Research Interest

I deal with bacterial genomics, phylogenomics, and population genomics. I use FISH, optical and electronic microscopy, Sanger, Illumina and PacBio sequencing, and R. I am currently addressing Candidatus Thiobius zoothamnicola, the bacterial symbiont of Zoothamnium niveum. I also aim to address the mutualism itself, in terms of the maintenance mechanism involved.

Education and research activities

2012-2022     Research stay at the Marine Biology Station, Piran, Slovenia (52 weeks)

2009     Cruise to 9°N East Pacific Rise, hydrothermal vents; one dive with DSV Alvin

07/2008-05/2012     University of Vienna, Vienna (Austria), Technical assistant

09/2008     Master in Integrated Coastal Zone Management, Universidad de Cádiz, Cádiz (Spain)

09/2001     Master degree in Marine Sciences, Universidad de Cádiz, Cádiz (Spain)

06/1991     Baccalaureate, Centro de Enseñanzas Integradas, Málaga (Spain)

Conferences

2022     Congress of European Society for Evolutionary Biology, Prague, Czech Republic, 14-19 August (poster)

2017     52^nd European Marine Biology Symposium, Piran, Slovenia, 25-29 September (talk)

2013     5^th International Symposium on Chemosynthesis-Based Ecosystems, Victoria, Canada, 18–23 August 2013

2012     7^th International Symbiosis Society Congress, Krakow, Poland, 22-28 July

2006     5^th International Congress on Symbiosis, Vienna, Austria (poster)

Skills

labwork: FISH, TEM, SEM, microscopy, mini- and mesofluidics

fieldwork: snorkeling

informatics: R, bash, Mathematica, Mediawiki, Typo3, Wordpress, Joomla!

outreach: Wikimedia, Twitter, Twitch

Publications

Breyer E, Espada-Hinojosa S, Reitbauer M, Karunarathna SC, Baltar F. 2023. Physiological properties of three pelagic fungi isolated from the Atlantic Ocean. Journal of Fungi 9(4):439. doi:10.3390/jof9040439

De Oliveira AL, Srivastava A, Espada-Hinojosa S, Bright M. 2022. The complete and closed genome of the facultative generalist Candidatus Endoriftia persephone from deep-sea hydrothermal vents. Molecular Ecology Resources 22(8):3106–3123. doi:10.1111/1755-0998.13668

Espada-Hinojosa S, Drexel J, Kesting J, Kniha E, Pifeas I, Schuster L, Jean-Marie Volland J-M, Zambalos HC, Bright M. 2022. Host-symbiont stress response to lack-of- sulfide in the giant ciliate mutualism. PLoS ONE 17(2): e0254910. doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0254910

Bright M, Espada Hinojosa S, Volland J-M, Drexel J , Kesting J, Kolar I , Morchner D, Nussbaumer A, Ott J, Scharhauser F, Schuster L, Zambalos HC, Nemeschkal HL. 2019. Thiotrophic bacterial symbiont induces polyphenism in giant ciliate host Zoothamnium niveum. Scientific Reports 9: 15081 (2019). doi:10.1038/s41598-019-51511-3

Volland, J-M, Schintlmeister, A, Zambalos, H, Reipert, S, Mozetič, P, Espada-Hinojosa, S, Turk, V, Wagner, M & Bright, M. 2018. NanoSIMS and tissue autoradiography reveal symbiont carbon fixation and organic carbon transfer to giant ciliate host. The ISME Journal 12(3):714-727. doi:10.1038/s41396-018-0069-1

Bright M, Espada-Hinojosa S, Lagkouvardos I, Volland J-M. 2014. The giant ciliate Zoothamnium niveum and its thiotrophic epibiont Candidatus Thiobios zoothamnicoli: a model system to study interspecies cooperation. Frontiers in Microbiology 5: 1-13. doi:10.3389/fmicb.2014.00145