Four research groups in the Laboratory for Molecular Genetics (LMG) are studying specific evolutionarily conserved aspects of biology of the complex Streptomyces bacteria, sponges – simple ancient animals with complex genomes, the molecular basis of adaptations in cave animals, and the non-coding regions of the genomes of different eukaryotic organisms.

Main research areas within the Laboratory are:

1) posttranslational modification ADP-ribosylation in Streptomyces bacteria and its impact on metabolism, with a special focus on antibiotic production

2) studying evolutionary conserved sponge genes/proteins with an emphasis on the homologs related to human diseases, especially cancer

3) molecular basis of adaptations to novel environments using cave animals as a model 

4) studying characteristics of satellite DNAs and transposable elements and their impact on genome evolution and architecture in different eukaryotic organisms