Fachgebiet für Chemische Ökologie

Dr. Manuela Sann
Researcher

University of Hohenheim
Institute for Biology (190t)

Garbenstraße 30 | Laborbau Bio II | 2. OG, Raum 32.251
D-70599 Stuttgart

T 0049 (0)711 459 22 260
manuela.sann@uni-hohenheim.de

Speaker of the section group: Systematics, Biogeography & Diversity

https://twitter.com/sysbiodiv
https://www.dzg-ev.de/fachgruppen/systematik/

 
Current Projects
InsectMow (BfN & BMUV)

Insect- and spider-friendly mowing technology in grassland – overview and evaluation

DNA barcoding of nesting aids (SNF)

DNA barcoding of nesting aids – What do wild bees and wasps need?

MultiTroph (DFG)

Linking cavity-nesting bee and wasp food webs to other trophic interactions

GEvol (DFG)

“Recurrent genomic dynamics linked to parallel evolution of secondary phytophagy in Hymenoptera”

 

Research Interests

Evolution and feeding ecology of Hymenoptera

My research focuses on fundamental questions in the evolutionary history of Hymenoptera with a particular emphasis on the group of burrowing bees (Apoidea). My interest in Hymenoptera is based not only on their fascinating morphological and behavioral diversity, but also on their enormous adaptability to diverse food sources. Hymenoptera exhibit a wide variety of life strategies and feeding habitats: for example, they can be phytophagous or phyto-zoophagous but also honeydew- and pollen-collecting.

In my research I investigate the molecular basis of evolutionary and ontogenetic changes of various Hymenoptera in relation to their diet in order to better understand the potential and limits of their food sources. Here I mainly apply methods of comparative transcriptomics and genomics.

The origin of bees

Another research focus is the elucidation of phylogenetic relationships within the Apoidea. In collaboration with colleagues, I have derived a comprehensive phylogeny of apoid wasps and bees, which provided new perspectives on the evolutionary origin of bees and the associated coevolution of bees and flowering plants, already providing first, exciting insights into how pollen-collecting bees evolved from hunting digger wasps. To fill persistent gaps in our knowledge of the phylogeny of the Apoidea, I am applying sequencing technologies to include the entire genome of several key taxa that were not included in previous phylogenetic studies.

Publikationen
  • Timm L, Schaal J, Sann M (2024): A DNA-barcoding-based approach to quantitatively investigate larval food resources of cavity-nesting wasps from trap nests. Journal of Hymenoptera Research 97: 45–56. doi.org/10.3897/jhr.97.117410
  • Fornoff F, Halla W, Geiger S, Klein AM, Sann M (2023): DNA barcoding resolves quantitative multi‐trophic interaction networks and reveals pest species in trap nests. Insect Conservation and Diversity,16, 725–731.
  • von Berg L, Frank J, Sann M, Betz O, Steidle JL, Böttinger S (2023). Insect-and spider-friendly mowing technology in grassland–overview and evaluation. LANDTECHNIK, 78(2), 80–96.
  • Jasso-Martínez JM, Donath A, Schulten D, Zaldívar-Riverón A, Sann M (2021): Midgut transcriptome assessment of the cockroach-hunting wasp Ampulex compressa (Apoidea: Ampulicidae). PLoS ONE 16, e0252221. doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0252221
  • Korten H & Sann M (2021): Die Hummeln am Tuniberg und im Mooswald westlich von Freiburg – eine vergleichende faunistisch-ökologische Untersuchung. Ampulex 12, 25–32.
  • Sann M, Meusemann K, Niehuis O, Escalona HE, Mokrousov M, Ohl M, Pauli T, Schmid-Egger C (2021). Reanalysis of the Apoid Wasp Phylogeny With Additional Taxa and Sequence Data Confirms the Placement of Ammoplanidae as Sister to Bees. Systematic Entomology; https://doi.org/10.1111/syen.12475.
  • Pauli T, Meusemann K, Kukowka S, Sann M, Donath A, Mayer C, Oeyen JP, Ballesteros Y, Berg A, van den Berghe E, Escalona HE, Guglielmino A, Niehuis M, Olmi M, Podsiadlowski L, Polidori C, de Rond J, Rosa P, Schmitt T, Strumia F, Wurdack M, Liu S, Zhou X, Misof B, Peters RS, Niehuis O (2021). Analysis of RNA-Seq, DNA Target Enrichment, and Sanger Nucleotide Sequence Data Resolves Deep Splits in the Phylogeny of Cuckoo Wasps (Hymenoptera: Chrysididae). Insect Systematics and Diversity 5, 1.
  • Maletti, S, Niehuis O, Mayer C, Sann M, Klopfstein S, Nottebrock G, Baur H, Peters RS (2020). Phylogeny, taxonomics, and ovipositor length variation of the Pteromalus albipennis species group (Hymenoptera: Chalcidoidea: Pteromalidae: Pteromalinae). Journal of Zoological Systematics and Evolutionary Research 59, 349–358.
  • Sann M, Niehuis O, Peters RS, Mayer C, Kozlov A, Podsiadlowski L, Bank S, Meusemann K, Misof B, Bleidorn B, Ohl M (2018): Phylogenomic analysis of Apoidea sheds new light on the sister group of bees. – BMC Evolutionary Biology 18: 71.
  • Bank S*, Sann M*, Mayer C, Meusemann K, Donath A, Podsiadlowski L, Kozlov A, Petersen M, Krogmann L, Meier R, Rosa P, Schmitt T, Wurdack M, Liu S, Zhou X, Misof B, Peters RS, Niehuis O (2017): Transcriptome and target DNA enrichment sequence data provide new insights into the phylogeny of vespid wasps (Hymenoptera: Aculeata: Vespidae). – Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution 116: 213–226. (* these authors contributed equally)
  • Mayer C*, Sann M*, Donath A, Meixner M, Podsiadlowski L, Peters RS, Petersen M, Meusemann K, Liere K, Wägele JW, Misof B, Bleidorn C, Ohl M, Niehuis O (2016): BaitFisher: A software package for multi-species target DNA enrichment probe design. – Molecular Biology and Evolution 33: 1875–1886. (* these authors contributed equally)
  • Sann M, Gerth M, Venne C, Tiedemann R, Bleidorn C (2011): Molekulare und morphologische Untersuchungen zum Status des Nomada alboguttata (Apiformes) Artkomplexes. – Ampulex 2: 65–72.