Event Date
MIC (Microbiology Course) 291: Selected Topics in Microbiology
Work-in-Progress Seminars
Speaker: Taichi Suzuki, Ph.D., Assistant Professor, College of Health Solutions, Biodesign Center for Health Through Microbiomes, Arizona State University
Dr. Suzuki presents: “Mammal–Microbe Coevolution: Mechanisms and Implications”
About Dr. Suzuki: Dr. Suzuki is an Assistant Professor at Arizona State University since 2023. He received an MS from the University of Arizona, a PhD from the University of California, Berkeley, and completed his postdoctoral training at the Max Planck Institute for Biology. His group integrates evolutionary genomics, microbial ecology, and biomedical research to study host–microbial interactions in wild rodents and humans.
About the seminar: A major question at the intersection of microbiology and genetics is how host–microbe associations evolve and shape host phenotypes. While disruptions of coevolved symbioses are known to reduce host fitness in relatively simple systems (e.g., insects and their symbionts), determining the extent and functional consequences of host–microbial coevolution in complex systems, such as mammals and their gut microbiome, remains a major challenge. The Suzuki Lab's research has identified multiple gut microbial species in both adults and children that show parallel evolutionary histories with humans, based on paired analyses of host and microbial genotypes. In a separate experimental evolution study, the Suzuki Lab has demonstrated that microbiome selection and transmission, independent of host genetic change, can alter mouse locomotor behavior within four rounds of microbiome transfer. Dr. Suzuki will also outline ongoing and future work aimed at testing how disruptions of evolutionarily stable host–microbe associations affect phenotypes in deer mice (Peromyscus spp.) from the Madrean Sky Islands and in genetically diverse human populations in Arizona.
Host: Antonio Serapio-Palacios, [email protected]