DEPARTMENT OF SYSTEMATICS

• Laboratory of Morphology and Electron Microscopy

Primary research interests are focused on morphology, systematics and phylogeny of multicellular parasites of animals with a special emphasis on freshwater fish tapeworms from the different zoogeographical regions of the world. The most recent work also involves studies on biodiversity, ecotoxicology and ecology of fish parasites, particularly in heavily polluted water environments and the monitoring of invasive fish parasites currently spreading across Europe.

• Laboratory of Molecular Systematics and Cytogenetics

Research is mainly focused on the study of structure of phylogenetically informative genes (mitochondrial and ribosomal genes) with an emphasis on the molecular taxonomy, origin, evolution and relationships of metazoan parasites of fish and wild ruminants. Key areas of our interest are molecular systematics of parasitic platyhelminthes and the development of novel population genetic markers, especially microsatellite loci. In chromosome research, we carry out detailed cytogenetic survey of helminth species/groups, describe chromosomal characteristics of rDNA sites and propose hypotheses about karyotype evolution.