Jürgen Wierz

Phd Thesis started in 2019
Tyrosine supplementing symbionts in selected Coleoptera: Representative Genomes, taxonomic distribution, mechanisms of host regulation and chemical quantification of contribution to cuticle biosynthesis
Friedrich Schiller University Jena

I focus on the beetle families of Melyridae and Throscidae in which I want to find out what the taxonomic distribution of associated bacterial symbionts to get new insights about the evolutionary history of these symbiotic systems. Furthermore, representative symbiont genomes will be sequenced to compare the metabolic capabilities of the symbionts within and across those families. This will allow me to characterize the symbionts' role in their respective systems based on molecular data.