Understanding the chemical mediators of ecological interactions

1 hr 42 min

Emily R. Burdfield-Steel

Christelle A. M. Robert

Shinichi Sunagawa

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About this video

Chemical ecology integrates advances in chemistry and biology to better understand chemically-mediated biological interactions, how these interactions affect organismal behaviors and evolution, the relevance of these interactions to ecosystems, and the underlying mechanisms of chemical signaling within and between organisms.

In this Cell Press webinar, Shinichi Sunagawa (ETH Zurich), Christelle A. M. Robert (Universitat Bern), and Emily R. Burdfield-Steel (Universiteit van Amsterdam) will discuss chemical interactions between ocean and gastrointestinal microbes and their hosts, plants and soil invertebrates, and mating insects. A discussion will follow hosted by editors from Cell, iScience, Trends in Ecology and Evolution, and Cell Genomics specifically on the interdisciplinary crosstalk in this area.

About the presenters

Emily R. Burdfield-Steel

Dr Emily R. Burdfield-Steel is an Assistant Professor of Chemical Ecology in the Institute for Biodiversity and Ecosystem Dynamics (IBED) at the University of Amsterdam (UvA). Dr Burdfield-Steel's areas of study are the evolution of mating communication systems in response to reproductive interference and the role of chemical and visual signals in aposematic insect populations.

Christelle A. M. Robert

Prof. Dr. Christelle A. M. Robert is Head of the Chemical Ecology Group in the Institute of Plant Sciences at University of Bern in Bern, Switzerland and she is a chemical ecologist working on plant-herbivore interactions below ground, their ecological relevance, and underlying mechanisms.

Shinichi Sunagawa

Prof. Shinichi Sunagawa is in the Department of Biology at ETH Zürich where he has led the Sunagawa Lab of Microbiome Research since 2016. Prof. Sunagawa is interested in studying ecological and evolutionary factors that determine the structure, function and diversity of microbial communities, currently focusing on the ocean ecosystem and the gastrointestinal tract of animals and humans.