About

The lab is led by Anna Karnkowska and is part of the Institute of Evolutionary Biology at Faculty of Biology at University of Warsaw. The lab is also part of the Diversity of Eukaryotic Microorganisms Consortium (DEMON), a European consortium devoted to the study of the molecular biology, biochemistry, taxonomy, physiology, and ecology of protists from almost all kinds of environments. 

Our research concerns the diversity, ecology and evolution of eukaryotic microorganisms. We are interested in the matter of the eukaryotic cell’s evolution, including the evolution of organelles of endosymbiotic origin, as well as the impact of horizontal gene transfer (HGT) on the evolution of Eukaryota. The study of genomes and transcriptomes of eukaryotic microorganisms allows to find answers regarding the early stages of endosymbiosis, the evolution of organellar genomes and the reductive evolution of organelles. We also strive to understand the role of eukaryotic microorganisms in water habitats through researching their diversity and metabolic potential as well as their interactions with other microorganisms.

Our work comprises cell culture, isolation methods, and molecular biology approaches. However, we mostly focus on utilising the potential of Next Generation Sequencing (NGS) and bioinformatic analysis. We work with genome, transcriptome, metagenome and amplicon sequencing data. We also develop bioinformatics tools adapted to data derived from Eukaryota.