Filip Husnik

I am broadly interested in major evolutionary transitions such as the origin of the eukaryotic cell and its symbiotic organelles, mitochondria and plastids. I work at the interface of multiple disciplines, particularly evolutionary biology, cell biology, genomics, microbiology, biochemistry, and computational biology. My favorite model systems are any symbiotic organisms, insects, protists, and marine microbes.

I grew up near Prague, did my graduate work in Budweis, and then my research brought me to the USA, UK, Canada, and finally Japan.

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• Husnik F, Tashyreva D, Boscaro V, George EE, Lukes J, Keeling PJ: Bacterial and archaeal symbioses with protists. Current Biology 2021, 31(13): PR862-R877.
• Husnik F & McCutcheon JP: Repeated replacement of an intrabacterial symbiont in the tripartite nested mealybug symbiosis. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America 2016, 113(3): E5416-5424.
• Husnik F, Nikoh N, Koga R, Ross L, Duncan RP, Fujie M, Tanaka M, Satoh N, Bachtrog D, Wilson ACC, von Dohlen CD, Fukatsu T, McCutcheon JP: Horizontal gene transfer from diverse bacteria to an insect genome enables a tripartite nested mealybug symbiosis. Cell 2013, 153(7): 1567-1578.
• Husnik F & McCutcheon JP: Functional horizontal gene transfer from bacteria to eukaryotes. Nature Reviews Microbiology 2018, 16 (2): 67.