Sebastian is a geneticist, and Head of the Plant-Parasite Interactions group, with an interest in the genes that control a dialogue between kingdoms of life: the two-way molecular communication between plants and their parasites. He develops understanding from the position that the two organisms are one interlinked entity, studying the biology of the entire host-parasite complex. He uses genetics to dissect the communication between the two organisms, to understand how evolution drives novel forms and functions, through a development-altering relationship, that is phylogenetically and geographically widespread.
Recent highlights from the lab exemplify the fascinating biology of the study system, the connectedness of the kingdoms, and the central thesis that the two organisms are best studied when considered as one entity. The lab showed that: i) host and parasite each contribute to the cross-kingdom synthesis of Vitamin B5, defining the hologenome theory of susceptibility-gene discovery (Siddique et al., 2022, Nature Communications); ii) the nematode has evolved a novel form of precisely guided somatic genome editing to generate thousands of new transient effector alleles (Sonawala et al., 2024, Cell Genomics); and iii) that the nematode mobilises and ingests parts of the plant genome during infection (Ko et al., 2023 Molecular Biology and Evolution).
Selected recent publications:
U. Sonawala, H. Beasley, P.J. Thorpe, K. Varypatakis, B. Senatori, J.T. Jones, L. Derevnina, and S. Eves-van den Akker* (2024). “A gene with a thousand alleles: the HYPer-variable effectors of plant-parasitic nematodes.” bioRxiv 10.1101/2023.10.16.561705 – In press Cell Genomics.
C.A.M Marshall, M.T. Wilkinson, P.M. Hadfield, S.M. Rogers, J.D. Shanklin, ...S. Eves-van den Akker. (2023). “Urban wildflower meadow planting for biodiversity, climate and society: An evaluation at King's College, Cambridge” Ecological Solutions and Evidence 4(2), e12243.
S. Siddique, Z.S. Radakovic, C. Hill., C. Pellegrin, T.J. Baum, H. Beasley, O. Chitambo , D. Chopra, E.G.J. Danchin, E. Grenier, S.S. Habash, M.S. Hasan, J. Helder, T. Hewezi, J. Holbein, M. Holterman, S. Janakowski, G.D. Koutsovoulos, O.P. Kranse, J.L. Lozano-Torres, T.R. Maier, R.E. Masonbrink, B. Mendy, E. Riemer, M. Sobczak, U. Sonawala, M.G. Sterken, P. Thorpe, J.J.M. van Steenbrugge, N. Zahid, F. Grundler, and S. Eves-van den Akker*. (2022). The genome and lifestage-specific transcriptomes of a plant-parasitic nematode and its host reveal susceptibility genes involved in trans-kingdom synthesis of vitamin B5. Nature Communications. 13, 6190.
