Research

Research Expertise

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The main research activities of NIB are closely intertwined basic and applied research in biological sciences, overlapping with other fields of natural sciences such as chemistry, physics, informatics, agronomy, ecology, and biomedical sciences. A wide spectrum of research is covered – from bacteria to humans — including broad areas of ecology and environmental protection. Ecological research comprises freshwater systems (rivers and lakes), terrestrial systems (wetlands and forests), and the sea. Basic and economically relevant research areas include the physiology of bacterial systems, plants, invertebrates and animals of higher orders, with special focus on biomedical topics.

International projects are of the highest priority: NIB is an internationally recognized and highly appreciated institution, involved in many European and other international research projects. We have successfully applied for various bilateral and multilateral grants and established partnerships with many academic and research institutions and agencies in all the continents, but most frequently within the EU.

  • omics approaches (qPCR, microarrays, proteomics, metabolomics, next-generation sequencing) in studying
    • plant-virus and plant-insect interactions
    • ecotoxicology
    • drug development and biopharmaceutical strain characterization
  • data analysis (qPCR, digital PCR, microarrays, proteomics, metabolomics, next-generation sequencing) and integration
  • modeling of biological processes
  • concentration and purification of viruses
  • activity assessment of antimicrobial substances
  • recombinant protein expression in plants
  • purity control of biotechnological products
  • development of cultivation technologies for high scale production of bio-active compounds from algae and cyanobacteria

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References:

International research projects:
  • ISBE (Infrastructure for Systems Biology - Europe) – FP7 (2012-2015)
  • DECHATLON (Development of Cost efficient Advanced DNA-based methods for specific Traceability issues and High Level On-site applicatioNs) – FP7 (in negotiation phase)
  • CYTOTHREAT (Fate and effects of cytostatic pharmaceuticals in the environment and the identification of biomarkers for and improved risk assessment on environmental exposure) - FP7 (2011-2014)
  • INTERFACES (Support for training and career development of researchers) – FP7 (2014-2017)
  • ELIXIR (FP7 European life-sciences Infrastructure for biological Information); member
Other – bibliography:
  • Baebler Š., Stare K., Kovač M., Blejec A., Prezelj N., Stare T., Kogovšek P., Pompe-Novak M., Rosahl S., Ravnikar M., Gruden K.: Dynamics of responses in compatible potato-Potato virus Y interaction are modulated by salicylic acid. PLoS One. 2011; 6(12):e29009.
  • Petek M., Turnšek N., Gašparič M.B., Novak M.P., Gruden K., Slapar N., Popovič T., Štrukelj B., Gruden K., Štrukelj B., Jongsma M.A.: A complex of genes involved in adaptation of Leptinotarsa decemlineata larvae to induced potato defense. Arch Insect Biochem Physiol. 2012 Mar; 79(3):153-81
  • Ramšak Ž., Baebler Š., Rotter A., Korbar M., Mozetic .I, Usadel B., Gruden K.: GoMapMan: integration, consolidation and visualization of plant gene annotations within the MapMan ontology. Nucleic Acids Res. 2013; (doi:10.1093/nar/gkt1056).
  • Miljkovic D., Stare T., Mozetič I., Podpečan V., Petek M., Witek K., Dermastia M., Lavrač N., Gruden K.: Signalling network construction for modelling plant defence response. PLoS One. 2012; 7(12):e51822.
  • Bar-Dror T., Dermastia M., Kladnik A., Znidaric M.T., Novak M.P., Meir S., Burd S., Philosoph-Hadas S., Ori N., Sonego L., Dickman M.B., Lers A.: Programmed cell death occurs asymmetrically during abscission in tomato. Plant Cell. 2011 Nov; 23(11):4146-63.
  • Steyer A., Gutiérrez-Aguire I., Kolenc M., Koren S., Kutnjak D., Pokorn M., Poljsak-Prijatelj M., Racki N., Ravnikar M., Sagadin M., Fratnik Steyer A., Toplak N.: High similarity of novel orthoreovirus detected in a child hospitalized with acute gastroenteritis to Mammalian orthoreoviruses found in bats in Europe. J Clin Microbiol. 2013 Nov;51(11):3818-25
  • Erjavec J., Kos J., Ravnikar M., Dreo T., Sabotič J.: Proteins of higher fungi - from forest to application. Trends Biotechnol. 2012 May; 30(5):259-73.
  • development of new diagnostic and prognostic cancer biomarkers
  • stem cell technologies: new drug delivery systems, regenerative medicine

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References:

International research projects:
  • GLIOMA (Determination of new biomarkers of brain tumors – glioma as diagnostic and therapeutic targets) - Slovenia- Italy Cross-Border Cooperation Programme (2011-2014)
Other – bibliography:
  • Torkar A., Lenarčič B., Lah Turnšek T., Dive V., Devel L.: Identification of new peptide amides as selective cathepsin L inhibitors : the first step towards selective irreversible inhibitors?. Bioorg. med. chem. lett.. [Print ed.], 2013, vol. 23, issue 10, str. 2968-2973
  • Primon M., Huszthy P. C., Motaln H., Talasila K, Torkar A, Bjerkvig R., Lah Turnšek T.: Cathepsin L silencing enhances arsenic trioxide mediated in vitro cytotoxicity and apoptosis in glioblastoma U87MG spheroids. Exp. cell res., 2013, vol. , iss. , 12 str., [in press]
  • Obrez M., Motaln H., Tajnšek U., Lah Turnšek T.: The role of stem cells in glioma progression and therapy. Zdrav Vestn (Tisk. izd.). [Tiskana izd.], 2013, letn. 82, št. 2, str. 113-122, ilustr.
  • Motaln H., Gruden K., Hren M., Schichor C., Primon M., Rotter A., Lah Turnšek T.: Human mesenchymal stem cells exploit the immune response mediating chemokines to impact the phenotype of glioblastoma. Cell transplant. [Print ed.], 2012, vol. 21, no. 7, str. 1529-1545. http://dx.doi.org/10.3727/096368912X64054
  • Torkar A., Bregant S., Devel L., Novinec M., Lenarčič B., Lah Turnšek T., Dive V.: A novel photoaffinity-based probe for selective detection of cathepsin L active form. ChemBioChem. [Print ed.], 2012, vol. 13, issue 17, str. 2616-2621. http://dx.doi.org/10.1002/cbic.201200389
  • Schichor C., Albrecht V., Korte B., Buchner A., Riesenberg R., Mysliwietz J., Paron I., Motaln H., Lah Turnšek T., Jürchott K., Selbig J., Tonn, Jc.: Mesenchymal stem cells and glioma cells form a structural as well as a functional syncytium in vitro. Exp. neurol., 2012, vol. 234, issue 1, str. 208-219. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.expneurol.2011.12.033,
  • Gole B., Huszthy P.C., Popović M., Jeruc J., Ardebili S.Y., Bjerkvig R., Lah Turnšek T.: The regulation of cysteine cathepsins and cystatins in human gliomas. Int J Cancer. 2012, vol. 131, issue 8, str. 1779-1789
  • effects of harmful algal/cyanobacterial blooms and their toxins on water ecosystem
    • prevalence study of harmful algal blooms in different regions that will extend beyond the already studied species and toxins
    • development of effective methods for the detection, identification and monitoring of toxic cyanobacteria and cyanotoxins (remote and close sensing with the robot)
  • (eco)toxicological studies (testing according to OECD and ISO standards) on: bacteria, algae, cyanobacteria, daphnia, zebrafish embryo
  • water ecosystems and the pollution effects (genotoxins, endocrine disruptors, cytostatics)
  • evaluation of the human health hazard of the exposure to natural and manmade toxins
  • studies of the mechanisms of genotoxicity of natural and manmade genotoxic agents
  • development of high-throughput genotoxicity test systems for rapid detection of genotoxic agents
  • genotoxicity testing under GLP conditions
  • studies of the mechanisms of anti-genotoxic agents for potential cancer prevention

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References:

International research projects:
  • CYTOTHREAT (Fate and effects of cytostatic pharmaceuticals in the environment and the identification of biomarkers for and improved risk assessment on environmental exposure) - – FP7 (2011-2014)
  • LIFE Stop CyanoBloom (Innovative Technology for Cyanobacterial Bloom Control) – LIFE+ (2013-2016)
Other – bibliography:
  • Ding Y., Gan N., Li J., Sedmak B., Song L.: Hydrogen peroxide induces apoptotic-like cell death in Microcystis aeruginosa (Chroococcales, Cyanobacteria) in a dose-dependent manner. Phycologia, 2012, vol. 51, no. 5, str. 567-575,
  • Sedmak B., Carmeli S., Pompe Novak M., Tušek-Žnidarič M., Grach-Pogrebinsky O., Eleršek T., Žužek M. C., Bubik A., Frangež R.: Cyanobacterial cytoskeleton immunostaining: the detection of cyanobacterial cell lysis induced by planktopeptin BL1125. J. plankton res., 2009, vol. 31, no. 11, str. 1321-1330. http://dx.doi.org/10.1093/plankt/fbp076,
  • Štraser A., Filipič M., Gorenc I., Žegura, B.: The influence of cylindrospermopsin on oxidative DNA damage and apoptosis induction in HepG2 cells. Chemosphere (Oxford). [Print ed.], 2013, vol. 92, issue 1, str. 24-30
  • Pezdirc M., Žegura B., Filipič M.: Genotoxicity and induction of DNA damage responsive genes by food-borne heterocyclic aromatic amines in human hepatoma HepG2 cells. Food chem. toxicol., 2013, vol. 59, str. 386-394
  • Avberšek M., Žegura B., Filipič M., Uranjek Ževart N., Heath E.: Determination of estrogenic potential in waste water without sample extraction. J. hazard. mater. [Print ed.], 2013, vol. 260, str. 527-533
  • Štraser A., Filipič M., Novak M., Žegura B.: Double strand breaks and cell-cycle arrest induced by the cyanobacterial toxin cylindrospermopsin in HepG2 cells. Mar. drugs, 2013, vol. 11, no. 8, str. 3077-3090. http://www.mdpi.com/1660-3397/11/8/3077
  • Fic A., Žegura B., Sollner Dolenc M., Filipič M., Peterlin-Mašič L.: Mutagenicity and DNA damage of bisphenol A and its structural analogs = Mutagenost in poškodbe DNA povzročene z bisfenolom A in njegovimi strukturnimi analogi. Arh. hig. rada toksikol., 2013, vol. 66, no. 2, str. 189-200.
  • http://hrcak.srce.hr/index.php?show=clanak&id_clanak_jezik=152768
  • Blagus T., Zager V., Cemazar M., Sersa G., Kamensek U., Zegura B., Nunic J., Filipic M.: A cell-based biosensor system HepG2CDKN1A–DsRed for rapid and simple detection of genotoxic agents. Biosensors and Bioelectronics, 2014, vol. 61, str. 102-111
  • identification of potential food natural cancer protective compound and their use in food
  • plant protection with alternative biological control methods
    • developing tools for manipulating species behaviour and their reproductive success
    • investigating insects as potential biological control agents
  • laser technology in biological systems
    • detection of insect pests in biological materials using laser vibrometry
    • characterisation of mechanical properties of solid materials
  • plant-insect interactions
    • investigations of the adaptive nature of insect vibratory communication respecting host plant mechanics
    • investigation of insect pollination
  • plant –microorganisms interactions
    • biology of plant pathogens
    • host responses
  • plant health
    • detection of plant pathogens following ISO/IEC 17025 and EPPO standards
    • development of new diagnostic methods and on-site approaches for concentration and purification of viruses using CIM chromatography, quantitative and digital PCR, LAMP, VLP, barcoding
  • genetically modified organisms
    • development of methods and new approaches for the detection of GMOs,
    • absolute quantification of GMOs using digital PCR technology
    • functional genomics studies

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References:

International research projects:
  • Q-DETECT (Quarantine Pest Detection for Use by National Plant Protection Organizations (NPPO) And Inspection Services ) – FP7 (2010-2013)
  • VITISENS (Cost-Effective Hand-Held Device for Rapid In-Field Detection of Flavenscence Doree Phytoplasma in Grapevines) – FP7 (2011-2013)
  • BICOPOLL (Targeted Precision Biocontrol and Pollination Enhancement in Organic Cropping Systems) - ERA-NET (2011-2014)
  • GMO-SEEK (Development of Screening Methods for GMOs) - ERA-NET (2009-2011)
  • GMO-VAL (Validation of Detection Methods for GMOs) – ERA-NET (2013-2015)
  • INFECT-MET (Metrology For Monitoring Infectious Diseases, Antimicrobial Resistance, And Harmfull Microorganisms) – EURAMET (2012-2015)
  • Bio-SiTrace (Traceability for biologically relevant molecules and entities) – EURAMET (2013-2016)
  • DECHATLON (Development of Cost efficient Advanced DNA-based methods for specific Traceability issues and High Level On-site applicatioNs) – FP7 (2014-2016)
Other – bibliography:
  • Eriksson A., Anfora G., Lucchi A., Lanzo F., Virant-Doberlet M., et al. (2012) Exploitation of Insect Vibrational Signals Reveals a New Method of Pest Management. PLoS ONE 7(3): e32954.
  • Soroker V., Suma P., La Pergola A., Cohen Y., Alchanatis V., Golomb O., Goldshtein E., Hetzroni A., Galazan L., Kontodimas D., Pontikakos C., Zorovic M., Brandstetter M.: Early detection and monitoring of the Red palm weevil: Approaches and challenges. Proceedings of the Palm pest Mediterranean conference, 2013. Nice, 16th-18th January
  • Polajnar J., Svenšek D., Čokl A.: Resonance in herbaceous plant stems as a factor in vibrational communication of pentatomid bugs (Heteroptera: Pentatomidae). Journal of the Royal Society interface, 2012, vol. 9, no. 73, str. 1898-1907. http://dx.doi.org/10.1098/rsif.2011.0770
  • Prezelj N., Nikolić P., Gruden K., Ravnikar M., Dermastia M.: Spatiotemporal distribution of flavescence dorée phytoplasma in grapevine. Plant Pathology, 2013, 62, 760–6.
  • Lenarcic, R., Morisset, D., Mehle, N., Ravnikar, M.: Fast real-time detection of Potato spindle
  • 462 tuber viroid by RT-LAMP. Plant Pathol. 2012, 62 (5), 1147-1156.
  • Rupar M, Kogovšek P, Pompe-Novak M, Gutiérrez-Aguirre I, Delaunay A, Jacquot E, Ravnikar M.: Assessment of SNaPshot and single step RT-qPCR methods for discriminating Potato virus Y (PVY) subgroups. J Virol Methods. 2013 Apr;189(1):93-100
  • Huber I.C., Block A., Sebah D., Debode F., Morisset D., Grohmann L., Berben G., Stebih D., Milavec M., Zel J., Busch U.: Development and Validation of Duplex, Triplex and Pentaplex Real-time PCR Screening Assays for the Detection of Genetically Modified Organisms in Food and Feed. 2013. J Agric Food ChemAug 24. [Epub ahead of print]
  • Morisset D., Štebih D., Milavec M., Gruden K., Žel J.: Quantitative analysis of food and feed samples with droplet digital PCR. PloS one, 2013, vol. 8, issue 5, p. e62583
  • Žel J., Milavec M., Morisset D., Plan D., Eede G.V.D, Gruden K.: How to reliably test for GMOs, (Springer briefs in food, health, and nutrition). New York [etc.]: Springer, 2012. X, 100 p., ilustr. ISBN 978-1-4614-1389-9.
  • Milavec, M., Dobnik, D., Yang, L., Zhang, D., Gruden, K., Žel, J.: GMO quantification : valuable experience and insights for the future. Analytical and bioanalytical chemistry, ISSN 1618-2642, 2014, vol. , no. , 13 str., [in press], doi: 10.1007/s00216-014-8077-0.
  • Morisset, D., Kralj Novak, P., Zupanič, D., Gruden, K., Lavrač, N., ŽEL, J.: GMOseek : a user friendly tool for optimized GMO testing. BMC bioinformatics, ISSN 1471-2105, avg. 2014, vol. 15, no. 258. http://dx.doi.org/10.1186/1471-2105-15-258, doi: 10.1186/1471-2105-15-258.
  • Pavšič, J., Devonshire, A. S., Parkes, H. C., Schimmel, H., Foy, C. A., Karczmarczyk, M., Gutierrez-Aguirre, I., Honeyborne, I., Huggett, J. F., Mchugh, T. D., Milavec, M., Zeichhardt, H., Žel, J.: Standardising clinical measurements of bacteria and viruses using nucleic acid tests. Journal of clinical microbiology, ISSN 0095-1137, 2014, vol. , no. , 26 str., [in press], doi: 10.1128/JCM.02136-14.
  • marine aquaculture- impact on the environment
    • stable isotope approach to trace the cycles of nutrients
    • experimental enrichment with isotopes (both stable and radioactive) to trace food web connections
  • ecological status of marine environment
    • assessment of ecological status of marine environment by means of different biological elements (methodology for the evaluation of the ecological status using phytoplankton parameters: biomass, abundance, species composition and frequency of blooms)
  • chemical and biochemical processes in the marine environment
  • ecology and eco-physiology of different types of Harmful Algal Blooms (HABs), especially of the consequent diarrheic shellfish poisoning, and the development of an integrated management of HABs for the protection of the resources
  • identification and modelling of marine biodiversity and identification of the marine microbial community structure by the use of modern molecular approaches and bioinformatics tools
    • evolution of genes in Cnidarians
  • physical oceanography of coastal waters
  • operational oceanography

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References:

International research projects:
  • MyOcean (Prototype Operational Continuity for the GMES Ocean Monitoring and Forecasting Service) – FP7 (2009-2012)
  • SEADATANET (Pan-European infrastructure for ocean and marine data Management) – FP7 (2006-2011)
  • RADAR (Rationally Designed Aquatic Receptors integrated in label-free biosensor platforms for remote surveillance of toxins and pollutants) – FP7 (2011-2014)
  • PERSEUS (Policy-oriented marine Environmental Research in the Southern European Seas) – FP7 (2012-2015)
  • SEADATANET II (Pan-European infrastructure for ocean and marine data Management) – FP7 (2011-2015)
  • MyOcean 2 (Prototype Operational Continuity for the GMES Ocean Monitoring and Forecasting Service) – FP7 (2012-2014)
  • MARINE CLEAN (Marine Debris Removal and Preventing Further Litter Entry) – program Eco Innovation – Eco Innovation (2011-2014)
  • SMS (Sensing toxicants in Merine waters makes Sense using biosensors) – FP7 (2014-2017)
  • INTERFACES (Support for training and career development of researchers) – FP7 (2014-2017)
  • TRECORALA (Reefs And Koraligen Northern Adriatic: Evaluation And Sustainable Management In The Gulf Of Trieste) – Slovenia- Italy Cross-Border Cooperation Program (2012-2014)
  • HAZADR (Strengthening common reaction capacity to fight sea pollution of oil, toxic and hazardous substances in Adriatic Sea) – IPA (2012-2015)
  • SeaDataCloud (Pan-European infrastructure for ocean and marine data Management) - EU H2020 programme - (2016-2020)
  • EMODNET Chemistry 2 (European Marine Observation and Data Network ) – DG MARE (2013-2016) 
  • EMODNET Chemistry 3 (European Marine Observation and Data Network ) – DG MARE (2017-2019) 
  • EMODNET Data Ingestion (European Marine Observation and Data Network ) – DG MARE (2017-2019)
Other – bibliography:
  • Malačič V., Petelin B.: Climate circulation in the Gulf of Trieste (northern Adriatic). J. geophys. res., 2009, vol. 114, str. 1-15
  • Grego M., De Troch M., Forte J., Malej A.: Main meiofauna taxa as an indicator for assessing the spatial and seasonal impact of fish farming. Mar. pollut. bull., 2009, št. 8, str. 1178-1186
  • Kovač N., Kukovec K., Falnoga I., Mozetič P., Bajt O.: Carbon and nitrogen isotope composition of particulate organic matter in relation to mucilage formation in the Northern Adriatic sea. Mar. Chem., 2009, vol 114, str. 102-109
  • Stopar K., Ramšak A., Trontelj P., Malej A.: Lack of genetic structure in the jellyfish Pelagia noctiluca (Cnidaria: Scyphozoa: Semaeostomeae) across European seas. 2010. Mol. phylogenet. evol. 57: str. 417-428
  • MOZETIČ P., C. SOLIDORO, G. COSSARINI, G. SOCAL, R. PRECALI, J. FRANCÉ et al. Recent trends towards oligotrophication of the Northern Adriatic. 2010. Estuaries and coasts 33: str. 362-375,
  • Drinovec L., Flander Putrle V., Knez M., Beran A., Berden Zrimec M.: Discrimination of marine algal taxonomic groups using delayed fluorescence spectroscopy. 2010. Environ. exp. bot. str. 1-12
  • Mozetič P., Francé J., Kogovšek T., Talaber I., Malej A.: Plankton trends and community changes in a coastal sea (northern Adriatic): Bottom-up vs. Top-down control in relation to environmental drivers. 2012. Esturanine, Costal and Shelf science 115. str. 138-148
  • Malačič V., Petelin B., Vodopivec M.: Topographic control of wind-driven circulation in the northern Adriatic. 2012. Journal of Geophysical Research, Volume 117, Issue C6, June 2012
  • Tinta T, Kogovšek T, Malej A, Turk V.: Yellyfish modulate bacterial dynamic and community structure. 2012. PLoS ONE 7(6): e39274.
  • PETELIN, Boris, KONONENKO, Igor, MALAČIČ, Vlado, KUKAR, Matjaž. Multi-level association rules and directed graphs for spatial data analysis. Expert systems with applications, 2013, vol. 40, issue 12, str. 4957-4970.  
  • PETELIN, Boris, KONONENKO, Igor, MALAČIČ, Vlado, KUKAR, Matjaž. Dynamic fuzzy paths and cycles in multi-level directed graphs. Engineering applications of artificial intelligence, 2014, vol. 37, str. 194-206
  • biodiversity and ecobiogeography
    • taxonomic expertise for aquatic (Crustacea), and terrestrial (beetles – Coleoptera, birds – Aves) species
    • biodiversity assessments
    • building GIS-based databases of species distributions
    • modeling the past and future species occurrences
  • ecophysiology
    • physiological response of selected species (invertebrates) to temperature, pollution or other environmental gradients
      • measurements of oxygen consumption (respiration) in aquatic biofilm and invertebrates
      • dehydrogenase activity (electron transport system activity – ETS as a measure of potential respiration) in aquatic biofilm and invertebrates
      • measurements of oxidative stress (catalase activity in aquatic biofilm and invertebrates
  • interspecific interactions
    • invasion of aquatic alien crayfish and their impact on native species: the ecological aspect (habitat selection, ecological niche size), the physiological aspect (measuring the metabolic activity of species in the temperature and humidity gradient), and the pathological aspect (identifying wild populations infected with crayfish plague Aphanomyces astaci)
  • species-environment interactions
    • the impacts of modern agriculture practices on farm land bird populations
  • freshwater ecosystems research
    • long term ecological research on high mountain lakes: impact of climate change
    • alpine floodplains: development of functional indicators of ecosystem processes
    • Karst groundwater ecosystems with epikarst– species distribution, habitat selection, connectivity, endemic species, speciation
    • alluvial groundwater ecosystems – environmental constraints for groundwater fauna, connectivity with surface waters, the role of river flow
    • hyporheic zone– its functional role in river ecology, functional indicators as a measure of response to human induced stressors (land use, river bed and discharge modifications)
  • applied ecology
    • development of conservation measurements for endangered species or habitats
    • guidelines for sustainable use of freshwater and terrestrial ecosystems and mitigation of conflicts of interests
    • strategies and actions to cope with invasive alien freshwater species
    • assessments of climate change impacts on the organisms (physiological tolerances) and ecosystems (freshwater and terrestrial invertebrates, birds) and their sensibility / vulnerability
    • environmental assessment of the freshwater ecosystems (groundwater, lakes, rivers)
    • assessment of toxicological properties of complex environmental samples (i.e. surface waters, industrial and communal waste waters)
    • identification and detection of plant, human and bacterial viruses in aquatic environment
  • behavioural ecology and neurobiology
    • registration and analysis of insect communication signals (vibratory signals, chemical signals)
    • assessing the role of behaviour and signals in species isolation
    • analysing intraspecific and interspecific interactions in the natural environment (communication networks; behavioural and molecular approaches)
    • investigating effects of pesticides and diseases on behaviour and underlying physiology of pollinators
    • neuronal basis of vibratory signal processing and evolution of neuronal networks
  • biodiversity, invasive species and global climate change
    • developing tools for mass and species-specific detection and monitoring based on bioacoustic and biochemical methods
    • developing techniques for pollinator monitoring
    • studying species and population diversity based on molecular-genetic, bioacoustic and biochemical methods

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References:

International research projects:
  • SILMAS (Sustainable Instruments for lakes management in the alpine space) – Alpine Space (2009-2012)
  • Alp-Water-Scarce (Alp-Water-Scarce Water Management Strategies against Water Scarcity in the Alps)- Alpine Space (2008-2011)
  • HYDROKARST (Karst aquifer as a strategic cross-border water resource) - Slovenia- Italy Cross-Border Cooperation Programme (2012-2015)
  • PESI (A Pan-European Species-directories Infrstructure) - FP7 (2008-2011)
Other – bibliography:
  • Kušar D., Vrezec A., Ocepek M., Jenčič V.: Aphanomyces astaci in wild crayfish populations in Slovenia: first report of persistent infection in a stone crayfish Austropotamobius torrentium population. 2013. Dis. aquat. org., 103:157-169.
  • Galassi D.M.P., Stoch F., Brancelj A.: Dissecting copepod diversity at different spatial scales in southern European groundwater. 2013. J. Nat. Hist. 47: 821-840.
  • Homburg K., Drees C., Gossner M. M., Rakosy L., Vrezec A., Assmann T.: Multiple glacial refugia of the low-dispersal ground beetle Carabus irregularis: molecular data support predictions of species distribution models. 2013. PloS one: 8: e61185.
  • Brancelj A., Žibrat U., Mezek T., Rejec Brancelj I., Dumont H.: Consecutive earthquakes temporarily restructured the zooplankton community in an Alpine Lake. 2012. Ann. Limnol. 48: 113-123.
  • Mori N., Simčič T., Žibrat U., Brancelj A.: The role of river flow dynamics and food availability in structuring hyporheic microcrustacean assemblages: a reach scale study. 2012. Fundam. appl. limnol. 180: 335-349.
  • Simčič T., Pajk F., Vrezec A., Brancelj A.: Size scaling of whole-body metabolic activity in the noble crayfish (Astacus astacus) estimated from measurements on a single leg. 2012. Freshw. Biol. 57: 39-48.
  • Tome D., Denac D.: Survival and development of predator avoidance in the post-fledging period of the Whinchat (Saxicola rubetra): consequences for conservation measures. 2012. J. Ornithol. 153:131-138.
  • Bevk D., Kralj J., Čokl A.: Coumaphos affects food transfer between workers of honeybee. 2012. Apis mellifera. Apidologie. 43, 465-470
  • De Groot M., Čokl A., Virant-Doberlet M.: Species identity cues: possibilities for errors during vibrational communication on plant stems. 2011. Behav. ecol. 22, 1209-1217.
  • Stritih N., Čokl A.: Mating behaviour and vibratory signalling in non-hearing cave crickets reflect primitive communication of Ensifera. PloS one, 2012, 7(10) e47646.
  • Virant-Doberlet M., King R. A., Polajnar J., Symondson W.: Molecular diagnostics reveal spiders that exploit prey vibrational signals used in sexual communication. 2011. Mol. ecol. 20 (10): 2204-2216.
  • Zorović M.: Temporal processing of vibratory communication signals at the level of ascending interneurons in Nezara viridula (Hemiptera: Pentatomidae). 2011. PLOS One 6(10): e26843.
  • Žunič A., Chinta S. P., Headrick D., Čokl A., Millar J. G.: Do chemical signals mediate reproductive behavior of Trupanea vicina, an emerging pest of ornamental marigold production in California?. Entomol. exp. appl. (Print), 2013, vol., no. , 13 str., [in press]
  • Bluemel J. K., King R. A., Virant-Doberlet M., Symondson W. O. C.: Primers for identification of type and other archived specimens of Aphrodes leafhoppers (Hemiptera, Cicadellidae). 2011. Mol. ecol. resour., 11 (5), 770-774.
  • Ray A. M., Žunič A.: 2,3-hexanediols as sex attractants and a female-produced sex pheromone for cerambycid beetles in the prionine genus Tragosoma. 2012. J. chem. ecol., 38 (9) 1151-1158.
  • Mehle N., Ravnikar M.: Plant viruses in aqueous environment - survival, water mediated transmission and detection. Water Res. 2012 Oct 15;46(16):4902-17

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Holder of National Standard in the Field of Amount of Substance/Bioanalysis of Nucleic Acids/GMOs and Microorganisms
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