Dr. Katja Dierking – opening of habilitation procedure – 07.12.

Dear Professors, Dear colleagues,

I invite you to my talk “The Good, the Bad, and the Tasty: What C. elegans can teach us about host-microbe interactions” for the opening of my habilitation procedure. The talk will take place within the Biological Colloquium next Monday, December 07, 2020 at 16:15 pm via ZOOM. Please use the following Link to join:

https://uni-kiel.zoom.us/j/83527090383?pwd=enVJdktIdG9laldvTEpuTlNSV0JTdz09
Meeting ID: 835 2709 0383
Passcode: 914911

I would be happy to welcome you there!

Best regards,

Katja Dierking

The Good, the Bad, and the Tasty: What C. elegans can teach us about host-microbe interactions

Host-microbe interactions play a massive role in shaping our biological world as we know it. Yet the molecular basis of host-microbe interactions is often difficult to decipher, due to the complexity of interactions between hosts and their pathogenic, commensal or mutualistic microbes.

In my work, I exploit the advantages of the nematode Caenorhabditis elegans as one of the best studied laboratory model organisms to explore molecular mechanisms underlying host-microbe interactions. In my talk, I will first focus on our work on C. elegans pathogen defense responses, in particular on 1) the role of C-type lectin-like domain containing genes in pathogen defense and 2) the specificity of C. elegans responses to infection with different Bacillus thuringiensis strains. I will then give an overview of our most recent work on the interaction of C. elegans with naturally associated microbiome members and their role in supporting C. elegans pathogen defenses.

Our work highlights the manifold effects of microbes on C. elegans biology, as well as the specific challenges and responses that pathogens impose on and in their hosts.