Dissertation topic
The Importance of Intraspecific Diversity of Freshwater Cyanobacteria for Coexistence with Viruses
Research interests
Freshwater cyanobacteria and cyanophages; viral ecology and evolution; virus–host interactions; intraspecific and population-level diversity; phenotypic and genotypic variability; microbial biodiversity; eco-evolutionary processes; high-throughput sequencing and ecological network modeling.
Dissertation annotation
The aim of this doctoral research is to investigate freshwater cyanobacteria and their interactions with viruses (cyanophages), with particular emphasis on the role of host intraspecific diversity in virus–host coexistence. The study focuses on ecological and evolutionary processes shaping virus–host interactions and microbial biodiversity in freshwater ecosystems.
Objectives:
- Isolation and cultivation of freshwater cyanobacteria and cyanophages from natural water bodies and their characterization using morphological, physiological, and molecular methods.
- Assessment of cyanobacterial intraspecific diversity, population structure, and phenotypic variability, and their influence on virus–host interactions.
- Analysis of genomic, metagenomic, and sequencing data to characterize host and viral biodiversity.