEFELD, F., FRIEDRICH, F., PETERSEN, M., DONATH, A. et al. (2012) The phylogeny of the holometabolous insect orders inferred from transcriptomic, genomic, and morphological data. Jaja IV International Congress of Entomology Abstract CD O106TH05

[more]

PETERSEN, M., MEUSEMANN, K., MISOF, B., NIEHUIS, O. (2012) Orthology prediction in a large-scale transcriptome project. – jajaIV. International Congress of Entomology, August 19–25, 2012 Daegu, South Korea. (22. August) (Poster: Koautor)

[more]

VON REUMONT, B.M., JENNER, R.A., WILLS, M.A., DELL’AMPIO, E., PASS, G., EBERSBERGER, I., MEYER, B., KOENEMANN, S., ILIFFE, T.M., STAMATAKIS, A., NIEHUIS, O., MEUSEMANN, K., MISOF, B. (2012) Pancrustacean phylogeny in the light of new phylogenomic data: support for Remipedia as the possible sister group of Hexapoda. – Molecular Biology and Evolution 29: 1031–1045.

[more]

Links:

MBE EST data.zip
MBE dataset.zip

2011

Kück P, Hita Garcia F, Misof B, Meusemann K (2011): Improved phylogenetic analyses corroborate a plausible position of Martialis heureka in the Ant Tree of Life. PLoS ONE, 6(6):e21031. doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0021031

[more]

Links:

http://journals.plos.org/plosone/article?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0021031

PETERS, R.S., MEYER, B., KROGMANN, L., BORNER, J., MEUSEMANN, K., SCHUETTE, K., NIEHUIS, O., MISOF, B. (2011) The taming of an impossible child - a standardized all-in approach to the phylogeny of Hymenoptera using public database sequences. BMC Biology 9 (1): 55, 9:55

[more]

REHM, P., BORNER, J., MEUSEMANN, K., REUMONT, B.M. VON, SIMON, S., HADRYS, H., MISOF, B., BURMESTER, T. (2011) Dating the arthropod tree based on large-scale transcriptome data. Molecular Phylogenetics & Evolution, 61(3): 880-887.

[more]

2010

Blanke, A., Meusemann, K., von Reumont, B.M., Meusemann, H., Beckmann, F., Misof, B., 2010. Contributions to the phylogeny of Anisoptera from SRµCT-data of internal head morphology. HASYLAB annual report 2010

[more]

Kück P, Meusemann K (2010): FASconCAT: Convenient handling of data matrices. Mol. Phylogen. Evol. 56:1115-1118

[more]

Links:

https://www.deepdyve.com/lp/elsevier/fasconcat-convenient-handling-of-data-matrices-3FJNZSfEV4

Kück P, Meusemann K, Dambach J, Thormann B, vonReumont B, Wägele JW, Misof B (2010): Parametric and non-parametric masking of randomness in sequence alignments can be improved and leads to better resolved trees. Front. Zool., 7:10.

[more]

Links:

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2867768/

Meusemann K, von Reumont BM, Simon S, Roeding F, Kueck P, Ebersberger I, Strauss S, Walzl M, Pass G, Breuers S, Achter V, Wägele J-W, Hadrys H, Burmester T, von Haeseler A, Misof B (2010): A phylogenomic approach to resolve the arthropod tree of life. Mol. Biol. Evol. 27(11):2451-2464. doi: 10.1093/molbev/msq130

[more]

Links:

https://academic.oup.com/mbe/article-lookup/doi/10.1093/molbev/msq130

2009

Von Reumont, B.M., Meusemann, K., Szucsich, N.U., Dell`Ampio, E., Gowri-Sjankar, V., Bartel, D., Simon, S., Letsch, H.O., Stocsits, R.R., Xia Luan, Y., Waegele, J.W., Pass, G., Hadrys, H., Misof, B. (2009) Can comprehensive background knowledge be incorporated into substitution models to improve phylogenetic analyses? A case study on major arthropod relationships. BMC Evolutionary Biology. 9:119.

[more]

Documents:

reumont_et_al_substitution_2009.pdf

Pages

Short Scientific CV

since 04/2021: Scientific Assistant at the Leibniz Institute for the Analyses of Biodiversity Change - Zoological Research Museum A. Koenig, Bonn, Germany
05/2016 - 03/2021: Scientific Coordinator in the Research Unit FOR 2281 (www.so-long.org) and Postdoctoral Researcher at the University of Freiburg, Department of Evolutionary Biology and Ecolgy (AG Korb), Freiburg (Brsg.), Germany
07/2013 – 04/2016: Postdoctoral Fellow (Schlinger) at the Australian National Insect Collection, CSIRO, National Research Collections Australia, Canberra, ACT, Australia
03/2012 – 06/2013: Postdoctoral Fellow (DFG) at the Centre for Molecular Biodiversity Research (zmb), Zoological Research Museum A. Koenig (ZFMK), Bonn, Germany
03/2012: Dr. rer. nat. (summa cum laude), Centre for Molecular Biodiversity Research (zmb), Zoological Research Museum A. Koenig (ZFMK), University of Bonn, Germany
since 2012: Active (founding) Member of 1KITE (www.1kite.org): coordination, organization, data analysis, lead of the sub-project "Basal Hexapods"
2006 – 2012: PhD student at the the Centre for Molecular Biodiversity Research (zmb), Zoological Research Museum A. Koenig (ZFMK), Bonn, Germany. Ph.D. thesis: Molecular phylogeny and evolution of ’basal hexapods’: The “Atelocerata” - A vanishing hypothesis? (DFG priority program SPP1174 “Deep Metazoan Phylogeny”). Supervisor: Prof. Dr. B. Misof. Published online: https://bonndoc.ulb.uni-bonn.de/xmlui/handle/20.500.11811/5363

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Dr. Karen Meusemann

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