Arbeitsgruppe Evolution und Biodiversität

  • Sickinger, C., Bleidißel, S., Brück, M., Gasparoni, G., Tierling, S., Rauch, C., Preisfeld, A., Christa, G. (2025). Diversity of Symbiodiniaceae (Dinophyceae) in the sea slug clade Cladobranchia (Nudibranchia). Organisms, Diversity and Evolution, doi.org/10.1007/s13127-025-00688-9

  • Sickinger, C., Weimann, E., Wenning, J., Christa, G. (2025). The phototactic behavior of the kleptoplastic sea slug Elysia viridis (Montagu, 1804) is not connected to the photosynthetic activity of kleptoplasts. Marine Biology Research, 10.1080/17451000.2025.2577445

  • Baştürk, M. N., Christa, G., de Vries, J. (2025). Kleptoplasty: Solar-powered sea slugs house stolen plastids in kleptosomes. Current Biology, 35(17):PR840-R842. doi.org/10.1016/j.cub.2025.07.072

  • Rizgalla, J., Krug, P., Christa, G. (2025). Nudibranchia in Libyan waters. Thalassas: An International Journal of Marine Sciences 41:138. doi.org/10.1007/s41208-025-00895-3

  • Rizgalla, J., and Christa, G. (2025). First record of Biuve fulvipunctata (Gastropoda, Cephalaspidea) in Libya with notes on their reproduction. Thalassas: An International Journal of Marine Sciences. 41:100 doi.org/10.1007/s41208-025-00850-2

  • Melo Clavijo, J., Gould, S.B., Christa, G.* (2024). Targeting plastids in an animal cell. In: Endosymbiotic Organelle Acquisition: Solutions to the Problem of Protein Localization and Membrane Passage. 236-258. Steven Schwartzbach, Miroslav Obornik and Peter Kroth (Eds.).

  • Sickinger, C., Brackwehr, S.M., Melo Clavijo, J., Gasperoni, G., Tierling, S., Preisfeld, A., Christa, G (2024). Microbiome origin and stress-related changes in bacterial abundance of the photosymbiotic sea slug Berghia stephanieae (Á. Valdés, 2005) (2024). Symbiosis 93: 177–192. doi:10.1007/s13199-024-00995-3

  • Borgstein, N.M., van der Meij, S.E.T., Christa, G., Laetz, E.M.J. (2024). Potential energetic and oxygenic benefits to unstable photosymbiosis in the cladobranch slug, Berghia stephanieae (Nudibranchia, Aeolidiidae). Journal of Marine Biology and Ecology 20: 45-58. doi.org/10.1080/17451000.2024.2312908

  • Christa, G.* (2023). Kleptoplasty. Current Biology 33, R465-R467. doi: 10.1016/j.cub.2023.03.036

  • Frankenbach, S., Melo Clavijo, J., Brück, M., Bleidissel, S., Simon, M., Gasparoni, G., Lo Porto, C., Laetz, E., Greve, C., Donath, A., Pütz, L., Sickinger, C., Serôdio, J, Christa, G.* (2023). Shedding light on starvation in darkness in the plastid-bearing sea slug Elysia viridis (Montagu, 1804). Marine Biology 170:89. doi.org/10.1007/s00227-023-04225-0

  • Kodzoman, K., Sickinger, C., Melo Clavijo, J., Christa, G.* (2023). Schnecken, die gerne Algen wären? - Funktionale Kleptoplastie in Meeresnacktschnecken der Sacoglossa. Biologie in Unserer Zeit 53, 155-163. doi:10.11576/biuz-6349.

  • Melo Clavijo, J., Sickinger, C., Bleidißel, S., Preisfeld, A., Christa, G.* (2022). The nudibranch Berghia stephanieae (Valdés, 2005) is not able to initiate a functional symbiosome-like environment to maintain Breviolum minutum (J.E.Parkinson & LaJeunesse 2018). Frontiers in Marine Science 9:934307. doi: 10.3389/fmars.2022.934307

  • Rola, M., Frankenbach, S., Bleidissel, S., Sickinger, C., Donath, A., Frommlet, J.C., Greve, C., Serôdio, J., Preisfeld, A., Melo Clavijo, J., Christa, G.* (2022). Cladobranchia (Gastropoda, Nudibranchia) as a promising model to understand the molecular evolution of photosymbiosis in animals. Frontiers in Marine Science. doi: 10.3389/fmars.2021.745644

  • Medina, M., Baker, D.M., Baltrus, D., Bennett, G.M., Cardini, U., Correa, A.M.S., Degnan, S.D., Christa, G., Kim, E., Li, J., Nash, D.R., Marzinelli, E.M., Nishiguchi, M.K., Prada, C., Roth M.S., Saha, M., Smith, C.I., Theis, K.R., Zaneveld, J.R. (2022). Grand challenges in Coevolution. Specialty Grand Challenge, Frontiers in Ecology and Evolution - Coevolution, doi: 10.3389/fevo.2021.618251

  • Melo Clavijo, J., Drews, F., Pirritano, M., Simon, M., Frankenbach, S., Serodio, J., Donath, A., Bleidissel, S., Preisfeld, A. and Christa, G.* (2020). The complete mitochondrial genome of the photosymbiotic sea slug Berghia stephanieae (Valdés, 2005) (Gastropoda, Nudibranchia). Mitochondrial DNA Part B: Resources, 6(8), 2281-2284. doi: 10.1080/23802359.2021.1914211

  • Frankenbach, S., Luppa, Q., Serôdio, J., Greve, C., Bleidissel, S., Melo Clavijo, J., Laetz, E.M.J., Preisfeld, A., & Christa, G.* (2020). Kleptoplasts are continuously digested during feeding in the plastid-bearing sea slug Elysia viridis. Journal of Molluscan Studies, 87(3), eyab022. doi:10.1093/mollus/eyab022

  • Melo Clavijo, J., Frankenbach, S., Fidalgo, C., Serôdio, J., Donath, A., Preisfeld, A., & Christa, G.* (2020). Identification of scavenger receptors and thrombospondin‐type‐1 repeat proteins potentially relevant for plastid recognition in Sacoglossa. Ecology and Evolution, ece3.6865. doi:10.1002/ece3.6865

  • Melo Clavijo, J., Donath, A., Serôdio, J., & Christa, G.* (2018). Polymorphic adaptations in metazoans to establish and maintain photosymbioses. Biological Reviews, 93(4), 2006–2020. doi:10.1111/brv.12430

  • Christa, G.*, Pütz, L., Sickinger, C., Melo Clavijo, J., Laetz, E. M. J., Greve, C., & Serôdio, J. (2018). Photoprotective Non-photochemical quenching does not prevent kleptoplasts from net photoinactivation. Frontiers in Ecology and Evolution, 6, 121. doi:/10.3389/fevo.2018.00121

  • Rauch, C., Tielens, A. G. M., Serôdio, J., Gould, S. B., & Christa, G.* (2018). The ability to incorporate functional plastids by the sea slug Elysia viridis is governed by its food source. Marine Biology, 165(5), 82. doi:10.1007/s00227-018-3329-8

  • Marques, A., Ferreira, J., Abreu, H., Pereira, R., Rego, A., Serôdio, J., Christa, G., Gaivão, I., & Pacheco, M. (2018). Searching for antigenotoxic properties of marine macroalgae dietary supplementation against endogenous and exogenous challenges. Journal of Toxicology and Environmental Health, Part A, 81(18), 939–956. doi:10.1080/15287394.2018.1507856

  • Serôdio, J., Schmidt, W., Frommlet, J. C., Christa, G., & Nitschke, M. R. (2018). An LED-based multi-actinic illumination system for the high throughput study of photosynthetic light responses. PeerJ, 6, e5589. doi:10.7717/peerj.5589

  • Christa, G.*, Cruz, S., Jahns, P., de Vries, J., Cartaxana, P., Esteves, A. C., Serôdio, J., & Gould, S. B. (2017). Photoprotection in a monophyletic branch of chlorophyte algae is independent of energy-dependent quenching (qE). New Phytologist, 214(3), 1132–1144. doi:10.1111/nph.14435

  • Rauch, C., Christa, G., de Vries, J., Woehle, C., & Gould, S. B. (2017). Mitochondrial Genome Assemblies of Elysia timida and Elysia cornigera and the Response of Mitochondrion-Associated Metabolism during Starvation. Genome Biology and Evolution, 9(7), 1873–1879. doi:10.1093/gbe/evx129

  • Handrich, M., de Vries, J., Gould, S. B., Serôdio, J., & Christa, G.* (2017). Ulvophyceaen photophysiology and research opportunities. Perspectives in Phycology, 4(2), 83–92. doi:10.1127/pip/2017/0074

  • Christa, G.*, Händeler, K., Kück, P., Vleugels, M., Franken, J., Karmeinski, D., & Wägele, H. (2015). Phylogenetic evidence for multiple independent origins of functional kleptoplasty in Sacoglossa (Heterobranchia, Gastropoda). Organisms, Diversity & Evolution, 15(1), 23–36. doi:10.1007/s13127-014-0189-z

  • de Vries, J., Woehle, C., Christa, G., Wägele, H., Tielens, A. G. M., Jahns, P., & Gould, S. B. (2015). Comparison of sister species identifies factors underpinning plastid compatibility in green sea slugs. Proceedings of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences, 282(1802), 20142519. doi:10.1098/rspb.2014.2519

  • Rauch, C., Vries, J. de, Rommel, S., Rose, L. E., Woehle, C., Christa, G., Laetz, E. M., Wägele, H., Tielens, A. G. M., Nickelsen, J., Schumann, T., Jahns, P., & Gould, S. B. (2015). Why It Is Time to Look Beyond Algal Genes in Photosynthetic Slugs. Genome Biology and Evolution, 7(9), 2602–2607. doi:10.1093/gbe/evv173

  • Christa, G., de Vries, J., Jahns, P., & Gould, S. B. (2014). Switching off photosynthesis: The dark side of sacoglossan slugs. Communicative & Integrative Biology, 7(1), e28029. doi:10.4161/cib.28029

  • Christa, G.*, Gould, S. B., Franken, J., Vleugels, M., Karmeinski, D., Händeler, K., Martin, W. F., & Wägele, H. (2014). Functional kleptoplasty in a limapontioidean genus: Phylogeny, food preferences and photosynthesis in Costasiella, with a focus on C. ocellifera (Gastropoda: Sacoglossa). Journal of Molluscan Studies, 80(5), 499–507. doi:10.1093/mollus/eyu026

  • Christa, G., Zimorski, V., Woehle, C., Tielens, A. G. M., Wägele, H., Martin, W. F., & Gould, S. B. (2014). Plastid-bearing sea slugs fix CO 2 in the light but do not require photosynthesis to survive. Proceedings of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences, 281(1774), 20132493. doi:10.1098/rspb.2013.2493

  • Christa, G.*, Händeler, K., Schäberle, T.F., König, G.M., Wägele, H. (2014). Identification of sequestered chloroplasts in photosynthetic and non-photosynthetic sacoglossan sea slugs (Mollusca, Gastropoda). Frontiers in Zooloy 11, 15.

  • Laetz, E., Coleman, C.O., Christa, G., Wägele, H. (2014). Behavioral interactions between Tritaeta gibbosa (Crustacea , Amphipoda) and Ocnus planci (Echinodermata , Holothuroidea). Vie et milieu - Life and environment 63, 105–117.

  • de Vries, J., Rauch, C., Christa, G., & Gould, S. B. (2014). A sea slug’s guide to plastid symbiosis. Proceedings of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences, 83(4), 415–421.

  • de Vries, J., Christa, G., & Gould, S. B. (2014). Plastid survival in the cytosol of animal cells. Trends in Plant Science, 19(6), 347–350. doi:10.1016/j.tplants.2014.03.010

  • Laetz, E., Christa, G., Händeler, K., & Wägele, H. (2014). The Cylindrobulla / Ascobulla complex— Unraveling problems in identification and adding to Cylindrobulla diversity (Gastropoda, Heterobranchia, Sacoglossa) by describing a new species. Zootaxa, 3893(3), 339. doi:10.11646/zootaxa.3893.3.2

  • Christa, G., Wescott, L., Schäberle, T. F., König, G. M., & Wägele, H. (2013). What remains after 2 months of starvation? Analysis of sequestered algae in a photosynthetic slug, Plakobranchus ocellatus (Sacoglossa, Opisthobranchia), by barcoding. Planta, 237(2), 559–572. doi:10.1007/s00425-012-1788-6

  • de Vries, J., Habicht, J., Woehle, C., Huang, C., Christa, G., Wägele, H., Nickelsen, J., Martin, W. F., & Gould, S. B. (2013). Is ftsH the key to plastid longevity in sacoglossan slugs? Genome Biology and Evolution, 5(12), 2540–2548. doi:10.1093/gbe/evt205

  • Wägele, H., Deusch, O., Handeler, K., Martin, R., Schmitt, V., Christa, G., Pinzger, B., Gould, S. B., Dagan, T., Klussmann-Kolb, A., & Martin, W. (2011). Transcriptomic evidence that longevity of acquired plastids in the photosynthetic slugs Elysia timida and Plakobranchus ocellatus does not entail lateral transfer of algal nuclear genes. Molecular Biology and Evolution, 28(1), 699–706. doi:10.1093/molbev/msq239