Aileen Berasategui
Assistant Professor
My research is at the intersection of chemical ecology and the evolution of insect-microbe symbioses. I currently focus on the interaction between fungi, insects and their host plant.
Email: a.berasateguilopez@vu.nl
C.V. | Extended C.V. (Sept., 2024)
Google Scholar | ORCiD |
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Berasategui A, Salem H, Moller J, Christopher Y, Vidaurre-Montoya Q, Conn C, Read T, Rodrigues A, Ziemert N, Gerardo N. (2024) Genomic insights into the evolution of secondary metabolism of Escovopsis and its allies, specialized fungal symbionts of fungus-farming ants. mSystems, 0:e00576-24.
Berasategui A, Jagdale S, Salem H. Fusarium phytopathogens as insect mutualists. (2023) PLoS Pathogens, 19(7): e1011497.
Berasategui A, Breitenbach N, García-Lozano M, Pons I, Sailer B, Lanz C, Rodríguez V, Hipp K, Ziemert N, Windsor D, Salem H. (2022) The leaf beetle Chelymorpha alternans propagates a plant pathogen in exchange for pupal protection. Current Biology, 32, 4114-4127.
Berasategui A, Moller A, Weiss B, Beck C, Bauchiero C, Read T, Gerardo N, Salem H. (2021) Symbiont genomic features and localization in the bean beetle, Callosobruchus maculatus. Applied and Environmental Microbiology, 87-12, e00212-21.
Berasategui A, Salem H, Paetz C, Santoro M, Gershenzon J, Kaltenpoth M, Schmidt A. (2017) Gut microbiota of the pine weevil degrades conifer diterpenes and increases insect fitness. Molecular Ecology 26, 15: 4099-4110.
Berasategui A, Axelsson A, Norlander G, Borg-Karlson A, Schmidt A, Gershenzon J, Terenius O, Kaltenpoth M. (2016) The gut microbiota of the pine weevil is similar across Europe and resembles that of other conifer-feeding beetles. Molecular Ecology, 25, 16: 4014-4031.
Christiane Emmerich
Lab Manager
Email: Christiane.Emmerich@tsl.ac.uk
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Porras M*, Pons I*, García-Lozano M, Jagdale S, Emmerich C, Weiss B, Salem H (2024). Extracellular symbiont colonises insect during embryo development. ISME Communications, doi.org/10.1093/ismeco/ycae005
Seah BKB, Singh A, Vetter DE, Emmerich C, Peters M, Soltys V, Huettel B, Swart E (2023). Nuclear dualism without extensive DNA elimination in the ciliate Loxodes magnus. bioRxiv, https://doi.org/10.1101/2023.11.09.566212
Swart EC, Emmerich C, Seah BKB, Singh M, Shulgina Y, Singh A (2023). How did UGA codon translation as tryptophan evolve in certain ciliates? A critique of Kachale et al. 2023 Nature. bioRxiv, https://doi.org/10.1101/2023.10.09.561518
Singh A, Häußermann L, Emmerich C, Nischwitz E, Seah BKB, Butter FKB, Nowacki M, Swart EC (2023). ISWI1 complex proteins facilitate developmental genome editing in Paramecium. bioRxiv, https://doi.org/10.1101/2023.08.09.552620
Seah BKB, Singh M, Emmerich C, Singh A, Woehle C, Huettel B, Byerly A, Stover NA, Sugiura M, Harumoto T, Swart EC (2023). MITE infestation accommodated by genome editing in the germline genome of the ciliate Blepharisma. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America, https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.2213985120
Singh M, Seah BKB, Emmerich C, Singh A, Woehle C, Huettel B, Byerly A, Stover NA, Sugiura M, Harumoto T, Swart EC (2023). Origins of genome-editing excisases as illuminated by the somatic genome of the ciliate Blepharisma. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America, https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.2213887120
Seah BKB, Emmerich C, Singh A, Swart EC (2022). Improved methods for bulk cultivation and fixation of Loxodes ciliates for fluorescence microscopy. Protist, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.protis.2022.125905
Mozzicafreddo M, Pucciarelli S, Swart EC, Piersanti A, Emmerich C, Migliorelli G, Ballarini P, Miceli C (2021). The macronuclear genome of the Antarctic psychrophilic marine ciliate Euplotes focardii reveals new insights on molecular cold adaptation. Scientific Reports, https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-021-98168-5
Lazzaretti D*, Bandholz-Cajamarca L*, Emmerich C, Schaaf K, Basquin C, Irion U, Bono F (2018). The crystal structure of Staufen1 in complex with a physiological RNA sheds light on substrate selectivity. Life Science Alliance, https://doi.org/10.26508/lsa.201800187
Banerjee A, Adolph RS, Gopalakrishnapai J, Kleinboelting S, Emmerich C, Steegborn C, Visweswariah SS (2015). A universal stress protein (USP) in mycobacteria binds cAMP. The Journal of Biological Chemistry, https://doi.org/10.1074/jbc.M115.644856
Soobin Shin
Postdoctoral Researcher
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Shin, S., Min, D., Jeon, H., Yang, J., Choi, H., Ryu, S.-R., Kang, K.-S., Kim, G.-B. and Son, H. (2025), Investigation of Abiotic and Biotic Factors Associated With the Outbreak of Japanese Larch (Larix kaempferi) Dieback in the Republic of Korea. Forest Pathology, 55: e70016. https://doi.org/10.1111/efp.70016
Soobin Shin, Jin Woo Lee, Nahyun Lee, Jae Woo Han, Gyung Ja Choi, Hokyoung Son, and Hun Kim (2024) Genome Sequence Data of Pseudalkalibacillus hwajinpoensis MABIK MI00000821, an Inhibitor of Fumonisin Production in Fusarium fujikuroi. PhytoFrontiers, 4:4, 821-824
Shin S, Bong S, Moon H, Jeon H, Kim H, et al. (2024) Oxaloacetate anaplerosis differently contributes to pathogenicity in plant pathogenic fungi Fusarium graminearum and F. oxysporum. PLOS Pathogens 20(9): e1012544. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.ppat.1012544Shin S, Park J, Yang L, Kim H, Choi GJ, Lee Y, Kim J, Son H. (2024) Con7 is a key transcription regulator for conidiogenesis in the plant pathogenic fungus Fusarium graminearum. mSphere 9:e00818-23. https://doi.org/10.1128/msphere.00818-23
Shin, S., Jeon, H., Kim, S., Noh, H. J., Jo, J. W., Min, K., & Son, H. (2023). Two Previously Unrecorded Fungal Species Isolated from Muui Island in Korea. Mycobiology, 51(6), 410–416. https://doi.org/10.1080/12298093.2023.2290766
Shin S, Ryu H, Jung JY, Yoon YJ, Kwon G, Lee N, Kim NH, Lee R, Oh J, Baek M, Choi YS, Lee J, Kim KH. (2023) Past and Future Epidemiological Perspectives and Integrated Management of Rice Bakanae in Korea. Plant Pathol J. 39(1):1-20. doi: 10.5423/PPJ.RW.08.2022.0123.
Shin S, Kim JE, Son H.(2022) Identification and Characterization of Fungal Pathogens Associated with Boxwood Diseases in the Republic of Korea. Plant Pathol J. 38(4):304-312. doi: 10.5423/PPJ.OA.03.2022.0034.
Beatriz Isabel Mota do Carmo
CAPES Foundation Fellow
Visiting PhD student, Federal University of São Paulo, Brazil
Julia Boogh
M.Sc. Student
You?
We are growing! Are you interested in the ecology and evolution of species interactions? We are always seeking highly motivated students and post-docs. More information in Opportunities.
Past lab members:
Angelika Guchshina, B.Sc. student (2025)
Dylan Vonhoff, M.Sc. student (2025)
Bianca van der Burgh, M.Sc. student (2025)
Laura Neumann, B.Sc. student (2025)
Alysha Balhari, B.Sc. student (2025)
Lara Schouten, B.Sc student (2025)
Giona Veronese, M.Sc. student (2025)
Zoe Xavier-Roualt, M.Sc. student (2025)
Julian Hage, M.Sc. student (2025)
Gauri Singh, B.Sc. student (2025)
Heidi Talib, B.Sc. student (2025)
Marilou Fliniaux, M.Sc. student (2024)
Hanna Zandstra, M.Sc. student (2024)
Alice Douglas, M.Sc. student (2024)
Ellis Kaiijn, B.Sc. student (2024)
Ole Astro, B.Sc. student (2024)
Collaborators
Hassan Salem
John Innes Centre
Mutualisms Research Group
Email: hassan.salem@jic.ac.uk
Donald Windsor
Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute
Viterbo Rodríguez
Centro Regional Universitario de Veraguas
Universidad de Panamá
Yvan Brahy
Société Botanique d'Alsace