玉美人传媒

A CHF 2 Million grant to uncover microbial cytoskeletal diversity

A collaborative team from UNIGE and EMBL secures CHF 2 million in funding from the Gordon and Betty Moore Foundation for groundbreaking biodiversity research.

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Variety of microbial eukaryotes听imaged using Expansion Microscopy (UExM).听Image created by Omaya Dudin.

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The 玉美人传媒 (UNIGE), in collaboration with EMBL, has been awarded CHF 2 million by the Gordon and Betty Moore Foundation for an innovative biodiversity research project. Led by Prof.听(UNIGE) and Dr.听听(EMBL), this ambitious initiative will develop a morphological atlas of microbial eukaryotes鈥攐rganisms that remain largely unexplored yet are vital to global ecosystems.听

Using the latest advancements in听, the team will implement high-throughput imaging and analysis to construct a volumetric atlas听in 3D听capturing the cellular and cytoskeletal diversity of these microbes听across their life cycle. Tight collaborations with culture collections听and the laboratory of听听(玉美人传媒 of Oxford)听will play a crucial role in ensuring a diverse and representative selection of species.听This work aims to enhance understanding of microbial eukaryote evolution, adaptation, and their critical interactions within ecosystems.

Microbial eukaryotes are fundamental to ecosystems and biodiversity on Earth, yet their study has largely focused on genomics. While this approach has provided vital insights into their evolution and function, the absence of corresponding phenotypic data, particularly from high-resolution microscopy, limits understanding of their cellular structures and life cycles. This gap stems from the challenges of imaging small organisms, including poor antibody penetration and the resolution limits of conventional microscopy.

Omaya Dudin, an assistant professor at the School of chemistry and biochemistry of the 玉美人传媒 (UNIGE), and Gautam Dey, a group leader at EMBL, have been awarded CHF 2 million by the Gordon and Betty Moore Foundation to tackle these challenges. Their work will implement a high-throughput imaging workflow using expansion microscopy (ExM), a technique that physically enlarges samples to nanoscale resolution while improving antibody and dye accessibility. The project aims to create a morphological atlas of microbial eukaryotes, integrating phenotypic data with genomic and transcriptomic analyses. By characterizing cellular and cytoskeletal diversity, the research bridges molecular and structural biology, enriching the understanding of microbial life and complementing biodiversity studies. The broader adoption of ExM for non-model organisms is another anticipated outcome.

To maximize its impact, the project will actively engage the research community in identifying and selecting target organisms. Collaborations with culture collections will play a crucial role in ensuring a diverse and representative selection of species. Organisms will be chosen based on their relevance to key scientific questions鈥攕uch as mitotic strategies, multicellularity, thylakoid/plastid evolution, and eukaryogenesis鈥攁s well as their suitability for imaging, including ease of cultivation, high abundance, and sequencing status.

Beyond generating data, the project is committed to making its findings openly accessible in real time. By releasing imaging data through an open-access platform integrated with major biodiversity resources, the team aims to accelerate the global exchange of knowledge and enable faster phenotypic and structural data integration with existing genomic and transcriptomic datasets. This approach ensures that the atlas becomes a living resource, continually updated and expanded by the broader scientific community.

The project also aspires to become a global hub for microbial imaging, offering workshops, training programs, and open-access tools to facilitate the widespread adoption of expansion microscopy. Although the primary focus is on eukaryotes, the team remains committed to supporting the broader microbial research community, providing guidance and expertise to those studying other organisms, including bacteria and archaea.

By creating a scalable, inclusive, and community-driven Expansion Microscopy Atlas of Microbial Eukaryotes (Ex脗me) with open and real-time data sharing, this project not only addresses critical gaps in our understanding of microbial eukaryotes but also lays the foundation for transformative discoveries in biodiversity, cell and evolutionary biology.

PROF. OMAYA DUDIN

After earning a cell biology and microbiology degree from the 玉美人传媒 of Grenoble, Omaya Dudin joined Professor Sophie Martin's laboratory at the 玉美人传媒 of Lausanne (UNIL) for doctoral research. In 2016, he successfully defended his thesis on cell fusion mechanisms in fission yeast. From 2017 to 2020, supported by SNSF Mobility and Marie Curie grants, he conducted postdoctoral research at the Institute of Evolutionary Biology in Barcelona, focusing on the physiology of听protists closely related to animals. In 2020, he established his independent research group at EPFL, funded by an SNSF Ambizione grant, to investigate the evolutionary mechanisms that drive the unicellular to multicellular transition听in Ichthyosporeans.听听 听 听 听 听听

Since August 2024, the听听has been part of the Department of Biochemistry at the 玉美人传媒. The lab focuses on understanding how and why unicellular organisms evolve into multicellular forms. Currently, the team is investigating how various ichthyosporean species鈥攃lose animal relatives (third cousins to animals)鈥攅xecute distinct multicellular developmental programs to create diverse transient multicellular structures. By studying these processes, the lab aims to uncover the fundamental principles governing the evolution of multicellular development, both at the root of animals and more broadly across the eukaryotic tree of life.

Gordon and betty moore foundation

The Gordon and Betty Moore Foundation advances scientific discovery, environmental conservation, and the special character of the San Francisco Bay Area. Visit听听and follow @MooreFound.