Molecular Genetics and Microbiology Group

Research Group

Molecular Genetics and

Microbiology Group: from genes

and genomes to organisms and

applications

www.env.uwg.gr

http://www.env.uwg.gr/

Molecular Genetics and Microbiology Group: from genes and genomes to organisms and applications

Prepared by G. Tsiamis and K. Bourtzis 2

Brief Description

The Molecular Genetics and Microbiology group (MGM) focuses on the study of the

Biosphere: from genes and genomes to organisms and applications. Emphasis is given

on: (a) Insects, Symbionts and Applications, (b) Environmental Microbiology and

Genomics (other than symbionts) and (c) Molecular Ecology (other than prokaryotes).

Research Interests

1. Insects, Symbionts and Applications. Insects are the animal group, which has

successfully established the most diverse symbioses, both inside and outside their

bodies. These associations affect various aspects of the insect life cycle and

physiology, including development, nutrition, reproduction, speciation, defense and

host plant preference, thus aiding insects in developing and maintaining the most

diverse lifestyles of all animals. Wolbachia is an intracellular bacterium that has been

shown to cause numerous phenotypic effects in its hosts and may potentially be

useful as a biological control agent. The potential of the Wolbachia-based

Incompatible Insect Technique (IIT) to control Ceratitis capitata (medfly) and

Bactrocera oleae (olivefly) populations has been demonstrated.

2. Environmental Microbiology and Genomics (other than symbionts). It is a well-

known fact that the microbes still rule the planet and the vast majority of the diversity

of life on Earth today is microbial. Microbes occupy every possible ecosystem, from

the high atmosphere to the deep ocean and the Earth’s crust. Biologists have known

these facts for a long time, but very recently they have come to realize that their

previous estimate of microbial diversity has been far, far too low. Environmental

microbes are immensely diverse and have numerous metabolic activities and products

that could have industrial applications. However, >99% of environmental microbes

cannot be cultured under current laboratory conditions, leaving their potential largely

untapped. Therefore, understanding the microbial community structure, diversity and

function is essential to understand fully the evolution and sustainability of life on

Earth. As well as having a vital role in sustainability, we believe that microbes are

and can be a source of various industrial products that have potential applications

across all major industries. We currently use state of the art technologies like high-

density DNA microrarrays, metagenomic, 16S rRNA pyrotagging and Single Cell

Genomics to unravel and exploit the hidden power of MikroBioKosmos.



3. Molecular Ecology (other than prokaryotes). We study the dynamics, adaptations

and functioning of animals and plants with an emphasis of endangered and / or pest

species. Recent conservation efforts have focused on genetic events in species with

small populations, such as threatened species, which are usually inbred and have low

levels of genetic diversity. Genetic diversity provides the raw material for

evolutionary change and is essential for adaptation to new environmental conditions

that invariably arise due to natural and anthropogenic changes. A species without an

appropriate amount of genetic diversity is thought to be unable to cope with changes

in environmental conditions, evolving competitors, parasites or climate change. In

addition, the population control of insect pests and disease vectors requires very good

knowledge of their population genetic structure.



Personnel

Research Leaders

Dr Kostas Bourtzis, Professor of Molecular Biology, Genetics and Biochemistry

He has a first degree and PhD in Biology (Department of Biology,

University of Patras). He is Professor in Molecular Biology,

Genetics and Biochemistry in the Department of Environmental

and Natural Resources Management where was first appointed in

May 2000. His main research interests include: (a) host-microbe

interactions with an emphasis on insect-Wolbachia symbiotic

associations using genetic, molecular, cellular, biochemical and

genomic approaches; (b) use insect symbionts for the development

of novel and environmentally friendly approaches for the control

of insect pests and disease vectors of agricultural, environmental

and health importance; (c) detection, characterization and

exploitation of national microbial diversity (MikroBioKosmos)

towards their exploitation for knowledge-based Bio-Economy and

(d) use of molecular biology and genetics for biodiversity studies

at both prokaryotic and eukaryotic level in an applied context. He

is the author of >70 articles in peer-reviewed journals. Based on

Scopus, he has more than 1370 citations with an h-index of 22

(excluding self-citations: >1170 citations and h-index of 20).

Dr Giorgos Tsiamis, Lecturer of Environmental Microbiology

He has a first degree in Agriculture – Crop Production from the

Technological Educational Institute of Thessaloniki, an MSc in

Crop Protection from the University of Reading UK and a PhD in

Molecular Microbiology by the University of London (Wye

College). He is Lecturer in Environmental Microbiology in the

Department of Environmental and Natural Resources Management

where was appointed in September 2009. His main research

interests include: (a) study of the microbial diversity in extreme

environments using –omic technologies, (b) accessing the

metabolic diversity found in microorganisms using genome

sequencing which enables the analysis of hereditary information at

the most basic biological level, (c) designing and developing new

tools for the study of the bacterial diversity, and (d) bioenergy. He

is the author of 19 articles in peer-reviewed journals with more

than 650 citations and with an h index of 8 (excluding self-

citations: >630 citations and h-index of 8).



Postdoctoral fellows

Dr Antonis Augustinos

He has a first degree and PhD in Biology, University of Patras.

In 2009 he joined our group as a post-doc working on the

characterization of Rhagoletis sp. using microsatellites. He is

also using molecular techniques to study the SymBioKosmos in

economically important insects.

Dr Aggeliki Saridaki

Aggeliki has a first degree in Biology, University of Athens

and a PhD from the same University. She was a member of our

research group from 2008-2010. She was actively involved in

environmental microbiology projects within an emphasis on the

identification and characterization of symbiotic bacteria. She

has been actively involved with the molecular dissection of the

cytoplasmic incompatibility that Wolbachia induces to the

hosts. She is currently on maternity leave.

Dr Stefanos Siozios

He has a first degree from the Department of Environmental

and Natural Resources Managements and he completed his

PhD in the same Department under the supervision of Prof.

Kostas Bourtzis. His work was focused on the microbicidal

activity of stable phenolic radicals like gallic acid. He is

currently working as a post-doc at the Research and Innovation

Centre, Trento, Italy.

Dr Zoe Veneti

Dr Zoe Veneti studied Biology at the University of Crete where

she graduated in 1994. Subsequently she obtained a masters

degree in General Biology in 1996. After that she did her PhD

thesis in Molecular Biology and Genetics entitled “Cytoplasmic

Incompatibility: a comparative study of Wolbachia strains in

Drosophila” under the supervision of Professors Babis Savakis



and Kostas Bourtzis, at the University of Crete. In 2001 she was

appointed a postdoctoral fellow at the University College

London, Department of Biology, where she worked on the

mechanism of bacterial induced male-killing in Drosophila, in

Dr Greg Hurst’s lab (2001-2003). She then moved again in

Bourtzis’ lab as a postdoctoral researcher for two years (2004-

2006) while her current affiliation is with the Medical School of

University of Crete.

Dr Charalambos Paraskevopoulos

Charalambos has studied Agricultural Sciences in the

University of Greenwich, UK and he has completed a Master’s

in Plant Diseases at the Imperial College, University of London,

UK. He completed his PhD entitled “Genetic diversity,

phylogenetic associations and evolution of Wolbachia” under

the supervision of Prof. Kostas Bourtzis. He was recruited as a

postdoc in the frame of the FP7 project “MicrobeGR” in order

to culture new isolates of anaerobic microorganisms.

Unfortunately, although he was a very active member of the

MicrobeGR team, he decided to choose and develop an

industrial career.

Dr Eva Dionysopoulou

Eva has studied Biology in the University of Crete and she

completed her PhD in Medical Sciences – Immunology,

University of Crete, Medical School, Greece Title: «The role of L-

carnitine in the pathogenesis of endometriosis» under the

supervision of Professor Athanassakis I. She was one of the last

members that jointed our research team. She was able to quickly

integrate quickly and managed to secure a position within the

Department as a technician. This development gave a new

perspective and dynamic to our research team. Eva research

wise has been actively involved in the insect-symbiont

interactions, focusing mainly in the characterization of

Wolbachia strains from aphid and medfly populations.



PhD candidates

Evangelos Doudoumis, MSc

He has a first degree from the Department of Biotechnology,

Agricultural University of Athens. An MSc in Certification of

Quality Agricultural Products, University of Ioannina. He

started his PhD in September 2009 entitled “Characterization of

symbiotic diversity of insects with agricultural, environmental

and medical importance”.

Sonia Nikolaki, MSc

Sonia has a first degree in Physics, University of Crete and an

MSC in Biotechnology from the Agricultural University of

Athens, She has recently joint our research group as a PhD

student and she is currently working on Microbial communities

and pesticide interactions in oilseed and sunflower.

Despoina Kapantaidaki, MSc

Despoina has a BSc in Agriculture from the Aristotle

University of Thessaloniki and an MSc in Molecular Biology

and Biotechnology of Plants from the University of Crete. Her

PhD is entitled “Study of the diversity of insect symbionts in

relation with their genetic structure” is currently in progress.

Athina Chamalaki, BSc

She has a first degree from the Department of Environmental

and Natural Resources Management, University of Ioannina.

Athina started her PhD in 2007 and she is currently at the last

stages of her PhD entitled Characterization of the Microbial

diversity from the unique environment of the Etoliko lagoon.



MSc Students

Theoni Kaveli: She studies the bacterial communities from an abandoned gold mine

in Stratoni, Chalkidiki, Greece using 16S rRNA libraries and DNA microarrays

(PhyloChip Affymetrix SA).

Elena Riga: She is working on the development of 16S rRNA clone libraries from the

bacterial communities in sun-flower experimental field in order to identify how these

changes after the application of pesticides.

Kostantinos Siatis: The acid mine drainage (AMD) produced by active and

abandoned mines can have a significant influence on the ecology of the receiving

waters. Kostas is studying the bacterial communities that are present in AMD’s

produced by a gold mine in Stratoni, Chalkidiki, Greece.



Funded Research Projects of the Group

Food and Agriculture Organization -

International Atomic Energy Agency

(2005-2008). Τίηλος: «Wolbachia-

induced CI as a means to suppress

populations of the major agricultural pest,

the olive fly, Bactrocera oleae». Co-

ordinator: Prof. Kostas Bourtzis Budget:

24,000 €

GSRT, Bilateral Greece – Spain (2006-

2008). Title: «Molecular characterization

of the of the avr4 gene and in planta

expression in Arabidopsis thaliana». Co-

ordinator: Prof. Kostas Bourtzis. Budget:

11,740 €.

GSRT, Scientific and Technological

Collaborations between Greek

Organisations and Organisations outside

Europe (2006-2008). Title: «Use of

biotechnological tools to develop

resistant tomato plants towards bacterial

speck». Co-ordinator: Prof. Kostas

Bourtzis. Budget: 60.000 €.

GSRT, PEP Western Greece (2006-

2008). Title: Examination of

epidemiological parameters of important

plant diseases with DNA microarrays and

development of biotechnological tools for

the detection and control of pathogens in

Western Greece. Budget: 60,000 €.

Reasearch Promotion Foundation, Cyprus

(2006-2009) Title: «Biological

Conservation of four threatened plant

species under directive 92/43/ΕΟΚ»



Department of Energy (DOE, USA) Joint

Genome Institute (2007-2009). Title:

«Metagenomics analysis of the Etoliko

Lagoon». Co-ordinator: Nikos Kyrpides

(JGI, DOE-USA). Scientific co-ordinator

of the Greek research team: Prof. Kostas

Bourtzis. Lect. Giorgos Tsiamis

participate as research scientist.



(2007-2012). Coordinated Research

Project entitled: «Improving SIT for

tsetse flies through research on their

symbionts and pathogens». Participation

for Prof. Kostas Bourtzis as consultant

and expert Wolbachia scientist.

EU, FP7-REGPROT-2007-1, Research

Potential (2008-2011). Title: «Supporting

environmental microbiology and

biotechnology research potential in

Western Greece”. Budget: 899.999,95 €.

Co-ordinator: Prof. Kostas Bourtzis

EU, COST ACTION (2008-2012). Title:

«Arthropod Symbioses: from

fundamental studies to pest and disease

management». Budget: up to 90.000

€/year. Prof. Kostas Bourtzis co-ordinator

of the project and Chair of the Action.

EU, FP7-REGPROT-2007-2, Research

Potential (1/1/2010-31/12/2012). Title:

«BIODESERT: Biotechnology from

desert microbial extremophiles for

supporting agricultural research potential

in Tunisia and Southern Europe».

Budget: 958.206,40 (87.703€ for the

University of Ioannina). Co-ordinator:

Prof. Daniele Daffonchio, University of

Milan, Italy. Prof. Kostas Bourtzis co-

ordinator of the Greek research team.



GSRT - «ΗELBIONET» under the frame

of the ESFRI-EUROPEAN STRATEGY

FORUM FOR RESEARCH

INFRASTRUCTURES) «Science and

Technology Infrastructure for

Biodiversity Data and

Observatories/LIFE WATCH». Prof.

Kostas Bourtzis member of the Scientific

Committee.

ΘΚΥ – «Greece – Germany» (DAAD-

2010): “Biological, physiological and

genetic effects of the endosymbiotic

bacterium Wolbachia pipientis on

German and Greek populations of the

European cherry fruit fly and

management implications”. Prof. Kostas

Bourtzis: member of the Greek Research

Team.

Department of Energy (DOE, USA), Joint

Genome Institute (2010-2012), Proposal

ID: CSP-335, “Unraveling the unique

microbial diversity of the Etoliko lagoon

in Western Greece through a single cell

genomics approach”. Lect. Giorgos

Tsiamis co-ordinator of the project.


Genome Institute (2011-2012), Proposal

ID: 300726, “Olive-mill waste microbial

communities from a prototype mill in

Amfilochia, Greece”. Prof. Kostas

Bourtzis and Lect. Giorgos Tsiamis

participate as research scientists.


Genome Institute (2011-2012), Project

ID: 404619, “Saline water and sediment

microbial community from Etoliko

Lagoon, Greece”. Prof. Kostas Bourtzis

and Lect. Giorgos Tsiamis participate as

research scientists.



Research Program EPEAEK –

Archimedes III (2011-2014) Title:

“Dissipation, transport and effectiveness

of selected pesticides in soil-water

systems, and the impact on soil

microorganisms and self-sown flora in

experimental field cultivation of energy

crops”. Participation as members of the

Main Research Team: K. Bourtzis – G.

Tsiamis

Research Program EPEAEK – Thalis

(2012-2015) Title: “Symbiotic bacteria

and omicstechnologies towards the

development of novel and environment-

friendly control methods of insect pests:

the case of the Mediterranean fruit fly

(SYMBIOMICS)”. Co-ordination: Prof.

K. Bourtzis. Lect. George Tsiamis

participates as experienced researcher.

Budget: 600,000 €



(2012-2017). Coordinated Research

Project entitled: « Characterization of

SymBioKosmos of Bactrocera dorsalis

Complex of Fruit Flies». Co-ordination:

Prof. K. Bourtzis. Lect. George Tsiamis

participates as experienced researcher



Publications Insects, Symbionts and Applications

Relevant Publications produced by the group

1. C. Psachoulia, K. Bourtzis and V.J Marmaras (1989). Purification and

characteristics of a specific alkaline phosphatase from the integument of the

Mediterranean fruit fly Ceratitis capitata. Archives of Insect Biochemistry and

Physiology 11: 217-230.

2. Ph. Kerremans, K. Bourtzis and A. Zacharopoulou (1990). Cytogenetic analysis of

three genetic sexing strains of Ceratitis capitata. Theoretical and Applied

Genetics 80: 177-182.

3. A. Zacharopoulou, K. Bourtzis and Ph. Kerremans (1991). A comparison of

polytene chromosomes in salivary glands and orbital bristle trichogen cells in

Ceratitis capitata. Genome 34: 215-219.

4. K. Bourtzis, C. Psachoulia and V.J. Marmaras (1991). Evidence that different

integumental phosphatases exist during development in the Mediterranean fruit fly

Ceratitis capitata: Possible involvement in pupariation. Comparative

Biochemistry and Physiology B 98: 411-416.

5. K. Bourtzis and V.J. Marmaras (1991). Integumental phosphatase isoenzymes

from white puparia of Ceratitis capitata: Isolation and characterization.

Biochemistry and Cell Biology – Biochimie et Biologie Cellulaire 69: 731-735.

6. S. Tsakas, P.G. Katsoris, K. Bourtzis and V.J. Marmaras (1991). Incorporation of

arylphorins (LSP-1) and LSP-2 like protein into the integument of Ceratitis

capitata during pupariation. Insect Biochemistry (and Molecular Biology) 21:

507-515.

7. K. Bourtzis, V.J. Marmaras and A. Zacharopoulou (1993). Biochemical and

genetic studies on alkaline phosphatase of Ceratitis capitata. Biochemical

Genetics 31: 409-424.



8. K. Bourtzis, A. Nirgianaki, P. Onyango and C. Savakis (1994). A prokaryotic

dnaA sequence in D. melanogaster: Wolbachia infection and cytoplasmic

incompatibility among laboratory strains. Insect Molecular Biology 3: 131-142.

9. K. Bourtzis, A. Nirgianaki, G. Markakis and C. Savakis (1996). Wolbachia

infection and cytoplasmic incompatibility in Drosophila species. Genetics

144:1063-1073.

10. K. Bourtzis and S.L. O’Neill (1998). Wolbachia infections and their influence on

arthropod reproduction. Bioscience 48: 287-293.

11. K. Bourtzis, S.L. Dobson, H.R. Braig and S.L. O’Neill (1998). Rescuing

Wolbachia have been overlooked. Nature 391: 852-853.

12. D. Poinsot*, K. Bourtzis*, G. Markakis, C. Savakis and H. Merçot (1998).

Wolbachia transfer from Drosophila melanogaster to D. simulans: host effect and

cytoplasmic incompatibility relationships. Genetics 150: 227-237. (* equal

contributors).

13. L.M. Gomulski, K. Bourtzis, S. Brogna, P. A. Morandi, C. Bonvicini, F.

Sebastiani, C. Torti, C.R. Guglielmino, C. Savakis, G. Gasperi and A.R.

Malacrida (1998). Intron size polymorphism of the Adh1 gene paralleles the

world-wide colonization history of the Mediterranean fruit fly Ceratitis capitata.

Molecular Ecology 7: 1729-1741.

14. S. Dobson, K. Bourtzis, H.R. Braig, B.F. Jones, W. Zhou, F. Rousset and S.L.

O’Neill (1999). Wolbachia infections are distributed throughout insect somatic

and germ line tissues. Insect Biochemistry and Molecular Biology 29: 153-160.

15. L. Sun, A. Babaratsas, C. Savakis, S.L. O’Neill and K. Bourtzis (1999). Gene

organization of the dnaA region of Wolbachia. Journal of Bacteriology 181:

4708-4710.

16. S. Oehler and K. Bourtzis (2000). First International Wolbachia Conference:

Wolbachia 2000. Symbiosis 29: 151-161.

17. K. Bourtzis, M.M. Pettigrew and S.L. O’Neill (2000). Wolbachia neither induces

nor suppresses transcripts encoding antimicrobial peptides. Insect Molecular

Biology 9: 635-639.



18. M.E. Clark, Z. Veneti, K. Bourtzis, T.L. Karr (2002). The distribution and

proliferation of the intracellular bacteria Wolbachia during spermatogenesis in

Drosophila. Mechanisms of Development, 111: 3-15.

19. S.L. Dobson, E.J. Marsland, Z. Veneti, K. Bourtzis and S.L. O’Neill (2002).

Characterization of Wolbachia host cell range via the in vitro establishment of

infections. Applied and Environmental Microbiology, 68: 656-660.

20. S. Charlat, A. Nirgianaki, K. Bourtzis and H. Merçot (2002). Evolution of

Wolbachia-induced cytoplasmic incompatibility in Drosophila simulans and D.

sechellia. Evolution, 56: 1735-1742.

21. M.E. Clark, Z. Veneti, K. Bourtzis, T.L. Karr (2003). Wolbachia distribution and

Cytoplasmic Incompatibility in Drosophila: the cyst as the basic cellular unit of

CI expression. Mechanisms of Development, 120: 85-98.

22. A. Nirgianaki, G.K. Banks, D. Frohlich, Z. Veneti, H.R. Braig, T.A. Miller, I.D.

Bedford, P.G. Markham, C. Savakis, and K. Bourtzis (2003) Wolbachia infections

of the whitefly Bemisia tabaci. Current Microbiology, 47: 93-101.

23. Z. Veneti, M.E. Clark, S. Zabalou, T.L. Karr, C. Savakis and K. Bourtzis (2003).

Cytoplasmic incompatibility and sperm cyst infection in different Drosophila-

Wolbachia associations. Genetics, 164: 545-552.

24. L.M. Gomulski, S. Brogna, A. Babaratsas, G. Gasperi, A. Zacharopoulou, C.

Savakis and K. Bourtzis (2004). Molecular basis of the size polymorphism of the

first intron of the Adh-1 gene of the Mediterranean fruit fly, Ceratitis capitata.

Journal of Molecular Evolution, 58: 732-742.

25. S. Zabalou, S. Charlat, A. Nirgianaki, D. Lachaise, H. Merçot and K. Bourtzis

(2004). Natural Wolbachia infections in the Drosophila yakuba species complex

do not induce cytoplasmic incompatibility but fully rescue the wRi modification.

Genetics, 167: 827-834.

26. Z. Veneti, M. E. Clark, T. L. Karr, C. Savakis and K. Bourtzis (2004). Heads or

tails: host-parasite interactions in the Drosophila-Wolbachia system. Applied and

Environmental Microbiology, 70: 5366-5372.



27. S. Zabalou, M. Riegler, M. Theodorakopoulou, C. Stauffer, C. Savakis and K.

Bourtzis (2004). Wolbachia-induced cytoplasmic incompatibility as a means for

insect pest population control. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences

of the United States of America, 101: 15042-15045.

28. O. Duron, C. Bernard, S. Unal, J. Lagnel, K. Bourtzis, M. Raymond and M. Weill

(2005). World distribution and genetic diversity of Wolbachia inducing

cytoplasmic incompatibilities in the mosquito Culex pipiens. Molecular Ecology,

14: 1561-1573.

29. A. C. Darby, J. Lagnel, C. Matthews, K. Bourtzis, I. Maudlin and S. Welburn

(2005). Extra- chromosomal DNA of the symbiont Sodalis glossinidius. Journal

of Bacteriology, 187: 5003-5007.

30. K. Koukou, H. Pavlikaki, G. Kilias, J. H. Werren, K. Bourtzis and S. N. Alahiotis

(2006). Influence of antibiotic treatment and Wolbachia curing on sexual isolation

among Drosophila melanogaster cage populations. Evolution, 60: 87-96.

31. S. Brogna, K. Bourtzis, L. M. Gomulski, M. Denaxa, A. Babaratsas, G. Gasperi

and C. Savakis (2006). Genomic organization and functional characterization of

the alcohol dehydrogenase locus of Ceratitis capitata (Medfly). Insect Molecular

Biology, 15: 259-268.

32. C. Paraskevopoulos, S. Bordenstein, J. J. Wernergreen, J. Werren and K. Bourtzis

(2006). Towards a Wolbachia Multilocus Sequence Typing system:

discrimination of Wolbachia strains present in Drosophila species. Current

Microbiology, 53: 388-395.

33. N. Lo, C. Paraskevopoulos, K. Bourtzis, S. L. O’Neill, J. H. Werren, S. R.

Bordenstein and C. Bandi (2007). Taxonomic status of the intracellular bacterium

Wolbachia pipientis. International Journal of Systematic and Evolutionary


34. P. Ioannidis, J.C. Dunning Hotopp, P. Sapountzis, S. Siozios, G. Tsiamis, S.R.

Bordenstein, L. Baldo, J.H. Werren and K. Bourtzis (2007). New Criteria for

Selecting the Origin of DNA Replication of Wolbachia and Closely Related

Bacteria. BMC Genomics, 8:182.



35. P. Ioannidis and K. Bourtzis (2007). Insect Symbionts and Applications: the

paradigm of cytoplasmic incompatibility-inducing Wolbachia. Entomological

Research, 37: 125-138. (Invited Review).

36. S. Siozios, P. Sapountzis, P. Ioannidis and K. Bourtzis (2008). Wolbachia

Symbiosis and Insect Immune Response. Insect Science, 15: 89-100 (Invited

Review).

37. I. Kounatidis, N. Papadopoulos, K. Bourtzis and P. Mavragani-Tsipidou (2008).

Genetic and Cytogenetic Analysis of the Fruit Fly Rhagoletis cerasi (Diptera:

Tephritidae). Genome, 51: 479-491.

38. S. Zabalou, A. Apostolaki, S. Pattas, Z. Veneti, C. Paraskevopoulos, I. Livadaras,

G. Markakis, T. Brissac, H. Merçot and K. Bourtzis (2008). Multiple rescue

factors within a Wolbachia strain. Genetics, 178: 2145-2160.

39. S.R. Bordenstein, C. Paraskevopoulos, J.C. Dunning-Hotopp, P. Sapountzis, N.

Lo, C. Bandi, H. Tettelin, J.H. Werren and K. Bourtzis (2009). Parasitism and

mutualism in Wolbachia: what the phylogenomic trees can and can not say.

Molecular Biology and Evolution, 26: 231-241.

40. C. Caceres, D. F. Segura, T. Vera, V. Wornoayporn, A. Islam, JL Cladera, P.

Teal, P. Sapountzis, K. Bourtzis, A. Zacharopoulou and A. S. Robinson (2009).

Incipient speciation revealed by studies on mating compatibility, sex pheromones,

hybridization and cytology, between laboratory strains of Anastrepha fraterculus

from Peru and Argentina. Biological Journal of the Linnean Society, 97: 152-165.

41. L. Klasson, J. Westberg, P. Sapountzis, K. Näslund, Y. Lutnaes, A. C. Darby, Z.

Veneti, L. Chen, H. R. Braig, R. Garrett, K. Bourtzis and S. G. E. Andersson

(2009). The mosaic genome structure of the Wolbachia wRi strain infecting

Drosophila simulans. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the

United States of America, 106: 5725-5730.

42. I. Kounatidis, E. Crotti, P. Sapountzis, L. Sacchi, A. Rizzi, B. Chouaia, C. Bandi,

A. Alma, D. Daffonchio, P. Mavragani-Tsipidou and K. Bourtzis (2009).

Acetobacter tropicalis is a major symbiont in the olive fruit fly Bactrocera oleae.

Applied and Environmental Microbiology, 75: 3281-3288.



43. N. Ishmael, J.C. Dunning-Hotopp, P. Ioannidis, S. Biber, J. Sakamoto, S. Siozios,

V. Nene, J. Werren, K. Bourtzis, S.R. Bordenstein, H. Tettelin (2009). Extensive

Genomic Diversity of Closely Related Wolbachia Strains. Microbiology, 155:

2211-2222.

44. S. Zabalou, A. Apostolaki, I. Livadaras, G. Franz, A.S. Robinson, C. Savakis and

K. Bourtzis (2009). Incompatible Insect Technique: Incompatible Males from a

Ceratitis capitata (Diptera: Tephritidae) Genetic Sexing Strain. Entomologia

Experimentalis et Applicata, 132: 232-240.

45. R. Gross, F. Vavre, A. Heddi, G.D. Hurst, E. Zchori-Fein and K. Bourtzis (2009).

Immunity and Symbiosis. Molecular Microbiology, 73: 751-759.

46. A. Saridaki and K. Bourtzis (2009). Wolbachia-induced reproductive parasitism

and applications. Entomologia Hellenica, 18: 3-16.

47. A. Saridaki and K. Bourtzis (2010). Wolbachia: more than just a bug in insects’

genitals. Current Opinion in Microbiology 13: 67-72.

48. A.A. Augustinos, A.K. Asimakopoulou, N.T. Papadopoulos and K. Bourtzis

(2010). Cross amplified microsatellites in the European cherry fly, Rhagoletis

cerasi: medium polymorphic – highly informative markers. Bulletin of

Entomological Research 101: 45-52.

49. S. Maniatsi, K. Bourtzis and T.J. Abatzopoulos (2010). May parthenogenesis in

Artemia be attributed to Wolbachia? Hydrobiologia 651: 317-322.

50. E. Drosopoulou, K. Koeppler, I. Kounatidis, I. Nakou, N. T. Papadopoulos, K.

Bourtzis and P. Mavragani-Tsipidou (2010). Genetic and Cytogenetic Analysis of

the Walnut-Husk Fly (Diptera: Tephritidae). Annals of the Entomological Society

of America 103: 1003-1011.

51. Luciano Sacchi, Marco Genchi, Emanuela Clementi, Ilaria Negri, Alberto Alma,

Davide Sassera, Stefan Oehler, Kostas Bourtzis and Claudio Bandi

(2010).Bacteriocyte-like cells harbour Wolbachia in the ovary of Drosophila

melanogaster (Insecta, Diptera) and Zyginidia pullula (Insecta, Hemiptera).

Tissue & Cell 42: 328-333.



52. E. Crotti, A. Rizzi, G. Favia, A. Alma, L. Sacchi, K. Bourtzis, M. Mandrioli, A.

Cherif, C. Bandi and D. Daffonchio (2010). Acetic acid bacteria in insects: just

environmental bacteria or secondary symbionts? Applied and Environmental

Microbiology 76: 6963-6970.

53. G.U.C. Lehmann, S. Siozios, K. Bourtzis, K. Reinhold and A.W. Lehmann

(2010). Thelytokous parthenogenesis and the heterogeneous decay of mating

behaviours in a bushcricket. Journal of Zoological Systematics and Evolutionary

Research (doi: 10.1111/j.1439-0469.2010.00588.x).

54. A. Sarakatsanou, A. Diamantidis, S. Papanastasiou, K. Bourtzis, and N. T.

Papadopoulos (2011). Wolbachia affects fitness components in two medfly

strains. Journal of Applied Entomology (doi: 10.1111/j.1439-0418.2011.01610.x).

55. E. Drosopoulou, D. Nestel, I. Nakou, I. Kounatidis, N. T. Papadopoulos, K.

Bourtzis and P. Mavragani-Tsipidou (2011). Cytogenetic Analysis of the

Ethiopian fruit fly Dacus ciliatus (Diptera: Tephritidae). Genetica

(doi:10.1007/s10709-011-9575-z).

56. A. Saridaki, P. Sapountzis, H. L. Harris, P. D. Batista, J. A. Biliske, H. Pavlikaki,

S. Oehler, C. Savakis, H. R. Braig and K. Bourtzis (2011). Wolbachia Prophage

DNA Adenine Methyltransferase Genes in Different Drosophila-Wolbachia

Associations. PLoS ONE 6(5): e1970 (doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0019708).

57. G. Papafotiou, S. Oehler, C. Savakis and K. Bourtzis (2011). Regulation of

Wolbachia ankyrin-domain encoding genes in Drosophila gonads. Research in

Microbiology 162:764–772 (doi: 10.1016/j.resmic.2011.06.012).

58. A.A. Augustinos, D. Santos-Garcia, E. Dionyssopoulou, M. Moreira, A.

Papapanagiotou, M. Scarvelakis, V. Doudoumis, S. Ramos, A.F. Aguiar, P.A.V.

Borges, M. Khadem, A. Latorre, G. Tsiamis and K. Bourtzis (2011). Detection

and characterization of Wolbachia infections in natural populations of aphids: is

the hidden diversity fully unraveled? PLoS ONE 6(12): e28695.

59. V. Doudoumis, G. Tsiamis, F. Wamwiri, C. Brelsfoard, U. Alam, E. Aksoy, S.

Dalaperas, A. Abd-Alla, J. Ouma, P. Takac, S. Aksoy and K. Bourtzis (2012).

Detection and characterization of Wolbachia infections in laboratory and natural

populations of different species of tsetse (genus Glossina). BMC Microbiology, 12

(Suppl 1): S3



60. A. Tsagkarakou, L. Mouton, J. B. Kristoffersen, E. Dokianakis, M. Grispou and

K. Bourtzis (2012). Population genetic structure and secondary endosymbionts of

Q biotype Bemisia tabaci (Hemiptera: Aleyrodidae). Bulletin of Entomological

Research (doi: 10.1017/S0007485311000757).

61. E. Drosopoulou, A.A. Augustinos, I. Nakou, K. Koeppler, I. Kounatidis, H. Vogt,

N. Papadopoulos, K. Bourtzis and P. Mavragani (2012). Genetic and cytogenetic

analysis of the American cherry fruit fly Rhagoletis cingulata (Diptera:

Tephritidae). Genetica (In Press).

62. Z. Veneti, S. Zabalou, G. Papafotiou, C. Paraskevopoulos, S. Pattas, I. Livadaras,

G. Markakis, J. Herren, J. Jaenike and K. Bourtzis (2012). Loss of reproductive

parasitism following transfer of male-killing Wolbachia to Drosophila

melanogaster and Drosophila simulans. Heredity (submitted).

63. V. Doudoumis, U. Alam, E. Aksoy, A. Abd-Alla, G. Tsiamis, C. Brelsfoard, S.

Aksoy and K. Bourtzis (2012). Tsetse-Wolbachia Symbiosis: comes of age and

has great potential for pest and disease control. Journal of Invertebrate Pathology

(Accepted pending minor revisions).

64. A. Abd-Alla, M. Bergoin, A. G. Parker, N. K. Maniana, J. M. Vlak, K. Bourtzis,

D. G. Broucias and S. Aksoy (2012). Improving SIT for tsetse flies through

research on their symbionts and pathogens. Journal of Invertebrate Pathology

(Accepted pending minor revisions ).

65. J. Van den Abbeele, K. Bourtzis, B. Weiss, C. Cordón-Rosales, W. Miller, A.

Abd-Alla and A. G. Parker, (2012). Enhancing Tsetse fly refractoriness to

Trypanosome infection - A new IAEA Coordinated Research Project. Journal of

Invertebrate Pathology (Accepted pending minor revisions ).



Publications Environmental Microbiology and Genomics (other than insect symbionts)


1. Stevens, C.; Bennett, M.A.; Athanassopoulos, E.; Tsiamis, G.; Taylor, J.D.;

Mansfield, J.W. (1998). Sequence variations in alleles of the avirulence gene

avrPphE.R2 from Pseudomonas syringae pv. phaseolicola lead to loss of

recognition of the AvrPphE protein within bean cells and a gain in cultivar-

specific virulence. Molecular Microbiology 29 (1) 165-177.

2. Jackson, R.; Athanassopoulos, E.; Tsiamis, G.; Sesma, A.; Arnold, D.L.; Gibbon,

M.J.; Murillo, J.; Taylor, J.D.; Vivian, A. (1999) Identification of a pathogenicity

island, which contains genes for virulence and avirulence, on a large native

plasmid in the bean pathogen Pseudomonas syringae pathovar phaseolicola.

Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of USA, 96, 10875-10880.

3. Tsiamis, G.; Mansfield, J.W.; Hockenhull, R.; Jackson R.; Sesma, A.;

Athanassopoulos E.;, Bennet, M; Stevens, C.;Vivian, A.; Taylor, J.; Murillo, J.

(2000). Cultivar-specific avirulence and virulence functions assigned to avrPphF

in Pseudomonas syringae pv. phaseolicola, the cause of bean halo-blight disease.

EMBO Journal, 19, 3204-3214.

4. Lee, J.; Klusener, B.; Tsiamis, G.; Stevens S.; Neyt, C.;Tampakaki, A.P.;

Panopoulos, N.J.; Noller, J.; Weiler, E.W.; Cornelis, G.R.; Mansfield, J.W.;

Nurnberger, T. (2001) HrpZPsph from the plant pathogen Pseudomonas syringae

pv. phaseolicola binds to lipid bilayers and forms an ion-conducting pore in vitro.

Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of USA, 98,289-294.

5. R. W. Jackson, R.W.; Mansfield, J.W.; Ammouneh, H.; Dutton, L.C.; Wharton,

B.; Ortiz-Barredo, A.; Arnold, D.L.;Tsiamis, G.; Sesma, A.; Butcher, D.; Boch, J.;

Kim, T.J.; Martin, G.B.; Tegli, S.; Murillo, J.; Vivian, A. (2002) Location and

activity of members of a family of virPphA homologues in pathovars of

Pseudomonas syringae and P. savastanoi. Molecular Plant Pathology, 3,4, 205-

217.

6. Rivas, L.A., Mansfield, J.W., Tsiamis, G.,Jackson, R.W., Murillo, J. (2005)

Changes in race-specific virulence in P. syringae pv. phaseolicola are associated

with a chimeric transposable element and rare deletion events in a plasmid-borne

pathogenicity island. Applied and Environmental Microbiology, 71: 3778-3785.



7. Ε. Α. Tzortzakakis, M. A. M. Adam, V. C. Blok, C. Paraskevopoulos and K.

Bourtzis (2005). Occurrence of resistant breaking populations of root-knot

nematodes on tomato in Greece. European Journal of Plant Pathology, 113: 101-

105.

8. Landgraf, A., Weingart, H., Tsiamis, G. and Boch, J. (2006) Different versions of

Pseudomonas syringae pv. tomato DC3000 exist due to the activity of an effector

transposon. Molecular Plant Pathology, 7: 355-364.

9. I. A. Vasiliadou, S. Siozios, I. T. Papadas, K. Bourtzis, S. Pavlou, and D. V.

Vayenas (2006). Kinetics of pure cultures of hydrogen-oxidizing denitrifying

bacteria and modeling of the interactions among them in mixed cultures.

Biotechnology and Bioengineering, 95: 513-525.

10. de Torres, M., Mansfield, J. W., Grabov, N., Brown, I., Ammouneh, H., Tsiamis,

G., Grant, M. and Boch, J. (2006) Interactions between the bacterial effector

AvrPtoB and mechanisms of basal resistance in Arabidopsis. Plant Journal, 47:

368-382

11. Tsiamis, G., Katsaveli, K., Ntougias, S., Kyrpides, N., Andersen, G., Piceno, Y.,

Bourtzis, K. (2008) Prokaryotic community profiles at different operational stages

of a Greek solar saltern. Research in Microbiology, 159: 609-627.

12. A. Tekerlekopoulou, G. Tsiamis, K. Bourtzis and D. Vayenas (2010). The effect

of carbon source on microbial community structure and Cr(VI) reduction

rate. Biotechnology and Bioengineering 107: 478-487.

13. Katerina Katsaveli, Dimitris Vayenas, George Tsiamis, Kostas Bourtzis (2012)

Bacterial Diversity in Cr(VI) and Cr(III)-contaminated industrial wastewaters.

Extremophiles doi:10.1007/s00792-012-0429-0

14. Tsiamis G, Tzagkaraki G, Chamalaki A, Xypteras N, Andersen G, Vayenas D,

Bourtzis K (2012) Olive-Mill wastewater bacterial communities display a cultivar

specific profile. Current Microbiology 64(2): 197-203.



Publications Molecular Ecology (other than prokaryotes)


1. G. Tsipas, G. Tsiamis, K. Vidalis and K. Bourtzis (2009). Genetic differentiation

among Greek lake populations of Carassius gibelio and Cyprinus carpio carpio.

Genetica, 136: 491-500.

2. M. Andreou, P. Delipetrou, C. Kadis, G. Tsiamis, K. Bourtzis and K. Georghiou

(2011). An integrated approach for the conservation of threatened plants: the case

of Arabis kennedyae. Acta Oecologica (doi:10.1016/j.actao.2011.02.007).

3. E. Drosopoulou, G. Tsiamis, M. Mavropoulou, S. Vittas, K.A. Katselidis, G.

Schofield, D. Palaiologou, T. Sartsidis, K. Bourtzis, J. Pantis and Z.G. Scouras

(2012). The complete mitochondrial genome of the loggerhead turtle Caretta

caretta (Testudines: Cheloniidae): Genome description and phylogenetic

considerations. Mitochondrial DNA 23: 1-12.



Thesis completed in the laboratory of the Group

MSc Thesis

1. G. Papafotiou (2001): Study of the Wolbachia induced Cytoplasmic

Incompatibility in isogenic lines of Drosophila melanogaster. (Supervisor:

Kostas Bourtzis) [in the frame of the PhD program “Molecular Biology-

Biomedicine” by IMBB, Department of Biology and Medical School, University

of Crete].

2. Α. Stavropoulos (2001): Isolation of chromosomal DNA from three Wolbachia

strains. (Supervisor: Kostas Bourtzis) [in the frame of the PhD program

“Molecular Biology-Biomedicine” by IMBB, Department of Biology and Medical

School, University of Crete].

3. E. Doudoumis (2005) Development and application of a qualitative and

quantitative detection of GMOs in foods and animal feed. (Supervisor: Kostas

Bourtzis)

4. G. Tsagkaraki (2007) Microbial diversity of olive-mill waste in the region of lake

Trichonida (Natura 2000): isolation and molecular characterization of bacterial

strains that break-down phenolic compounds. (Supervisor: Kostas Bourtzis)

5. Ν. Xypteras (2008) Microbial remediation of phenolic compounds in

environmental samples: isolation and molecular characterization of halophilic

bacteria (Supervisor: Kostas Bourtzis)

6. Y. Lagogiannis (2010) Interactions between plants and soil microbes.

(Supervisors: Kostas Bourtzis and George Tsiamis).



BSc Thesis (Supervisor: Kostas Bourtzis)

1-2. P. Ioannidis and P. Sapountzis (2003) Detection and Characterization of

symbiotic bacteria in important agricultural pests.

3. Κ. Katsaveli (2003): Study of the microbial communities in the biological waste

treatment plant of Agrinio (in collaboration with Prof. D. Vayena).

4. S. Siozios (2003): Ankyrins and Wolbachia their role in the symbiotic assocations

and the elicitation of reproductive abnormalities.

5. Ε. Boutetsiou (2004): Microorganisms and bioremediation of phenols: detection

of the tfd and clc genes.

6. Κ. Skopelitou (2004): Microorganisms and bioremediation of phenols: detection

of the cadA, cadB, pceA and cprA genes.

7. Α. Konstantinis (2004): Use of bioinformatics for the study of the evolution of

genomes: case study the Wolbachia genome.

8. Α. Chamalaki (2005): Detection, isolation and characterization of bacteria and

degrade phenol.

9. Ε. Tzirkali (2005): Genetic and ecological analysis of the endemic plants under

the 92/43/ΕΟΚ in Crete (in collaboration with Prof. P. Dimopoulo).

10. Θ. Theodoridis (2005): Holistic approach in the genotoxic effect of phenols to

eukaryotic organisms. (in collaboration with Assis. Prof. Dimitri Vlasto).

11. Μ. Mauropoulou (2006): mt-DNA of Caretta caretta: a tool for the study of the

genetic diversity of natural populations.

12. G.-Μ. Moiragia (2006): Symbiotic bacteria of insects (bibliographic).

13. Κ. Varela (2006): Symbiotic bacteria of insects and their role in speciation and

increase of diversity (bibliographic).

14-15. G. Avramidis and Α. Sigkounas (2007): Isolation and characterization of bacteria

that degrade phenols.

16. Κ. Fanou (2007): Study of the genetic diversity of the endemic Nepeta troodi

(Cyprus) and Nepeta sphaciotica (Crete) with the use of microsatellites..

17. Μ. Skarvelakis (2007): Detection and characterization of symbiotic bacteria in

natural populations of aphids and thrips in Western Greece.



18. Β. Basanidis (2008): Study of the genotoxic mode of action of the 2-

μονοχλωροθαινόλης in Drosophila melanogaster (in collaboration with Assistant

Prof. Dimitri Vlasto).

19. S. Georgopoulos (2008). Detection of the endosymbiotic bacteria in population of

aphids and tse-tse flies.

20. Α. Valtsis (2009). Legislation, policy and applications of Biotechnology in

national, European and worldwide level (bibliographic).

21. Μ. Dokianakis (2009). Characterization of the symbiotic association Wolbachia

and African natural populations of Drosophila yakuba.

22. Ο. Lortou (2010). Isolation and genetic characterization of bacteria in samples

with high concentration of chromium and low pH.

23. Ζ. Diakopanagiotis (2011). Study of the prokaryotic diversity of the Etoliko

lagoon: a molecular approach.

24. Κ. Andrigiannaki (2012). Characterization of the bacterial diversity with 16S

rRNA libraries in arid environments of Sahara.



Publications produced by MSc students

Peer Reviewed Journals




Conference Proceedings

1. E. Doudoumis, G. Tsiamis, K. Bourtzis (2006) Qualitative and quantitative

detection of Bt11 in agricultural products. National Congress «Biosciences in the

21st Century», Athens, 13-15 April.

2. George Tsiamis, Georgia Tzagkaraki, Athina Chamalaki, Nikos Xipteras, Gary

Andersen, Nikos Kyrpides, Dimitris Vayenas, Kostas Bourtzis (2010) Olive-mill

wastewater bacterial communities exhibit a cultivar specific structure. 3rd MBK

conference, 16-18th December 2010, Thessaloniki, Greece.



PhD Thesis [Supervisor: Kostas Bourtzis]

1. Z. Veneti (2003) Cytoplasmic Incompatibility: A comparative study between

different Wolbachia strains present in Drosophila. [in the frame of the PhD

program “Molecular Biology-Biomedicine” by IMBB, Department of Biology

and Medical School, University of Crete; jointly with Prof. Babis Savakis].

Current affiliation: teaching lecturer (407/80) in Medical School of University

of Crete.

2. C. Paraskevopoulos (2007) Genetic diversity, phylogenetic analysis and evolution

of the bacterium Wolbachia. Current affiliation: head of the Crop Protection

division in a potato farm

3. P. Ioannidis (2008) A genomic approach in the study of the symbiotic bacterium

Wolbachia. Current affiliation: post-doc at University of Maryland, Baltimore,

USA.

4. P. Sapountzis (2008) «Molecular studies of the interactions between Wolbachia

and it’s hosts. Current affiliation: post-doc at the University of Copenhagen,

USA.

5. S. Siozios (2009) Distribution, expression and molecular evolution of the

Wolbachia ankyrin containing genes. Current affiliation: post-doc at the

Research and Innovation Centre, Trento, Italy

6. G. Papafotiou (2010) Study on the gene expression in the Wolbachia-Drosophila

association. [in the frame of the PhD program “Molecular Biology-Biomedicine”

by IMBB, Department of Biology and Medical School, University of Crete;

jointly with Prof. Babis Savakis]. Current affiliation: post-doc at the Academy,

Athens, Greece

7. K. Katsaveli (2012) Characterization of the prokaryotic diversity of solar saltern

and chromium containing industrial waste. Current affiliation: Civil servant

8. Α. Φαμαλάκη (experimental part completed) Study of the microbial diversity of

the Etoliko Lagoon.

9. Ε. Doudoumis (in progress) Characterization of the symbiotic diversity of insects

of agricultural, environmental and medical importance.



10. D. Kapantaidaki (in progress) Diversity of insect symbionts based on the genetic

structure of host populations.

11. Sofia Nikolaki (in progress) Microbial communities and pesticide interactions in

oilseed and sunflower.

Publications produced by PhD students

Peer Reviewed Journals

1. M.E. Clark, Z. Veneti, K. Bourtzis, T.L. Karr (2003). Wolbachia distribution and

Cytoplasmic Incompatibility in Drosophila: the cyst as the basic cellular unit of

CI expression. Mechanisms of Development, 120: 85-98.

2. A. Nirgianaki, G.K. Banks, D. Frohlich, Z. Veneti, H.R. Braig, T.A. Miller, I.D.

Bedford, P.G. Markham, C. Savakis, and K. Bourtzis (2003) Wolbachia infections

of the whitefly Bemisia tabaci. Current Microbiology, 47: 93-101.

3. Z. Veneti, M.E. Clark, S. Zabalou, T.L. Karr, C. Savakis and K. Bourtzis (2003).

Cytoplasmic incompatibility and sperm cyst infection in different Drosophila-

Wolbachia associations. Genetics, 164: 545-552.

4. Z. Veneti, M. E. Clark, T. L. Karr, C. Savakis and K. Bourtzis (2004). Heads or

tails: host-parasite interactions in the Drosophila-Wolbachia system. Applied and

Environmental Microbiology, 70: 5366-5372.

5. C. Paraskevopoulos, S. Bordenstein, J. J. Wernergreen, J. Werren and K. Bourtzis

(2006). Towards a Wolbachia Multilocus Sequence Typing system:

discrimination of Wolbachia strains present in Drosophila species. Current


6. N. Lo, C. Paraskevopoulos, K. Bourtzis, S. L. O’Neill, J. H. Werren, S. R.

Bordenstein and C. Bandi (2007). Taxonomic status of the intracellular bacterium

Wolbachia pipientis. International Journal of Systematic and Evolutionary


7. P. Ioannidis, J.C. Dunning Hotopp, P. Sapountzis, S. Siozios, G. Tsiamis, S.R.

Bordenstein, L. Baldo, J.H. Werren and K. Bourtzis (2007). New Criteria for



Selecting the Origin of DNA Replication of Wolbachia and Closely Related

Bacteria. BMC Genomics, 8:182.

8. P. Ioannidis and K. Bourtzis (2007). Insect Symbionts and Applications: the

paradigm of cytoplasmic incompatibility-inducing Wolbachia. Entomological

Research, 37: 125-138. (Invited Review).

9. S. Siozios, P. Sapountzis, P. Ioannidis and K. Bourtzis (2008). Wolbachia

Symbiosis and Insect Immune Response. Insect Science, 15: 89-100 (Invited

Review).

10. S. Zabalou, A. Apostolaki, S. Pattas, Z. Veneti, C. Paraskevopoulos, I. Livadaras,

G. Markakis, T. Brissac, H. Merçot and K. Bourtzis (2008). Multiple rescue

factors within a Wolbachia strain. Genetics, 178: 2145-2160.

11. S.R. Bordenstein, C. Paraskevopoulos, J.C. Dunning-Hotopp, P. Sapountzis, N.

Lo, C. Bandi, H. Tettelin, J.H. Werren and K. Bourtzis (2009). Parasitism and

mutualism in Wolbachia: what the phylogenomic trees can and cannot say.

Molecular Biology and Evolution, 26: 231-241.

12. C. Caceres, D. F. Segura, T. Vera, V. Wornoayporn, A. Islam, JL Cladera, P.

Teal, P. Sapountzis, K. Bourtzis, A. Zacharopoulou and A. S. Robinson (2009).

Incipient speciation revealed by studies on mating compatibility, sex pheromones,

hybridization and cytology, between laboratory strains of Anastrepha fraterculus

from Peru and Argentina. Biological Journal of the Linnean Society, 97: 152-165.

13. L. Klasson, J. Westberg, P. Sapountzis, K. Näslund, Y. Lutnaes, A. C. Darby, Z.

Veneti, L. Chen, H. R. Braig, R. Garrett, K. Bourtzis and S. G. E. Andersson

(2009). The mosaic genome structure of the Wolbachia wRi strain infecting

Drosophila simulans. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the

United States of America, 106: 5725-5730.

14. I. Kounatidis, E. Crotti, P. Sapountzis, L. Sacchi, A. Rizzi, B. Chouaia, C. Bandi,

A. Alma, D. Daffonchio, P. Mavragani-Tsipidou and K. Bourtzis (2009).

Acetobacter tropicalis is a major symbiont in the olive fruit fly Bactrocera oleae.

Applied and Environmental Microbiology, 75: 3281-3288.



15. N. Ishmael, J.C. Dunning-Hotopp, P. Ioannidis, S. Biber, J. Sakamoto, S. Siozios,

V. Nene, J. Werren, K. Bourtzis, S.R. Bordenstein, H. Tettelin (2009). Extensive

Genomic Diversity of Closely Related Wolbachia Strains. Microbiology, 155:

2211-2222.

16. G. Papafotiou, S. Oehler, C. Savakis and K. Bourtzis (2011). Regulation of

Wolbachia ankyrin-domain encoding genes in Drosophila gonads. Research in

Microbiology 162:764–772 (doi: 10.1016/j.resmic.2011.06.012).

17. V. Doudoumis, G. Tsiamis, F. Wamwiri, C. Brelsfoard, U. Alam, E. Aksoy, S.

Dalaperas, A. Abd-Alla, J. Ouma, P. Takac, S. Aksoy and K. Bourtzis (2012).

Detection and characterization of Wolbachia infections in laboratory and natural

populations of different species of tsetse (genus Glossina). BMC Microbiology, 12

(Suppl 1): S3

18. Tsiamis, G., Katsaveli, K., Ntougias, S., Kyrpides, N., Andersen, G., Piceno, Y.,

Bourtzis, K. (2008) Prokaryotic community profiles at different operational stages

of a Greek solar saltern. Research in Microbiology, 159: 609-627.

19. Katerina Katsaveli, Dimitris Vayenas, George Tsiamis, Kostas Bourtzis (2012)

Bacterial Diversity in Cr(VI) and Cr(III)-contaminated industrial wastewaters.

Extremophiles doi:10.1007/s00792-012-0429-0




21. V. Doudoumis, U. Alam, E. Aksoy, A. Abd-Alla, G. Tsiamis, C. Brelsfoard, S.

Aksoy and K. Bourtzis (2012). Tsetse-Wolbachia Symbiosis: comes of age and

has great potential for pest and disease control. Journal of Invertebrate Pathology

(Accepted pending minor revisions).



Conference Proceedings

1. Tsiamis ,G., Siozios, S., Mansfield, J.,and Bourtzis K. (2008) Expression of

the hrpA gene product in planta activates plant immunity in Arabidopsis

thaliana. 33rd FEBS Congress, Athens, 28 June- 3 July.

2. Katsaveli, K., Tsiamis, G., Ntougias, S., Kyrpides, N., Piceno, Y.,

Andersen, G., Bourtzis, K. (2008) Microbial community shifts during the

annual operation of Messolonghi solar saltern, Greece. 33rd FEBS

Congress, Athens, 28 June- 3 July.

3. G. Tsiamis, K. Katsaveli, S. Ntougias, N. Kyrpides, G. Andersen, Y.

Piceno, K. Bourtzis. Application of a 16S rDNA oligonucleotide

microarray (PhyloChip) for profiling prokaryotic diversity and community

shifts from the Messolonghi solar saltern. 1st MBK conference, 12-14th

December 2008, Athens, Greece.

4. G. Tsiamis, A. Saridaki, A. Chamalaki, K. Bourtzis. MicrobeGR:

Supporting environmental microbiology and biotechnology research

potential in Western Greece. 1st MBK conference, 12-14th December

2008, Athens, Greece (poster presentation).

5. George Tsiamis, Athina Chamalaki, Nikos Kyrpides, Yvette Piceno, Gary

Andersen, Kostas Bourtzis (2009) Microbial community analysis of a

meromictic lagoon in western greece. 10th BAGECO conference, 15-19

June, Uppsala, Sweden.

6. Athina Chamalaki, George Tsiamis, Zacharias Diakopanagiotis, Areti

Giani, Giorgos Kechagias, Nikos Kyrpides, Phil Hugenholtz, Gary

Andersen, Kostas bourtzis (2009) Characterization of bacterial

communities in the Etoliko Lagoon. 2nd MBK conference, 11-13th

December 2009, Athens, Greece.

7. Katerina Katsaveli, George Tsiamis, Dimitris Vayenas, Kostas Bourtzis

(2009) Molecular characterization of the microbial diversity and

community profiles from Cr(VI) contaminated industrial wastewater. 2nd

MBK conference, 11-13th December 2009, Athens, Greece.

8. Athina Chamalaki, George Tsiamis, Vaggelis Diacoumis, Zacharias

Diakopanagiotis, George Kechagias, Nikos Kyrpides, Gary Andersen,

Kostas Bourtzis (2010) Characterization of a unique vertical bacterial

diversity from the Etoliko lagoon. 3rd MBK conference, 16-18th December

2010, Thessaloniki, Greece.



9. Vaggelis Doudoumis, George Tsiamis, Corey Brelsfoard, Florence

Wamwiri, Stelios Dalaperas, Abd-Alla Adly, Aksoy Serap, Kostas Bourtzis

(2010) Identification and molecular characterization of the endosymbiotic

bacterium Wolbachia in natural and lab populations of Glossina flies (tse-

tse). 3rd MBK conference, 16-18th December 2010, Thessaloniki, Greece.

10. Katerina Katsaveli, Dimitris Vagenas, Giorgos Tsiamis, Kostas Bourtzis

(2010) Culture-independent analysis of microbial diversity in chromium

contaminated industrial wastes. 3rd MBK conference, 16-18th December

2010, Thessaloniki, Greece.

11. George Tsiamis, Athina Chamalaki, Gary Andersen, Tanja Woyke, Nikos

Kyrpides and Kostas Bourtzis (2011) Unraveling a unique microbial

diversity from the Etoliko lagoon, Western Greece. 11th BAGECO

conference, 20th May – 2nd June, Corfu, Greece. (Oral presentation)

12. Doudoumis V., Tsiamis G., Wamwiri F., Brelsfoard C., Alam U., Aksoy E.,

Dalaperas S., Abd-Alla A., Ouma J., Takac P., Aksoy S. and Bourtzis K.

(2011) Investigation of Wolbachia - tsetse flies (genus Glossina) symbiotic

interactions 4th MBK conference, 21-23rd October 2011, Ioannina, Greece.

13. Vangelis Doudoumis, George Tsiamis, Florence Wamwiri, Corey

Brelsfoard, Uzma Alam, Emre Aksoy, Stelios Dalaperas, Adly Abd-Alla,

Johnson Ouma, Peter Takac, Serap Aksoy and Kostas Bourtzis (2011)

Insights in Wolbachia – tsetse (genus Glossina) symbiotic interactions

ASTMH 60th Annual Meeting, 4-8th December 2011, Philadelphia,

Pennsylvania USA

14. Vangelis Doudoumis, George Tsiamis, Florence Wamwiri, Corey

Brelsfoard, Uzma Alam, Emre Aksoy, Stelios Dalaperas, Alexander P.

Egyir-Yawson, Imna Malele, Johnson Ouma, Peter Takac, Adly Abd-Alla,

Serap Aksoy and Kostas Bourtzis (2012) FINAL RESEARCH CO-

ORDINATION MEETING,26-30 March,Vienna, Austria On “Improving

SIT for Tsetse Flies through Research on their Symbionts and Pathogen”



Instrumentation

Affymetric microarray system

Genetic analyzer (ABI310) x 2

Real-Time PCR

DGGE



Pulse field

Electroporator

Hybridization oven

Insect rearing incubator (CLIMACELL)

Plant growth room

Incubators



Laminar flow

Fume hood

Gel doc – Image analyzer

Thermocyclers (PCRs) x 3

Sorvall high speed centrifuge



Orbital shakers

Anaerobic chamber (glove box)

Bench top refrigerated centrifuges

Electrophoresis apparatuses for DNA and proteins

Linux server (16 CPUs, 32MB RAM)



Dissemination Activities

1. Participation in the International Innovation Report produced by ResearchMedia

Ltd, which is Europe’s Leading Portal for Scientific Dissemination.

2. Production and publication of three (3) podcasts on: (a) metagenomics with Dr

Nikos Kyrpides, (b) DNA microarrays with Prof. Tim Vogel and (c) extreme

environments and microbial ecology with Prof. Daniele Daffonchio.

3. Production and publication of a leaflet on DNA microarrays.

4. Organization of two workshops with more than 50 PhDs, MSc and post-docs

participating. The first workshop was focused on “Molecular Approaches to

Unravel the Hidden Microbial World” while the second one was on “DNA

Microarrays from theory to practise”;

5. Organization of a conference on the “Use of advanced molecular technologies

for improving agricultural and environmental management”; 19-22nd

September

2010.

6. Production of a leaflet focusing of Microbial Extremophiles for Supporting

Agriculture Research potential in Tunisia and Southern Europe

7. Scientific Publications in Popular Press

Kostas Bourtzis (2001). Wolbachia a tool to control the olivefly, Bactocera

oleae. Elia kai Elaiolado, Isuue 22: 37-40.

8. Participation in popular sciences dissemination activities

Tsiamis G., Katerinopoulos, L., Chamalaki, A., Deligiannakis, I., Bourtzis

K. (2007) Etoliko Lagoon: Physicochemical and Biological factors affecting

H2S release. Conference entitled: Etoliko Lagoon and the surrounding

environment. 11 March (invited speaker).

Kostas Bourtzis MikroBioKosmos and alternative methods for controlling

insect pests. 3rd conference of the Kandilioton Union of Etoloakarnania, 31

October 2009, Kandila, Etoloakarnanias, «Agricultural development –

Environment - Civilization (invited speaker).



Tsiamis, G. (2010) ΜικροΒιόκοζμος and Omic technologies. Department

of Biochemistry and Biotechnology, 20 October, Larisa.

Kostas Bourtzis (22 January 2011). «GMOs: myths and reality».

Conference that was organized by Green Aim an NGO based in Agrinio.

(invited speaker).

Interview in the frame of the local radio program «Health and Nutrition» (2

June 2011). The subject of the interview was GMOs in food.

(http://diaitologia-diatrofi.blogspot.com/2011/06/blog-post.html).

Publications in newspapers related with the use of Wolbachia for the

control of agricultural pests (http://agriada.blogspot.com/2011/06/blog-

post_5369.html

http://diaitologia-diatrofi.blogspot.com/2011/06/blog-post.html

http://agriada.blogspot.com/2011/06/blog-post_5369.html

http://agriada.blogspot.com/2011/06/blog-post_5369.html







PODCASTS



Metagenomic Pyrosequencing and Environmental Microbiology

This is the podcast from MicrobeGR prepared by George Tsiamis and Kostas Bourtzis.

First, we all became acquainted with the genome, then the proteome, and now a whole

host of “-omics, including metagenomics” have dominated research in environmental

microbiology and microbial ecology. Omics have helped to break down some barriers

among laboratory disciplines, and now there are many projects involved in characterizing

the microorganisms that are associated with bioremediation, bioenergy and even lately

the human health and disease.

The U.S. Department of Energy Joint Genome Institute, supported by the DOE Office of

Science, advances genomics in support of the DOE missions related to clean energy

generation and environmental characterization and clean-up. JGI’s Walnut Creek,

California, facility provides integrated high-throughput sequencing and computational

analysis that enable systems-based scientific approaches to these challenges. A significant

portion of the DOE JGI's projects are related to bioenergy and focus on three areas:

developing plant feedstocks; using microbes to break down cellulose in plant cell walls;

and fermenting sugars into biofuels.

Dr Nikos Kyrpides is the Head of the Metagenomic Program at JGI.

Dr Kyrpides could you tell us an outline of the metagenomic approach? What exactly is

this new technology and how is going to help us in the study of microbes?

Metagenomics is a new discipline that enables the genomic study of entire microbial

communities, . In parallel, new technologies enabling faster and cheaper sequencing, now

also provide unique opportunities to sequence uncultured microbes sampled directly from

their habitats, thus expanding and literally transforming our view of the microbial world.

Getting meaningful and useful information from the millions of new genomic sequences

represents a formidable bioinformatics challenge. For microbes that can grow in vitro

genomic data come from a single clone, making sequence assembly and annotation a



somehow easy task.

In metagenomics, the data come from heterogeneous microbial communities, sometimes

harboring more than 10,000 species. In most of the metagenome projects the sequence

data are too many and usually quite fragmented. Although the first metagenomics

projects were published on 2004, in the past few years we have witnessed an explosion of

new computational methods applied to metagenomic based research.

So, what is the difference between microbial genomics and metagenomics?

Microbial genomics is a relatively old field and by that I mean it has been around for 15

to 20 years. The individual bacteria or fungi that are cultured in the laboratory can be

isolated as pure microorganisms and these single microbes can then be characterized in

terms of their entire gene set or genomes.

The term “metagenomics” refers to the collection of genomes of entire microbial

communities of varying complexity, and these communities may include many different

types of microbes. Only with the recent developments in the DNA sequencing technology

we have been able to address the issue of metagenomics. So the key difference is that in

metagenomics we are seeking to understand the genetic content of entire microbial

communities in contrast to that of individual microbes with microbial genomics.

At JGI you are using state of the art technologies. In your opinion what are the trends in

DNA sequencing technologies and the implications for the study of microbes and

environmental microbiology and biotechnology in general?

DNA sequencing technologies have evolved rapidly during the past decade, and we are

already seeing results from a third generation sequencing machines, employing real time

DNA sequencingtechnologies. Throughout the 1990s there were gradual improvements in

the Sanger sequencing technology that reached their peak with the completion of the

Human Genome Project in the years 2000 to 2001. Since then, there was an explosion in

the second -generation sequencing technologies, which have greatly increased the power



and throughput of DNA sequencing.

In more detail pyrosequencing methods such as Roche 454 sequencing is performed by

polymerase extension of a primed template. Single nucleotide species are added at each

cycle. In case that the particular nucleotide species added to the polymerase reaction pairs

with the one on the template, the incorporation causes luciferase-based light reaction. The

reaction chamber is then washed, and the cycle repeated. Several hundreds of thousands

of wells containing material for sequencing are typically used in a single reaction. A

disadvantage of this procedure is the inability to read long mononucleotide repeats

correctly.

ABI SOLiD and Illumina GAII sequencers produce even shorter reads: 25–100 bp, but

very large volumes of DNA per sequencing run. Despite the individual short read lengths,

these technologies provide a viable alternative for sequencing whole genomes, by sheer

volume of DNA sequenced. Third generation sequencing loosely is defined as the

technology that is capable of sequencing long sequences without amplification and is

currently in advanced development. One such Platform is the PacBio (Pacific

Biosciences) which is capable of real time sequencing of a single DNA molecule These

technological developments will enable us to confront entirely new problems in

environmental microbiology and biotechnology that were simply difficult to comprehend

in the past.

It seems that we are heading towards a bottleneck in the storage and process of all data

generated. What are in your opinion the challenges with the databases, organism

identification and the analysis of the metagenomic data?

The main challenges that we are facing currently is the ability to store and manage very

large information banks. Unfortunately, the current databases have been structured to

integrate and compare biological information for up to several million genes, but will not

scale efficiently when we reach the level of several hundred million or billions of genes.

In the metagenomic era bioinformaticians have to face with a tremendous increase in the

size of the information that needs to be stored and analyzed, and we already know that we

will have to deal with Billions of genes by next year. Developments in DNA sequencing



has not been followed by a parallel enhancement in the abilities of scientists to deal with

information. For this reason scientists seem to be quite challenged by the complexity and

the magnitude of the information that is being generated by a variety of DNA sequencing

projects.

So with metagenomics we are able to characterize organisms that are not well understood

and also microbes that have not been listed in the databases. For this reason new tools for

searching and aligning DNA sequences, so that we can effectively match sequences to

sequences already in the databases or in cases that we don't have an exact match, are

being developed. This challenge in informatics will remain a major challenge in

microbiology and metagenomics for years to come.

To go a step further which are the main challenges in computational biology?

Computational biology is certainly being challenged simply by the scale and the

magnitude of data sets that are now being generated by these next-generation DNA

sequencing technologies. Simple issues of data storage and management of large sets of

data is certainly a primary challenge in informatics and how to effectively manage these

very large databases will be an on-going issue for many years.

Additionally, the area of computational biology is being challenged because the new

technologies generate sequence data with different type of quality. So it’s not just a matter

of quantity but also quality. One such nexample is the constantly changing length of the

sequencing read. With Sanger technology it used to be around 800 base pairs, and

therefore all data processing methods (e.g. assembly, gene calling, annotation), were

customized and trained with this type of data quality. The second generation of

sequencing technologies provided a large array of varying read lengths (from 30- to 500

base pairs) each of which was also coming with its own quality problems. Therefore, the

computational methods for processing of those data had to constantly adjust to these new

types of data produced from constantly shifting DNA sequencing technologies

.

It is absolutely necessary that these new tools in computational biology will have to be



refined to incorporate these new kinds of data, sequencing data, as well as data evolving

from protein biochemistry and structural biology that will enable us to link these

sequences with functions.

Could you be so bold and give us a glimpse of the metagenomic era 10 years from now?

To approach that, we must first realize that we are living in a microbial planet. The

meaning of this lies in the facts that the majority of the biomass and biodiversity on this

planet is microbial. We should also remember that the vast majority of microbes are still

uncultured and that what we currently know about microbial life comes from what’s

estimated to be less than 1% of the microbial diversity. In short, after all those decades of

research we have not begun to scratch the surface of the microbial life on earth.

Metagenomics and single cell genomics fuelled by the rapid growth in DNA sequencing

technology are now providing us with the tools we need to start the systematic

exploration of microbial life. This will entail systematic and massive sequencing of

several million environmental samples across the world, which will also require some

sort of international collaboration and coordination.

I would expect to see the first systematic sequencing of soil samples in a global scale

around 2015, (reaching the level of peta scale sequencing, ~ 1015

), followed by

systematic sequencing of the microbial communities living in all humans byt 2025

(reaching the level of zetta scale sequencing ~ 1021

), and maybe, start talking about the

first comprehensive sequencing of earth’s microbiome by 2035 (reaching the level of

hella sequencing ~ 1027

).

In terms of contribution in the understanding of life on our planet, we already know that

microbes control most of the major biogeochemical cycles. We know they can influence

or even control the weather and the climate change. What we don’t know is how, because

we still don’t have the necessary data. We hope that systematic sequencing of particular

environments will provide the necessary data to build the models that will help us

understand how microbes can achieve that.



DNA microarrays and Environmental Microbiology


Over the past ten years DNA microarrays have achieved a robust analytical performance.

They are used to enable scientists to analyze whole transcriptome or to screen thousands

of single nucleotide polymorphisms at a single time and now they can be used for the

identification and characterization of microbial communities from diverse environmental

samples.

Prof. Timothy M. Vogel, Head of the Environmental Microbial Genomics group at the

Ecole Centrale de Lyon at the Université de Lyon and he is our guest in this podcast.

Tell us, Prof. Vogel, what is the current status of DNA microarrays?

Since the initial report of the microarray, this technology has been greatly expanded and

new types of arrays have been developed. In more detail, microarrays can be used to

examine thousands of genes at one time. The first microarray reported was designed to

monitor gene expression in the plant Arabidopsis thaliana. Since then hundreds, if not

thousands of organism specific arrays have been developed to examine gene expression

under different conditions. The potential for environmental microbiology was greatly

expanded in 1997 when it was demonstrated that use of a 16S rRNA microarray gene

array using oligonucleotide probes after hybridization with DNA and RNA could

distinguish several bacterial genera based on their hybridization patterns.

Because of the nature of their design, microarrays can provide information on a microbial

community in a simple, rapid, high-throughput and parallel manner. They can provide

specific and sensitive detection at a high resolution for a broad range of target

microorganisms. Because of the amount of data provided and the sensitivity of the

technique, arrays are often more cost effective than other molecular techniques. Also,

because arrays have a defined set of genes or microorganisms (or more specifically

sequences) that all samples are interrogated against, they are ideal for comparing



environmental samples from different sites, conditions, or times. These features make

microarrays excellent tools for assessing microbial community structure, functions,

activities and dynamics in natural settings.

Now, could you give us an overview of the applications for high-density DNA

microarrays?

Currently several different types of arrays are available for the study of environmental

communities. These are:

Phylogenetic oligonucleotide arrays are designed to determine community

composition or phylogenetic relatedness using 16S rRNA or other conserved

genes.

Community genome arrays are used to examine the relatedness of microbial

strains or to detect specific organisms in the environment using whole genomic

DNA of individual species and/or strains.

Metagenomic arrays are made using clone libraries created from environmental

DNA as probes and can be used as a high-throughput screening method.

Whole-genome ORF arrays comprise probes targeting all ORFs in one or more of

the genomes. These arrays are generally used to study gene transcription in

individual organisms.

Functional gene arrays are composed of probes for key genes involved in

microbial functional processes of interest.

How DNA microarrays can help characterizing the hidden microbial world?

The most comprehensive phylogenetic DNA microarray is the PhyloChip which uses the

Affymetrix format. The PhyloChip contains 297,851 perfect-match (PM) and mismatch

(MM) 16S rRNA gene probes for the detection of 842 sybfamilies or 8741 taxa covering

121 bacterial and archaeal orders. Another 209,093 probes are control probes. Currently

the PhyloChip provides identification resolution at the family to subfamily level. This

array has been used in many microbial community studies because it provides a high-



throughput analysis of the community composition. Unfortunately, the actual sequences

aren’t available and it’s an expensive system. More affordable is the Agilent approach

where one can define and redefine the sequences up to about 1 million probes.

Phylogenetic microarray data analysis of microbial communities associated with soil,

aerosols, and water indicate that higher number of taxa were detected than compared to

16S rRNA gene clone libraries. All phyla detected in the 16S rRNA gene libraries have

been identified by the phylogenetic microarray.

Functional gene arrays allow for the simultaneous examination of many functional genes,

unlike PCR-based techniques that limit the number of genes that can be examined at one

time. Apparently the most comprehensive functional array is the GeoChip that contains

24,243 (50-mer) oligonucleotide probes targeting ~ 10,000 functional genes from 150

gene families involved in the biogeochemical cycling of C, N, and P cycling, sulfate

reduction, metal reduction and resistance, and organic contaminant degradation.

However, once again the sequences are not in the public domain so the real scientific

applications are limited. Many others have developed functional microarrays with

smaller groups of targeted genes.

How difficult and time consuming is the development of a DNA microarray based

application?

For the development of a microarray the first thing that we have to consider is the probe

elements and what they need to achieve. The properties and design of probes it is

probably the area that it is the major factor for the success of the microarray analysis

since the probe is the sensor that converts the abundance and/or presence of nucleic acids

in the sample into the digital readout for inferring gene expression or gene detection. For

this reason the fidelity with which a probe reports the presence of its matching nucleic

acid directly relates to the reliability of the microarray.

For a variety of reasons, ranging from defining the target sequences that will be

interrogated to understanding the thermodynamics of probe-target interactions under

hybridization conditions, designing of oligonucleotide probes is still a complex problem.



Which do you think are the main challenges in DNA microarrays?

The main challenge will be the improvement of the reliability in terms of probe design

and data analysis. Our ability to design microarray probes that are both sensitive and

specific is hampered by our relatively poor understanding of the kinetics and dynamics of

solid phase hybridization reactions. Also, the effect of probe molecules within each array

element needs also clarification. It is yet not clear which is the upper limit of molecules

per cm2 that will not affect the hybridization efficiencies ranging from 10

12-14 per cm

2. In

addition, the definition of the oligonucleotide sequences is not as simply as one might

think.

In your opinion, do you think that the DNA microarrays fully delivered the anticipated

potentials in environmental microbiology?

I believe that today with the dropping costs of high throughput sequencing, the

microarray will have difficulty to remain in scientific studies. On the other, new practical

applications in medicine, food services, and environmental assessments will benefit from

the relative rapid response of the microarray.



Extreme environments and microbial ecology


The ecology of microorganisms has entered a period of considerable importance to

science in general, to industry, to the protection of the environment and to public policy

making. There is a widespread expectation that extremophiles controlling the hot

biosphere will play a significant role in improving soil water retention, fertility and plant

protection in arid and semi-arid ecosystems. The cold biosphere will enable a better

understanding of the biogeochemical cycles, the cold adaptation procedure and soil

fertility.

Prof. Daniele Daffonchio, Department of Food Science and Microbiology (DISTAM),

University of Milan and he is our guest in this podcast.

Sahara desert is incredible, what makes this place so special?

Microorganisms play an important role in many aspects of agriculture and their

importance is particularly relevant in those ecosystems undergoing environmental

stresses like the aridity conditions in the desert and pre-desert areas. Moreover, the

extreme environments like those in

the arid and desert areas of south Tunisia represent an important potential source of new

biological products that can lead to biotechnological applications, for plant protection,

insect biocontrol, fertility improvements in agriculture, preservation of soil from erosion

and bioremediation of polluted soils, sediments and groundwater for environmental

protection. Microbial extremophiles have been widely recognized worldwide as an

important source for the development of biotechnological products and a useful source

for the development of a modern and competitive bio-economy.



How much do we know about the microbes here versus how much do we need to know

about them?

It is true that the microbial world that we can currently describe contains only one percent

of the total microbial diversity. This is a tremendous diversity in the natural microbial

world that hasn't been described but we do have now the technology and the techniques

to describe those organisms.

We expect that with every new sample that we take to discover new organisms that have

never been described before. This is important not only from a scientific point of view

but for biodiversity. We need to understand that preserving biodiversity and genes in

particular is important to the survival of this planet.

Is the diversity of microbes greater than the diversity of plants and animals?

The diversity of microbes is far greater than the diversity of all plants and animals put

together and probably much greater. Not only that but it has been estimated that the

number of microbes are several orders of magnitude greater than the number of stars in

the universe.

We've only just started to scratch that surface of what is the diversity of the microbial

world.

Microbes and honey bees. Is there a link?

One of the specific research aspects of honeybee biology that are emerging and

innovative is the symbiont microbiome associated to the insect, i.e. the pool of

microorganisms that live in the honeybee gut and associated to the different body organs

of the animal.

The microbiome associated to the intestinal system of humans and animals has been

shown to interfere with health. Recent observations give evidences that several specific

diseases are linked to intestinal dysbiosis, considered as the relative disproportion of the



species within the native microbiota. Similarly, the gut microbiome of invertebrates

performs essential functions for the host physiology, biology, ecology and evolution.

Using symbiotic microbiota as probiotic for improving honeybee health and developing

symbiotic control approaches to counteract diseases represents an interesting and

challenging field.

Among bacteria that could be employed for this purpose are those of the species Bacillus

thuringiensis, the most important biopesticide worldwide. Bacillus thuringiensis produces

characteristic proteinaceous crystalline toxin (δ-endotoxin) with specific activity against

certain insect species, but is also capable of producing extracellular compounds such as

β-exotoxins, chitinase and vegetative insecticidal proteins that enhance its

entomopathogenic potential. It also produces antifungal and antibacterial compounds like

zwittermycin-A and bacteriocins. An important feature of B. thuringiensis is its ecology.

B. thuringiensis is a normal inhabitant of the gut of those insects that are not sensitive to

its entomocidal toxins.



















WORKSHOPS

Molecular Approaches to Unravel the Hidden Microbial World

A MicrobeGR Workshop

Agrinio

15-17th

October 2009

The Laboratory of Molecular Biology and Biochemistry of the Department of

Environmental and Natural Resources Management in the University of Ioannina will

conduct a laboratory-based workshop on molecular approaches to characterize

environmental microbial communities. This workshop is intended for students with little

or no prior laboratory experience in molecular biology, but with a practical interest in

applying these tools.

Space is limited to 15 participants who will be selected on the basis of potential impact.

Faculty, students and participants from industry are invited to apply. Participants will be

awarded certificate from the Univesity of Ioannina.

To apply, send a current curriculum vitae and a letter of interest to Prof. Kostas Bourtzis

([email protected]) or Dr George Tsiamis ([email protected]) by 25th September 2009.

Participants will be notified of acceptance by the end of September.

mailto:[email protected]



DNA Microarrays from theory to practice

A MicrobeGR Workshop

Agrinio

24-26th

March 2010

The Laboratory of Molecular Biology and Biochemistry of the Department of

Environmental and Natural Resources Management in the University of Ioannina will

conduct a laboratory-based workshop on DNA microarrays: from theory to practice. This

workshop is intended for students with little or no prior laboratory experience in

molecular biology, but with a practical interest in applying these tools.

Space is limited to 15 participants who will be selected on the basis of potential impact.

Faculty, students and participants from industry are invited to apply. Participants will be

awarded certificate from the Univesity of Ioannina.

To apply, send a current curriculum vitae and a letter of interest to Prof. Kostas Bourtzis

([email protected]) or Dr George Tsiamis ([email protected]) by 25th September 2009.

Participants will be notified of acceptance by the end of September.




Joint Conference of MicrobeGR with EU COST Action FA0701

on «Symbiont-based strategies for pest and disease control»

Sunday September 19th

, 2010

12:00-19:00 Arrival and registration

19:00 Welcome

20:30 Dinner

Monday September 20th, 2010

07:30 - 08:30 Breakfast

Symbiont-based control methods - improvement of commercially-reared arthropods (Part

I) Chair: Karl Bolckmans

8:30-9:15 Hans Breeuwer - An overview of arthropods-bacteria symbiosis

9:15-9:55 Richard Stouthamer - Sex ratio distorters and biological control by

parasitoids

9:55-10:35 Elad Chiel - Horizontal transmission of symbionts among trophic levels

10:35-11:00 Coffee break

11:00-11:40 Nicolas Ris - Actual or suspected impacts of reproductive manipulators in

classical biological control: Insights on the recent introduction of the

parasitoid Psyttallia lounsburyi (Hymenoptera:Opiinae) against the olive

fly, Bactrocera oleae (Diptera:Tephritidae) in France

11:40-12:20 Alejandra Perotti - Endo and ecto-symbionts of Acari of economical

importance

12:20-12:40 Nikos Papadopoulos - Wolbachia affects fitness components in two

medfly strains

12:40-13:00 Daniele Daffonchio - Symbiont-based control of microbial pathogens and

pest of honeybees

13:00-14:00 Poster Session

14:00-16:00 Lunch

Symbiont-based control methods - improvement of commercially-reared arthropods (Part

II)

Chair: Tom Miller

16:00-16:45 Karel Bolckmans - The challenges facing commercial biological control

16:45-17:30 Bernard Blum - The potential of arthropod symbionts - the view of the

industry

17:30-18:00 Coffee break

18:00-20:00 Round table discussion

20:30 Dinner



Tuesday September 21st, 2010

07:30 - 08:30 Breakfast

Symbiont-based control methods – current projects

Chair: Steven Sinkins

8:30-9:10 Scott O'Neill - Life shortening Wolbachia symbiont in Aedes aegypti

limits infection with dengue, Chikungunya, and Plasmodium

9:10-9:50 Guido Favia - Asaia in mosquitoes

9:50:10:30 Steve Sinkins - Wolbachia limits malaria and filarial nematode infections

in mosquitoes

10:30-11:00 Break

11:00-11:40 Herve Bossin - French Polynesia: an attractive natural laboratory to test

novel, area-wide (Wolbachia) strategies for the control of Aedes

mosquitoes vectors of diseases

11:40-12:10 Boaz Yuval - Gut bacteria and fruit fly control

12:10-13:00 Tom Miller - Paratransgenesis as a potential tool for pest control

13:00-16:00 Lunch

Symbiont-based control methods – regulations

Chair: Kaare Nielsen

16:00 -16:30 Jaime Aguilera - Regulatory aspects of environmental release of GM

microorganisms (Part I)

16:30-17:00 Kaare Nielsen - Regulatory aspects of environmental release of GM

microorganisms (Part II)

17:00-17:30 Jeffery Bale - Harmonisation of regulations for invertebrate biocontrol

agents in Europe: progress, problems and solutions

17:30-18:00 Break

18:00-19:00 Discussion

20:00 Dinner



BIODESERT Activities





















Useful Links

MicobeGR grant Project

http://microbegr.env.uoi.gr/

FP7-EU COST action

http://www.cost-fa0701.com/index.php

DOE – JGI single cell project

http://genomeportal.jgi-psf.org/programs/bacteria-

archaea/microbial-projects.jsf

Επιζηημονική Εηαιρεία Μικροβιόκοζμος

http://www.mikrobiokosmos.org/

Biodesert

http://www.biodesert.unimi.it

http://microbegr.env.uoi.gr/

http://www.cost-fa0701.com/index.php

http://genomeportal.jgi-psf.org/programs/bacteria-archaea/microbial-projects.jsf

http://genomeportal.jgi-psf.org/programs/bacteria-archaea/microbial-projects.jsf

http://www.mikrobiokosmos.org/

http://www.biodesert.unimi.it/



Contact

Prof. K. Bourtzis

University of Western Greece


2 G. Seferi str.

30100 Agrinio

GREECE

Tel +30-26410-74114

Fax. +30-26410-74171

Email. [email protected]; [email protected]; [email protected]

Lect. Giorgos Tsiamis

University of Western Greece


2 G. Seferi str.

30100 Agrinio

GREECE

Tel +30-26410-74149

Fax. +30-26410-74171

Email. [email protected]; [email protected]; [email protected]







Documents

Molecular Genetics and Microbiology Group