Novakova Lab
Our group is interested in ecological and evolutionary genomics of host-symbiont interactions in blood feeding parasites.
Junior Star Project Vectors, symbionts and pathogens: a complex story of Triatominae microbiomes supported by the Czech Science Foundation (Project No. 21-10185M) allows us to study complex interactions of symbionts, pathogens and hosts from both evolutionary and functional prospective. The project lasts 5 years and focuses on North American Triatominae found in Arizona, California, Texas, New Mexico, Georgia and Florida. Our investigation is carried out in collaboration with Kevin Vogel (UGA) band Norman Beatty (UF) groups.
Other projects funded by Czech Science Foundation are carried out in collaboration with Václav Hypša and deal with various systems of blood feeding parasites. While the topic of Microbiomes in blood-feeding insects: Diversity and dynamics of genomic processes (Project No. 20-07674S) is quite general employing several different model groups (keds, kissing bugs, and lice), the project entitled Relating genetic diversification and ecological traits at secondary contact: Hybrid zone and ecological speciation in a host-parasite-symbiont system (Project No. 21-02532S) centres on Polyplax louse system.
Field work 2023
The main sampling of the season was called off. Thanks to Kevin, Norm, and our PhD student Tanisha we finally retrieved some samples of Triatoma sanguisuga from peridomestic habitats around Gainesville, FL.
Triatominae sampling (San Antonio, TX, USA, 2021)
T. sanguisuga (Gainesville, FL, USA, 2021)
Recent publications from our team
Říhová, J., Gupta, S., Novakova, E., Darby, A., & Hypša, V. (2023). Arsenophonus symbiosis with louse flies: multiple origins, coevolutionary dynamics, and metabolic significance. bioRxiv, 2023-07.
Siozios, S., Nadal Jimenez, P., Azagi, T., Sprong, H., Frost, C. L., Parratt, S. R., Graeme Taylor, Laura Brettell, Kwee Chin Liew, Larry Croft, Kayla C King, Michael A Brockhurst, Václav Hypša, Eva Novakova, Alistair C Darby, & Hurst, G. D. (2023). Genome dynamics across the evolutionary transition to endosymbiosis. bioRxiv, 2023-05.
Dittmer, J., Corretto, E., Starhova-Serbina, L., Michalik, A., Nováková, E., & Schuler, H. (2023). Division of labour within psyllids: Metagenomics reveals an ancient dual endosymbiosis with metabolic complementarity in the genus Cacopsylla. bioRxiv, 2023-04.
Tarabai, H., Floriano, A. M., Zima Jr, J., Filová, N., Brown, J. J., Roachell, W., ... & Nováková, E. (2023). Microbiomes of Blood-Feeding Triatomines in the Context of Their Predatory Relatives and the Environment. Microbiology Spectrum, e01681-23.
Brown, J. J., Jandová, A., Jeffs, C. T., Higgie, M., Nováková, E., Lewis, O. T., & Hrček, J. (2023). Microbiome structure of a wild Drosophila community along tropical elevational gradients and comparison to laboratory lines. Applied and Environmental Microbiology, 89(5), e00099-23.
Němečková, K., Mareš, J., Procházková, L., Culka, A., Košek, F., Wierzchos, J., Linda Nedbalová, Jan Dudák, Veronika Tymlová, Jan Žemlička, Andreja Kust, Jan Zima, Eva Nováková & Jehlička, J. (2023). Gypsum endolithic phototrophs under moderate climate (Southern Sicily): their diversity and pigment composition. Frontiers in Microbiology, 14.
Mahmood, S., Nováková, E., Martinů, J., Sychra, O., & Hypša, V. (2023). Supergroup F Wolbachia with extremely reduced genome: transition to obligate insect symbionts. Microbiome, 11(1), 22.