Our research team at NIOZ -located on beautiful Texel - aims to illuminate the deep roots of cellular life on Earth, the structure of the Tree of Life, as well as the role of symbioses in key transitions throughout cellular evolution.
- How did the Last Universal (LUCA), Bacterial (LBCA) and Archaeal (LACA) Common Ancestors look like?
- Did a symbiotic interaction underlie the origin of complex eukaryotic cells such as those characterising animals, plants and fungi?
- What role do members of the large radiation of putative archaeal symbionts referred to as DPANN archaea play in evolution and ecology?
To address those questions, we combine computational, molecular, microbiology and microscopy approaches. Check out our publications if you are interested in our recent research findings.
We thank the European Research Council, the Simons and Gordon and Betty Moore Foundation as well as the Dutch Research Council (NWO) for generous support.
