CAnMove

My research interests are focused on the ecology, biology, and the population genetic structure of planktonic organisms. I am using genetic markers to study phytoplankton repartition in space and time, and compare genetic data to environmental factors in order to understand what shapes microbial communities.

During my PhD I investigated the population genetic structure and dynamic of a planktonic diatom species Pseudo-nitzschia-multistriata in the Gulf of Naples (Italy) using genetic markers (i.e. internal transcribed spacer rDNA regions and microsatellites). Those markers were also used to estimate how fast microsatellites can evolve in the field, using mating experiments and estimating mitotic changes that happened in culture.

During my Postdoctoral Fellow (CAnMove, Lund University), I am screening the genetic diversity of protists in microbial communities in several ecosystems (lakes and marine site) of a region of Antarctica using 18S rDNA marker and high throughput sequencing approach (454). I am also identifying the role of environmental factors (i.e. salinity), lake-history (i.e. geographic distance and age-formation), and dispersal (e.g. lake connections) on the community structures.

My supervisors are Karin Rengefors and Katarina Hedlund