DC1 - Anaïs Marchal

Advisors: Justyna Wolinska, Dedmer van de Waal, Bettina Scholz

Home institution: FVB-IGB, Berlin,

Summary: My PhD project explores how environmental factors influence the interactions between chytrids (zoosporic fungi) and their phytoplankton host. Chytrids play an important ecological role by parasitizing phytoplankton and potentially delaying the formation of Harmful Algal Blooms (HABs) in aquatic ecosystems. As global change continues to disrupt ecological processes, it is important to study its potential impact on host-pathogen dynamics.

This research unfolds across three main axes:

1. Community Level: Using metabarcoding and statistical approaches, I will investigate how environmental variables affect chytrid diversity and their associations with phytoplankton in Lake Müggelsee (Berlin, Germany). 

2. Infection Level: One of the consequences of global change is the eutrophication of aquatic ecosystems. I will examine how temperature and nutrient (nitrogen and phosphorus) levels influence chytrid infection rates, using the model system Planktothrix agardhii – Rhizophydium megarrhizum.

3. Molecular Level: I will analyze host–pathogen interactions at the gene expression level under different environmental conditions through transcriptomic approach.

Together, these complementary approaches aim to provide a multi-scale understanding of how environmental changes affect chytrid–phytoplankton interactions and the broader implications for freshwater ecosystems.

Contact: anais.marchal@igb-berlin.de

Planned secondment(s): 
At UNIABDN with Pieter van West to learn comparative genomic techniques.