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Jun.-Prof. Dr.

Michael Gerth

Group Leader
he/him

Contact & Availability

Office: Room 1.06, Hoher Weg 8, 06120 Halle (Saale)
Phone: 0 3455 52 62 39

About Me & Research

Short Bio:
I am an evolutionary biologist studying arthropod symbionts. Coming from an entomological background it was inevitable to also come across inherited microbes that are extremely common in insects, influencing their biology in so many ways. My overall goal is to better understand what makes bacterial symbionts successful in insects.

Research Interests:

  • Evolution and ecology of inherited symbionts and their insects
  • Genome evolution across the parasitism-mutualism continuum
  • Phylogenetics and bioinformatics
Fun Fact: I’m a sucker for natural history books, especially on obscure invertebrates.

Career

  • 2023 - now: : Junior Professor for “Evolution and Biodiversity”, Martin Luther University Halle-Wittenberg
  • 2022 - now: Head of Junior Research Group “Symbiont Evolution”, iDiv
  • 2019 - 2021: Lecturer in Ecology and Conservation, Oxford Brookes University, United Kingdom
  • 2015 - 2019: Postdoctoral researcher, University of Liverpool, United Kingdom
  • 2015: Dr. rer. nat. Universität Leipzig, Germany

Publications & Teaching

Selected Publications:

  • Rafaluk‐Mohr C, Gerth M, Sealey J, Ekroth AKE, Aboobaker AA, Kloock A, King KC (2022) Microbial protection favours mortality tolerance and alters host‐parasite coevolutionary dynamics. Current Biology 32:1593–1598.e3. DOI Link
  • Gerth M, Martinez‐Montoya H, Ramirez P, Masson F, Griffin JS, Aramayo R, Siozios S, Lemaitre B, Mateos M, Hurst GDD (2021) Rapid molecular evolution of Spiroplasma symbionts of Drosophila.Microbial Genomics 7:000053. DOI Link
  • Davison HR, Pilgrim J, Wybouw N, Parker J, Pirro S, Hunter-Barnett S, Campbell PM, Blow F, Darby AC, Hurst GDD, Siozios S. (2022). Genomic diversity across the Rickettsia and ‘Candidatus Megaira’ genera and proposal of genus status for the Torix group. Nature Communications 13:2630. DOI Link
  • Chrostek E, Gerth M (2018) Is Anopheles gambiae a natural host of Wolbachia? mBio 10: e00784‐19. DOI Link
  • Gerth M, Bleidorn C (2016) Comparative genomics provides a timeframe for Wolbachia evolution and exposes a recent biotin synthesis operon transfer. Nature Microbiology 2: 16241. DOI Link

Teaching:

  • Module lead: “Evolution und Biodiversität der Tiere (BSc Biologie 1. FS/ LA Biologie 4. FS)”
  • Module Co-lead “Methoden der Evolutionsökologie (BSc Biologie Projektmodul)”

    • Online Profiles

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