Publications
Presenting my MSc Study. İlia State University, Georgia, 2019.
My academic journey began with exploring organismal adaptation to high altitudes. During my MSc and PhD, I investigated the evolutionary strategies of Anatolian Blind Mole Rats, employing a comparative approach that integrated neutral genetic divergence, immune response profiling, and the interplay between diet and the microbiome.
As a postdoctoral researcher at Charles University, my work now focuses on the bioinformatic analysis of large-scale metabarcoding datasets to explore the microbiome and dietary ecology of wild rodents and lizards. While my primary expertise lies in processing sequencing data and performing downstream statistical modeling, I retain a strong foundation in field and wet-lab. I am currently applying these analytical tools to study the adaptive radiation of Murinae rodents in Papua New Guinea, examining how microbial shifts and dietary niche partitioning drive diversification in these unique lineages
Bio
Research Projects
Trophic and Microbial Niche Dynamics of Two Subsequent Radiations of Murine Rodents on the Island of New Guinea
Our research explores the ecological and evolutionary drivers of rodent diversification in Papua New Guinea, one of the world’s most significant biodiversity hotspots. By leveraging the island's extreme altitudinal gradients and habitat heterogeneity, this project investigates how ecological opportunity and incumbency effects shape the dietary niches and microbial communities of Sahulian rodents. Our study centers on two distinct waves of colonization: the primary colonizers belonging to the Hydromyini tribe, which arrived five to seven million years ago and underwent extensive adaptive radiation in an unsaturated environment, and the secondary colonizers of the Rattini tribe, which arrived approximately one million years ago into a landscape already occupied by established incumbents.
In collaboration with international research groups, sampling expeditions were conducted across six key localities, including Baitabag, the Finisterre Range, Mount Michael, Mount Wilhelm, Nagada, and Wanang. We utilize high-throughput molecular techniques to analyze these rodents, employing 18S rRNA metabarcoding for dietary assessment and the 16S V3-V4 region for parallel microbiome characterization. By comparing dietary and microbial profiles across altitudes, locations, and rodent taxa, we aim to unravel the ecological patterns and associations that define these communities. This research provides valuable insights into how environmental factors and competitive interactions influence niche dynamics, ultimately deepening our understanding of how lineage diversification is governed by historical colonization events and resource partitioning in tropical landscapes.
Microbiota Composition in Sympatric Darevskia Lizards: Comparing Parthenogenetic and Parental Species
The composition of animal-associated microbiomes is shaped by a complex interplay between environmental filtering and host genomic factors. While model organisms have provided foundational insights into these interactions, wild populations remain understudied, leaving significant gaps in our understanding of how host-microbiome dynamics evolve in natural ecosystems.
The hybridogenetic rock lizards of the genus Darevskia offer a unique "natural laboratory" to isolate the influence of host genetics. This study focuses on the parthenogenetic (clonal) species D. dahli and its sympatric paternal ancestor, D. portschinskii, in Georgia. Because these species coexist in the same habitats, environmental variables are naturally controlled, allowing us to pinpoint genomic drivers of microbial variation. A key focus of the research is the structural difference in their host genomes: while the paternal D. portschinskii possesses a standard diploid genome, its descendant D. dahli is an allodiploid, harboring two distinct haploid genomes from its maternal and paternal lineages. This hybrid genomic architecture may interact with and regulate the microbiota in ways fundamentally different from its bisexual ancestors.
Using 16S rRNA metabarcoding to characterize these microbial communities, this research seeks to clarify the ecological and evolutionary distinctions between parental bisexual and hybrid parthenogenetic species. By investigating these interactions in a real-world context, this study aims to shed light on the evolutionary significance of parthenogenesis in vertebrates and the role of the microbiome in the success of hybrid lineages.
