Publications Ralf Sommer

Wighard, S. & Sommer, R. J. (2025): The role of epigenetic switches in polyphenisms control: Implications from a nematode model for the developmental regulation of alternative phenotypes. biology, in press.
Rödelsperger, C., Röseler, W., Athanasouli, M., Wighard, S., Herrmann, M. & Sommer, R. J. (2024): The genome assembly of Rhabditoides inermis from a complex microbial community. Genome Biology and Evolution, 16, gbe/evae230.
Yoshida, K., Witte, H., Hatashima, R., Sun, S., Kikuchi, T., Röseler, W. & Sommer, R. J. (2024): Rapid chromosome evolution and acquisition of environmental sex determination in nematode androdioecious hermaphrodites. Nature Communications, 15, 9649.
Röseler, W., Sommer, R.J. & Rödelsperger, C. (2024): A chromosome-sclae genome assembly for the Pristionchus pacificus reference mappping strain PS1843. Journal of Nematology, 56, 63.
Herrmann, M., Kanzaki, N., Weiler, C., Rödelsperger, C. & Sommer, R.J. (2024): Description of two new Pristionchus species from South Korea. Journal of Nematology, 56, 32.
Lo, W.-S., Sommer, R. J. & Han, Z. (2024): Microbiota succession influences nematode physiology in a beetle microcosm ecosystem. Nature Communication, 15, 5137.
Wighard, S. S., Witte, H. & Sommer, R. J. (2024): Conserved switch genes that arose via whole genome duplication regulate a novel cannibalistic morph. Science Advances, 10, eadk6062
Featured in: Buehler, J. (2024): Tiny nematode worms can grow enormous mouths and become cannibals. NewScientist.
Theska, T., Renahan, T. & R. J. Sommer (2024). Starvation resistance in the nematode Pristionchus pacificus requires a conserved supplementary nuclear hormone recptor. Zoological Letters, 10, 7.
Kalirad, A. & Sommer, R. J. (2024). Spatial and temporal heterogeneity alters the cost of plasticity in Pristionchus pacificus. PLoS Computational Biology, 20, e1011823.
Theska, T. & R. J. Sommer (2024). Feeding structure morphogenesis in ‘rhabditid’ and diplogastrid nematodes are not controlled by a conserved genetic module. Evolution & Development, 26, e12471.
Kalirad, A. & Sommer, R. J. (2024). The role of plasticity and stochasticity in coexistence. Ecology Letters, 27, e14370.
Dardiry, M., Eberhardt, G., Witte, H., Roedelsperger, C., Lightfoot, J. W. & R. J. Sommer, R.J. (2023): Divergent combinations of cis-regulatory elements control the evolution of phenotypic plasticity. PLoS Biology, 21, e3002270.
Jung, R., Lechler, M. C., Rödelsperger, C., Röseler, W., Sommer, R. J., David, D. C. (2023): Tissue-specific safety mechanism results in opposite protein aggregation patterns during aging. PLoS Biology, 21, e3002284.
Werner, M. S., Loschko, T., Franz-Wachtel, M., Theska, T., Macek, B. & R. J. Sommer (2023): Histone 4 lysine 5/12 acetylation enables developmental plasticity of Pristionchus mouth form. Nature Communications, 14: 2095.
Dardiry, M., Piskobulu, V., Kalirad, A. & Sommer, R. J. (2023). Experimental and theoretical support for costs of plasticity and phenotype in a nematode cannibalistic trait. Evolution Letters, 7, 48-57.
Yoshida, K., Rödelsperger, C., Röseler, W., Riebesell, M., Sun, S., Kikuchi, T. & Sommer, R. J. (2023): Chromosome fusions repatterned recombination rate and facilitated reproductive isolation during nematode speciation. Nature Ecology & Evolution, 7, 424-439.
Igreja, C., Loschko, T., Schäfer, A., Sharma, R., Quiobe, S. P., Aloshy, E., Witte, H. & Sommer, R. J. (2022): Application of ALFA-tagging in the nematode model organisms Caenorhabditis elegans and Pristionchus pacificus. Cells, 11, 3875.
Wighard, S. S., Athanasouli, M., Witte, H., Rödelsperger, C. & Sommer, R. J. (2022): A new hope: A hermaphrotditic nematode enables analysis of a recent whole genome duplication event. Genome Biology and Evolution, 14, evac169.
Lo, W.-S., Roca, M., Dardiry, M., Mackie, M., Eberhardt, G., Witte, H., Hong, R., Sommer, R. J. & J. W. Lightfoot (2022): Evolution and diversity of TGF-β signalling pathways are linked with novel developmental and behavioural traits. Molecular Biology and Evolution, 39, msac252.
Sun, S., Witte, H. & Sommer, R. J. (2022): Chitin contributes to the formation of a feeding structure ina predatory nematode. Current Biology, 33, 1-13.
Featured in: Woodruff, G. C. (2023): Developmental genetics: The structural basis of malleable teeth.
Current Biology, 33, R106-R108.
Renahan, T. & R. J. Sommer (2022): Multidimensional competition of nematodes affects plastic traits in a beetle ecosystem. Front. Cell Dev. Biol., 10, 985831.
Röseler, W., Collenberg, M., Yoshida, K., Lanz, C., Sommer, R.J. & Rödelsperger, C. (2022): The improved genome of the nematode Parapristionchus giblindavisi provides insights into lineage-specific gene family evolution. G3, 12, jkac215.
Lo, W.-S., Han, Z., Witte, H., Röseler, W. & R. J. Sommer (2022): Synergistic interaction of gut microbiota enhances the growth of nematode through neuroendocrine signaling. Current Biology, 32, 2037-2050.
Featured in: MacNeil, L.T. (2022): Microbiomes: How a gut bacterium promotes healthier living in a nematode. Current Biology, 32, R428-R430.
Igreja, C. & Sommer, R. J. (2022): The role of sulfation in nematode development and phenotypic plasticity. Front. Mol. Bioscience, 9, 838148.
Han, Z., Sieriebriennikov, B., Susoy, V., Lo, W.-S., Igreja, C., Dong, C., Berasategui, A., Witte, W. & R. J. Sommer (2021): Horizontally acquired cellulases assist the expansion of dietary range in the nematode Pristionchus pacificus. Molecular Biology and Evolution, 39, msab370.
Leaver, M., Moreno, E., Kayhan, M., McGaughran, A., Rödelsperger, C., Sommer, R.J., A. A. Hyman (2021): Adaptation to environmental temperature in divergent clades of the nematode Pristionchus pacificus. Evolution, 76, 1660-1673.
Lo, W.-S. & R. J. Sommer (2022): Vitamin B₁₂ and predatory behavior in nematodes. In: Vitamin B₁₂. Vol. 119 of Vitamins and Hormones. (Ed.: G. Litwack). Academic Press, 471-489.
Kalirad, A. & Sommer, R. J. (2022): The art of mechanistic modeling in Biology. Nature Computational Science, 2, 72.
Sun, S., Theska, T., Witte, H., Roedelsperger, C., Ragsdale, E. J. & R. J. Sommer (2021): The Mucin-type hydrogel forming protein DPY-6 has aconserved role in nematode mouth and cuticle formation. Genetics, 220, iyab233.
Lenuzzi, M., Witte, H., Riebesell, M., Rödelsperger, C., Hong, R.L. & Sommer, R. J. (2022): Influence of environmental temperature on mouth-form plasticity in Pristionchus pacificus acts through daf-11-depenednet cGMP signaling. J. Exp. Zool. B, 1-11.
Sommer, R. J. & J. W. Lightfoot (2022): The genus Pristionchus: a model for phenotypic plasticity, predatory behavior, self-recognition and other complex traits. In: Nematodes as biological models (Eds.: I. Glazer, D. Shapiro-Ilan & P. W. Sternberg). Cabi Publishing, Wallingford, UK, pp. 1-23.
Renahan, T. & R. J. Sommer (2021): Nematode interactions on beetle hosts indicate a role of mouth-form plasticity in resource competition. Frontiers in Ecology and Evolution, 9:752695.
Sun, S., Rödelsperger, C. & R. J. Sommer (2021): Single worm transcriptomics isentifies a developmental core network of oscillating genes with deep conservation across nematodes. Genome Research, 31, 1590-1601.
Lightfoot, J. W., Dardiry, M., Kalirad, A., Giaimo, S., Eberhardt, G., Witte, H., Wilecki, M., Roedelsperger, C., Traulsen, A., & R. J. Sommer, R.J. (2021): Sex or cannibalism: polyphenism and kin recognition control social action startegies in nematodes. Science Advances, 7, eabg8042.
Renahan, T., Lo, W.-S., Werner, M. S., Herrmann, M., Rochat, J. & R. J. Sommer (2020): Nematode biphasic ‘boom and bust’ dynamics are dependent on host bacterial load while linking dauer and mouth-form polyphenisms. Environmental Microbiology, 23, 5102-5113.
Featured in: Kanzaki, N. (2021): New insights into the tripartite relationship between microbes, nematodes and insects. Environmental Microbiology
Kanzaki, N., Herrmann, M., Weiler, C., Röseler, W., Theska, T., Berger, J., Rödelsperger, C. & Sommer, R.J. (2021): Nine new Pristionchus (Nematoda: Diplogastridae) species from China. Zootaxa, 4943, 1-66.
Rödelsperger, C., Ebbing, A., Sharma, D. R., Okumura, M., Sommer, R. J. & H. C. Korswagen (2021): Spatial transcriptomics of nematodes identifies sperm cells as a source of genomic novelty and rapid evolution. Mol. Biol. Evol., 38, 229-243.
Han, Z., Lo, W.-S., Lightfoot, J. W., Witte, H., Sun, S. & R. J. Sommer (2020): Improving trangenesis efficiency and CRISPR-associated tools through codon optimization and native intron addition in nematodes. Genetics, 216, 947-956.
Athanasouli, M., Witte, H., Weiler, C., Loschko, T., Eberhardt, G., Sommer, R. J. and C. Roedelsperger (2020): Comprataive genomics and community curation further improve gene annotation in te nematode Pristionchus pacificus. BMC Genomics, 21, 708.
Theska, T., Sieriebriennikov, B., Wighard, S. S., Werner, M. S. & Sommer, R. J. (2020): Geometric morphometrics of microscopic animals as exemplified in model nematodes. Nature Protocols, 15, 2611-2644.
Dong, C., Weadick, C. J., Truffault, V. & Sommer, R. J. (2020): Convergent evolution of small-molecule pheromones in Pristionchus nematodes. eLIFE, 9, e55687. DOI: doi.org/10.7554/eLife.55687.
Gallotta I., Sandhu A., Peters M., Haslbeck M., Jung R., Agilkaya S., Blersch J., Rödelsperger C., Röseler W., Huang C., Sommer R. J., David D. C. (2020): Extracellular proteostasis prevents aggregation during pathogenic attack. Nature, 584, 410-414.
Featured in: Webster, B.M., Gildea, H.K. & Dillin, A. (2020): Protein homeostasis from the outside in. Nature Cell Biology, doi.org/10.1038/s4556-020-0534-8.
Sommer, R. J. (2020): Phenotypic Plasticity: from theory and genetics to current and future challenges. Genetics, 215, 1-13
Sieriebriennikov, B., Sun, S., Lightfoot, J.W., Witte, H., Moreno, E., Rödelsperger, C., & Sommer, R.J. (2020): Conserved hormone-recptors controlling a novel plastic trait target fast-evolving genes expressed in a single cell. PLoS Genetics, 16, e1008687.
Renahan, T., & Sommer, R. J. (2020): Mechanisms of murderous mushrooms paves path for parasitic helminth halt. Proc. Natl. Aca. Sci., U. S. A., 117, 6974-6975.
Akduman, N., Roedelsperger, C., Lightfoot, J. W., Roeseler, W., Witte, H., Lo, W.-S. & Sommer, R. J. (2020): Bacterial diet-derived vitamin B12 enhances nematode predation and surplus-killing. The ISME Journal, doi.org/10.1038/s41396-020-0626-2
Moreno, E., Lightfoot, L. J., Lenuzzi M., & Sommer, R. J. (2019): Cilia drive developmental plasticity and are essential for efficient prey detection in predatory nematodes, Proc. Roy. Soc. B, 286, 1343.
Rödelsperger, C., Prabh, N. & Sommer, R. J. (2019): Young gene origin and deep taxon phylogenomics – opportunities and challenges. Trends in Genetics, 35, 914-922.
Loer, C., Witte, H., Sommer, R. J. & Hobert, O. (2019): An antibody staining protocol variation for nematodes that adds heat-induced antigen retrieval (HIAR). microPublication Biology, doi: 10.17912/micropub.biology.000135.
Hong, R. L., Riebesell, M., Bumbarger, D., Cook, S. J., Sarpolaki, T., Carstensen, H. R., Cochella, L., Castrejon, J., Moreno, E., Siebriebriennikov, B., Hobert, O. & Sommer, R. J. (2019): Evolution of neuronal anatomy and circuitry in highly divergent nematode species. eLIFE, 8, e47155.
Featured in: Neff, E. P. (2019): A tail of two worm brains. Lab Animal, 48, 331.
Lightfoot, J. W., Wilecki, M., Roedelsperger, C., Moreno, E., Susoy, V., Witte, H., Sommer, R. J. (2019): Small peptide mediated self-recognition prevents cannibalism in predatory nematodes. Science, 364, 86-89.
Campos-Herrera, R., Blanco-Pérez, R., Bueno-Pallero, F. A., Duarte, A., Nolasco, G., Sommer, R. J. & Martín, J. A. R. (2019): Vegetation drives assemblages of entomopathogenic nematodes and other soil oranisms: evidence from Algarve, Portugal. Soil Biology and Biochemistry, 128, 150-163.
Herrmann, M., Kanzaki, N., Weiler, C., Yoshia, K., Rödelsperger, C. & Sommer, R. J. (2019): Two new Species of Pristionchus (Nematoda: Diplogastridae) include the Gonochoristic Sister Species of P. fissidentatus. J. of Nematology, 51, 1-14.
Werner, M. S., Claassen, M. H., Renahan, T., Dardiry, M. & Sommer, R. J. (2018): Adult Influence on Juvenile Phenotypes by Stage-Specific Pheromone Production. iScience, 10, 123-134.
Moreno, E., Lenuzzi, M., Rödelsperger, C., Prabh, N., Witte, H., Roeseler, W., Riebesell, M. & Sommer, R. J. (2018): DAF-19/RFX controls ciliogenesis and influences oxygen-induced social behaviours in Pristionchus pacificus. Evol & Devel., 20, 233-243.
Werner, M. S., Sieriebriennikov, B., Prabh, N., Loschko, T., Lanz, C. & Sommer, R. J. (2018): Young genes have distinct gene structure, epigenetic profiles, and transcriptional regulation. Genome Research, 28, 1675-1687.
Prabh, N., Roeseler, W., Witte, H., Eberhardt, G., Sommer, R. J. & Rödelsperger, C. (2018): Deep taxon sampling reveals the evolutionary dynamics of novel gene families in Pristionchus nematodes. Genome Research, 28, 1664-1674.
Sieriebriennikov, B. & Sommer, R. J. (2018): Developmental plasticity and robustness of a nematode mouth-form polyphenism. Frontiers in Genetics, 9, 382.
Rödelsperger, C., Röseler, W., Prabh, N., Yoshida, K., Weiler, C., Herrmann, M. & Sommer, R. J. (2018): Phylotransciptomics of Pristionchus nematodes reveals parallel gene loss in six hermaphroditic lineages. Current Biology, 28, 3123-3127.
Kanzaki, N., Herrmann, M., Yoshida, K., Weiler, C., Rödelsperger, C. & Sommer, R.J. (2018): Samplings of Millipedes in Japan and Scarab Beetles in Hongkong result in five new Species of Pristionchus (Nematoda: Diplogastridae). J. of Nematology, 50, 587-610.
Yoshida, K., Herrmann, M., Kanzaki, N., Weiler, C., Rödelsperger, C. & Sommer, R. J. (2018): Two new species of Pristionchus (Nematoda: Diplogastridae) from Taiwan and the definition of the pacificus species-complex sensu stricto. J. of Nematology, 50, 355-368.
Namdeo, S., Moreno, E., Rödelsperger, C., Baskaran, P., Witte, H. & Ralf J. Sommer, R. J. (2018): Two independent sulfation processes regulate mouth-form plasticity in the nematode Pristionchus pacificus. Development, 145: dev166272.
Akduman, N., Rödelsperger, C., & Sommer, R. J. (2018): Culture-based analysis of Pristionchus-associated microbiota from beetles and figs for studying nematode-bacterial interactions. PLoS ONE, 13: e0198018.
Sieriebriennikov, B., Prabh, N., Dardiry, M., Witte, H., Rödelsperger, C., Röseler, W., Kieninger, M. R. & Sommer, R. J. (2018): A developmental switch generating phenotypic plasticity is part of a conserved multi-gene locus. Cell Reports, 23, 2835-2843.
Falcke, J. M., Bose, N., Artyukhin, A. B., Rödelsperger, C., Markov, G. V., Yim, J. J., Grimm, D., Claassen, M., Panda, O., Baccile, J. A., Le, H. H., Jolic, D., Schroeder, F. C. & Sommer, R. J. (2018): Linking genomic and metabolomic natural variation uncovers nematode pheromone biosynthesis. Cell Chemical Biology, 25, 787-796.e12.
Moreno, E. & Sommer, R. J. (2018): A cilia-mediated environmental input induces solitary behaviour in Caenorhabditis elegans and Pristionchus pacificus nematodes. Nematology, 20, 201-209.
Moreno, E., Sieriebriennikov, B., Witte, H., Rödelsperger, C., Lightfoot, J. W. & Sommer, R. J. (2017): Regulation of hyperoxia-inducted social behaviour in Pristionchus pacificus nematodes requires a novel cilia-mediated environmental input. Scientific Reports, 7: 17550.
Rödelsperger, C., Meyer, J. M., Prabh, N., Lanz, C., Bemm, F. & Sommer, R. J. (2017): Single-molecule sequencing reveals the chromosome-scale genomic architecture of the nematode model organism Pristionchus pacificus. Cell Reports, 21, 834-844.
Okumura, M., Wilecki, M. & Sommer, R. J. (2017): Serotonin drives predatory feeding behavior via synchronous feeding rhytms in the nematode Pristionchus pacificus. G3, 7, 3745-3755.
Riebesell, M. & Sommer, R. J. (2017): Three-dimensional reconstruction of the pharyngeal gland cells in the predatory nematode Pristionchus pacificus. J. Morphology, 278, 1656-1666.
Werner, M., Sieriebriennikov, B., Loschko, T., Namdeo, S., Lenuzzi, M., Renahan, T., Dardiry, M., Raj, D. & Sommer, R. J. (2017): Environmental influence on Pristionchus pacificus mouth-form through different culture methods. Scientific Reports, 7: 7207.
Herrmann, M., Kanzaki, N., Ragsdale, E. J. & Sommer, R. J. (2017): Redescription of four species of the genus Pristionchus (Nematoda: Diplogastridae) from the United States of America. Dumerilia, 7, 97-103.
Sieriebriennikov, B., Markov, G. V., Witte, H., & Sommer, R. J. (2017): The role of DAF-21/Hsp90 in mouth-form plasticity in Pristionchus pacificus. Molecular Biology & Evolution, 34, 1644-1653.
Serobyan, V. & Sommer, R. J. (2017): Developmental systems of plasticity and trans-generational inheritance in nematodes. Curr. Opin. Genet. & Devel., 45, 51-57.
Sommer, R. J., Dardiry, M., Lenuzzi, M., Namdeo, S., Renahan, T., Sieriebriennikov, B. & Werner, M. (2017): The genetics of phenotypic plasticity in nematode feeding structures. Open Biology, 7: 160332.
Meyer, J. M., Baskaran, P., Quast, C., Susoy, V., Rödelsperger, C., Glöckner, F. O. & Sommer, R. J. (2017): Succession and dynamics of Pristionchus nematodes and their microbiome during decomposition of Oryctes borbonicus on La Réunion Island. Environm. Microbiology, 19, 1476-1489.
Featured in: Giblin-Davis, R. M. (2017): Who has “Dibs!” on a dead rhinoceros beetle? Environm. Microbiology, 19, 2115-2116.
Morgan, K., McGaughran, A., Rödelsperger, C. & Sommer, R. J. (2017): Variation in rates of spontaneous male production and recombination within the nematode species P. pacificus supports an adaptive role for males and outcrossing. BMC Evol. Biol., 17, 57.
Weadick, C. J. & Sommer, R. J. (2017): Interspecific hybrids and the genetics of lifespan in Pristionchus nematodes. J. Evol. Biol., 30, 650-657.
Sanghvi, G. V., Baskaran, P., Röseler, W., Sieriebriennikov, B., Rödelsperger, C., & Sommer, R. J. (2016): Life history responses and gene expression profiles of the nematode Pristionchus pacificus cultured on Cryptococcus yeasts. PLoS ONE, 11: e0164881.
Herrmann, M., Weiler, C., Rödelsperger, C., Kanzaki, N. & Sommer R.J. (2016): Two new Pristionchus Species (Nematoda: Diplogastridae) from Taiwan are part of a species-cluster representing the closest known relatives of the Model Organism P. pacificus. Zoological Studies, 55, 48.
Weadick, C. J. & Sommer, R. J. (2016a): Unexpected sex-specific post-reproductive lifespan in the free-living nematode Pristionchus exspectatus. Evolution & Development, 18, 297-307.
Leaver, M., Kienle, S., Begasse, M. L., Sommer, R. J. & Hyman, T. A. (2016): A locus in Pristionchus pacificus responsible for the ability to give rise to fertile offspring at higher temperature. Biol Open, 5, 1111-1117.
Serobyan, V., Xiao, H., Rödelsperger, C., Namdeo, S., Röseler, W., Witte, H. & Sommer, R. J. (2016): Chromatin remodeling and antisense-mediate up-regulation of the developmental switch gene eud-1 control predatory feeding plasticity. Nature Commun., 7: 12337.
Kieninger, M. R., Ivers, N. A., Rödelsperger, C., Markov, G. V., Sommer, R. J. & Ragsdale, E. J. (2016): The nuclear hormone receptor NHR-40 acts downstream of the sulfatase EUD-1 as part of a developmental plasticity switch in Pristionchus. Current Biology, 26, 2174-2179.
Meyer, J., Markov, G., Baskaran, P., Herrmann, M., Sommer, R. J. & Rödelsperger, C. (2016): Draft genome of the scarab beetle Oryctes borbonicus on La Réunion Island. Gen. Biol. Evol., 8, 2093-2105.
McGaughran, A., Rödelsperger, C., Grimm, D. G., Meyer, J. M., Moreno, E., Morgan, K., Leaver, M., Serobyan, V., Rakitsch, B., Borgwardt, K. M. & Sommer, R. J. (2016): Genome-wide profiles of diversification and genotype-phenotype association in nematodes from La Réunion Island. Mol Biol Evol., 33, 2257-2272.
Markov, G. V., Meyer, J. M., Panda, O., Artyukhin, A. B., Claaßen, M., Witte, H., Schroeder, F. C. & Sommer, R. J. (2016): Functional conservation and divergence of daf-22 paralogs in P. pacificus dauer development. Mol Biol Evol., 33, 2506-2514.
Lightfoot, J., Wilecki, M., Okumura, M. & Sommer, R. J. (2016): Assaying predatory feeding behavior in Pristionchus and other nematodes. J. Vis. Exp., 115: e54404.
Susoy, V. & Sommer, R. J. (2016): Stochastic and Conditional Regulation of Nematode Mouth-Form Dimorphisms. Frontiers in Ecology and Evolution, 4, 23.
Moreno, E., McGaughran, A., Zimmer, M. & Sommer, R. J. (2016): Oxygen-induced social behaviors in Pristionchus pacificus have a distinct evolutionary history and genetic regulation than Caenorhabditis elegans. Proc. Roy. Soc. B, 283(1825):20152263. doi: 10.1098/rspb.2015.2263.
Sommer, R. J. (2016): The role of Next-generation-Sequencing for integrative approaches in evo-devo and population genetics. pp. 229-236. In: Next-generation Systematics (Eds: J. Hughes and P. Olson). Cambridge Univ. Press, Cambridge.
Susoy, V., Herrmann, M., Kanzaki, N., Kruger, M., Nguyen, C. N., Rödelsperger, C., Röseler, W., Weiler, C., Giblin-Davis, R. M., Ragsdale, E. J. & Sommer, R. J. (2016): Large-scale diversification without genetic isolation in nematode symbionts of figs. Science Advance, 2: e1501031.
Featured in: Phillips, P. C. (2016): Five heads is better than one. Current Biology, 26: R283-285.
Weadick, C. J. & Sommer, R. J. (2016): Mating system transitions drive lifespan evolution in Pristionchus nematodes. American Naturalist, 187, 517-529.
Mayer, M. G. & Sommer, R. J. (2015): Nematode orphan genes are adopted by conserved regulatory networks and find a home in ecology. Worm, 4: e1082029.
Sommer, R. J. & Mayer, M. G. (2015): Towards a synthesis of developmental biology with evolutionary theory and ecology. Cell & Developmental Biology, 31, 453-471.
Sommer, R. J. (2015): Nematoda. In: Evolutionary developmental biology of Invertebrate Vol. 3 (Ed.: A. Wanninger). Springer, Heidelberg, pp. 15-34.
Herrmann, M., Neuner, J., Vötsch, M., Wörner, J., Kanzaki, N. & Sommer, R. J. (2015): Pristionchus scratchpads - an online platform for taxonomy, systematics and phylogeny. Zootaxa, 3949, 597-600.
Yim, J., Bose, N., Meyer, J. M., Sommer, R. J. & Schroeder, F. C. (2015): Nematode signaling molecules derived from multimodular assembly of primary metabolic building blocks. Org. Lett., 17, 1648-1651.
Mayer, M. G., Rödelsperger, C., Witte H., Riebesell, M. & Sommer, R. J. (2015): An orphan gene regulates intraspecific competition in nematodes by copy number variation. PLoS Genetics, 11: e1005146.
Featured in: Mahalak, K.K. & Chamberlin, H.M. (2015): Orphan genes find a home: interspecific competition and gene network evolution. PLoS Genetics, 11: e1005254.
Sommer, R. J. (2015): Integrative evolutionary biology and mechanistic approaches in comparative biology. In: Pristionchus pacificus - a nematode model for comparative and evolutionary biology (Ed.: R. J. Sommer). Brill, Leiden, pp. 19-41.
Wilecki, M., Lightfoot, J., Susoy, V. & Sommer, R. J. (2015): Predatory feeding behavior in Pristionchus nematodes is dependent on a phenotypic plasticity and induced by serotonin. J. Exp. Biol., 218, 1306-1313.
Susoy, V., Ragsdale, E. J., Kanzaki, N. & Sommer, R. J. (2015): Rapid diversification associated with a macroevolutionary pulse of developmental plasticity. eLIFE, 4: e05463. Featured in: Nijhout, H.F. (2015): To plasticity and back again. eLIFE, 4: e06995.
Witte, H., Moreno, E., Rödelsperger, C., Kim, J., Kim, J.-S., Streit A. & Sommer, R. J. (2015): Gene inactivation using the CRISPR/Cas9 system in the nematode Pristionchus pacificus. Dev Genes & Evol., 225, 55-62.
Markov, G., Baskaran, P. & Sommer, R. J. (2015): The same or not the same: Lineage-specific gene expansions and homology relationship in multigene families in nematodes. J Mol Evol., 80, 18-36.
Cinkornpumin, J. K., Wisidagama, D. R., Rapoport, V., Go, J. L., Dieterich, C., Wang, X., Sommer, R. J. & Hong, R. L. (2014): A host beetle pheromone regulates development and behavior in the nematode Pristionchus pacificus. eLIFE, 3: e03229.
Iatsenko, I., Yim, J., Schroeder, F. & Sommer, R. J. (2014): Bacillus subtilis GS67 protects C. elegans from Gram-positive pathogens via fengycin-mediated microbial antagonism. Current Biology, 24, 2720-2727.
Sommer, R. J. (2014): Evolution – der Schlüssel zum Verständnis der biologischen Vielfalt. In: Evolution. Sammelband der Vorträge der Studium Generale der Ruprecht-Karls-Universität Heidelberg (Ed. Karlheinz Sonntag), Universitätsverlag Winter Heidelberg, pp. 11-29.
McGaughran, A. & Sommer, R. J. (2014): Natural variation in cold tolerance in the nematode Pristionchus pacificus: the role of genotype and environment. Biol. OPEN, 3, 832-838.
Serobyan, V., Ragsdale, E. J. & Sommer, R. J. (2014): Adaptive value of a predatory mouth-form in a dimorphic nematode. Proc. Roy. Soc. B, 281: 20141334.
Iatsenko, I., Nikolov, A. & Sommer, R. J. (2014): Identification of distinct Bacillus thuringiensis 4A4 nematicidal factors using the model nematodes Pristionchus pacificus and Caenorhabditis elegans. Toxins, 6, 2050-2063.
Sinha, A., Langnick, C., Sommer, R. J. & Diederich, C. (2014): Genome-wide analysis of trans-splicing in the nematode Pristionchus pacificus unravels conserved gene functions for germline and dauer development in divergent operons. RNA, 20, 1386-1397.
Bose, N., Meyer, J. M., Yim, J. J., Mayer, M. G., Markov G. V., Ogawa, A., Schroeder, F. C., Sommer, R. J. (2014): Natural variation in dauer pheromone production and sensing supports intraspecific competition in nematodes. Current Biology, 24, 1536-1541.
Ragsdale, E. J., Kanzaki, N. & Sommer, R. J. (2014): Levipalatum texanum n. gen., n. sp. (Nematoda: Diplogastridae) an androdioecious species from the southeastern United States. Nematology, 16, 695-709.
Iatsenko, I., Boichenko, J. & Sommer, R. J. (2014): Bacillus thuringiensis DB27 produces two novel toxins, Cry21Fa1 and Cry21Ha1, which act synergistically against nematodes. Appl. & Envir. Microbiology, 80, 3266-3275. [pdf]
Kanzaki, N., Ragsdale, E., Herrmann, M., & Sommer, R. J. (2014): Two new and two recharacterized species resulting from a radiation of Pristionchus (Nematoda: Diplogastridae) in Europe. J. of Nematology, 46, 60-74. [pdf]
Iatsenko, I., Corton, C.,   Pickard, D. J., Dougan, G. & Sommer, R. J. (2014): Draft genome sequence of highly nematicidal Bacilllus thuringiensis DB27. Genome Announcements, 2, e00101-14. DOI: 10.1128/genomeA.00101-14. [pdf]
Rödelsperger, C., Neher, R. A., Weller, A., Eberhardt, G., Witte, H., Mayer, W., Dieterich, C. & Sommer, R. J. (2014): Characterization of genetic diversity in the nematode Pristionchus pacificus from population-scale resequencing data. Genetics, 196, 1153-1165. [pdf]
Weller, A., Rödelsperger, C., Eberhardt, G., Molnar, R. I., & Sommer, R. J. (2014): Opposing forces of A/T-biased mutations and G/C-biased gene conversions shape the genome of the nematode Pristionchus pacificus. Genetics, 196, 1145-1152. [pdf]
Schierenberg, E. & Sommer, R. J. (2014): Development and reproduction in nematodes. In: Handbook of Zoology (Ed.: Schmidt-Rhaesa). De Gruyter, pp 61-108.
Kanzaki, N., Ragsdale, E., Susoy, V., & Sommer, R. J. (2014): Leptojacobus dorci n. gen., n. sp. (Nematoda: Diplogastridae), an associate of Dorcus stag beetles (Coleoptera: Lucanidae). J. of Nematology, 46, 50-59. [pdf]
McGaughran, A., Morgan K. & Sommer, R. J. (2014): Environmental variables explain genetic structure in a beetle-associated nematode. PLOS ONE, 9, e87317. [pdf]
Penkov, S., Ogawa, A., Schmidt, U., Tate, D., Zagority, V., Boland, S., Gruner, M., Vorkel, D., Verbavatz, J.-M., Sommer, R. J., Knölker, H.-J. & Kurzchalia, T. V. (2014): An extremely long-chain wax ester of the nematode Pristionchus pacificus dauer larva promotes collective host finding. Nature Chemical Biol., 10, 281-285. [pdf]
Morgan, K., McGaughran, A., Ganeshan, S., Herrmann, M., & Sommer, R. J. (2014): Landscape and oceanic barriers shape dispersal and population structure in the Island nematode Pristionchus pacificus. Biol. Journal Linnean Soc., 112, 1-15. [pdf]
Ragsdale, E. J., Müller, M. R., Roedelsperger, C. & Sommer, R. J. (2013): A developmental switch coupled to the evolution of plasticity acts through a sulfatase. Cell, 155, 922-933. PubMed
Featured in: Hartenstein, V. & Jacobs, D. (2013): Developmental plasticity, straight from the worm´s mouth. Cell, 155, 742-743.
McGaughran, A., Morgan K. & Sommer, R. J. (2013): Natural variation in chemosensation: lessons from an island nematode. Ecol. & Evol., 3, 5209-5224. [pdf]
Iatsenko, I., Sinha, A., Rödelsperger, C. & Sommer, R. J. (2013): New Role for DCR-1/Dicer in Caenorhabditis elegans Innate Immunity against the Highly Virulent Bacterium Bacillus thuringiensis DB27, Infection and Immunity, 81, 3942-3957. [pdf]
Herrmann, M., Ragsdale, E. J., Kanzaki, N., & Sommer, R. J. (2013): Sudhausia aristotokia n. gen., n. sp. and S. crassa n. gen., n. sp. (Nematoda: Diplogastridae): viviparous new species with precocious gonad development. Nematology, 15, 1001-1020. [pdf]
Kanzaki, N., Ragsdale, E. J., Herrmann, M., Susoy, V., & Sommer, R. J. (2013): Two androdioecious and one dioecious new species of Pristionchus (Nematoda: Diplogastridae): new reference points for the evolution of reproductive mode. Journal of Nematology, 45, 172-194. [pdf]
Sommer, R. J. & Ogawa, A. (2013): The genome of Pristionchus pacificus and the evolution of parasitism. In: Parasitic nematodes: Molecular biology, Biochemistry and Immunology. (Eds. M. Kennedy & W. Harnett), pp. 1-14.
Ragsdale, E. J., Kanzaki, N., Roeseler, W., Herrmann, M. & Sommer, R. J. (2013): Three new species of Pristionchus (Nematoda: Diplogastridae) show morphological divergence through evolutionary intermediates of a novel feeding polymorphism. Zool. J. Linn. Soc., 168, 671-698. [pdf]
Kienle, S. & Sommer, R. J. (2013): Cryptic variability in vulva development by cis-regulatory evolution of a HAIRY binding site. Nature Comm., 4: 1714. [pdf]
Kanzaki, N., Ragsdale, E. J., Herrmann, M., Roeseler, W. & Sommer, R. J. (2013): Two new species of Pristionchus (Nematoda: Diplogastridae) support the biogeographic importance of Japan for the evolution of the genus Pristionchus and the model system P. pacificus. Zool. Sci., 30, 680-692. PubMed
Sommer, R. J. & McGaughran, A. (2013): The nematode Pristionchus pacificus as a model system for integrative studies in evolutionary biology. Mol. Ecol., 22, 2380-2393. [pdf]
Kanzaki, N., Ragsdale, E. J., Herrmann, M., Roeseler, W. & Sommer, R. J. (2013): Pristionchus bucculentus n. sp. (Rhabditida: Diplogastridae) isolated from a shining mushroom beetle (Coleoptera: Scaphidiidae) in Hokkaido, Japan. J. of Nematology, 45, 78-86. [pdf]
McGaughran, A., Morgan K. & Sommer, R. J. (2013): Unravelling the evolutionary history of the nematode Pristionchus pacificus: from lineage diversification to island colonization. Evolution & Ecology, 3, 667-675. [pdf]
Serobyan, V., Ragsdale, E. J., Müller, M. R. & Sommer, R. J. (2013): Feeding plasticity in the nematode Pristionchus pacificus is influenced by gender and social context and is linked to developmental speed. Evolution & Development, 15, 161-170. [pdf]
Bumbarger, D. J., Riebesell, M., Rödelsperger, C. & Sommer, R. J. (2013): System-wide rewiring underlies behavioral differences in predatory and bacterial-feeding nematodes. Cell, 152, 109-119. PubMed
Rödelsperger, C., Streit, A. & Sommer, R. J. (2013): Structure, function and evolution of the nematode genome. In: eLS. John Wiley & Sons, Ltd: Chichester. doi: 10.1002/9780470015902.a0024603. [pdf]
Sommer, R. J. (2013): Die Rolle der Entwicklungsbiologie für die Evolution. In: Charles Darwin: Die Entstehung der Arten (Eds.: Prof. Paul und Saskia Wrede), VHC Verlag, Weilheim, pp 445-454.
Hui, F., Scheib, U., Hu, Y, Sommer, R. J., Aroian, R. V. & Ghosh, P. (2012): Structure and glycan binding properties of the nematicidal protein Cry5b. Biochemistry, 51, 9911-9921.
Bose, N., Ogawa, A., von Reuss, S. H., Yim, J. J., Ragsdale, E. J., Sommer, R. J. & Schroeder, F. C. (2012): Complex small molecular architectures regulate phenotypic plasticity in a nematode. Angewandte Chemie, 51, 12438-12443. [pdf]
Borchert, N., Krug, K., Gnad, F., Sommer, R. J. & Macek, B. (2012): Phosphoproteome of Pristionchus pacificus provides insights into architecture of signaling networks in nematode models. Mol Cell Proteomics, 11, 1631-1639. [pdf]
Sinha, A., Rae, R., Iatsenko, I. & Sommer, R. J. (2012): System wide analysis of the evolution of innate immunity in the nematode model species Caenorhabditis elegans and Pristionchus pacificus. PLoS ONE, 7: e44255. [pdf]
Rae, R., Sinha, A. & Sommer, R. J. (2012): Genome-wide analysis of germline signaling genes regulating longevity and innate immunity in the nematode Pristionchus pacificus. PLoS Pathogens, 8: e1002864. [pdf]
Schuster, L. N. & Sommer, R. J. (2012): Expressional and functional variation of horizontally acquired cellulases in the nematode Pristionchus pacificus. Gene, 506, 274-282. PubMed
Molnar, R. I., Witte, H., Dinkelacker, I., Villate, L. & Sommer, R. J. (2012): Tandem-repeat patterns and mutation rates in microsatellites of the nematode model organism Pristionchus pacificus. G3, 2, 1027-1034. [pdf]
Rae, R., Witte, H., Rödelsperger, C. & Sommer, R. J. (2012): The importance of being regular: Caenorhabditis elegans and Pristionchus pacificus defecation mutants are hyper susceptible to bacterial pathogens. Int. J. Parasit., 42, 747-753. PubMed
Markov, G. & Sommer, R. J. (2012): The evolution of novelty in conserved gene families. Int. J. Evol. Biol., 2012, 490894. (review article).
Sinha, A., Sommer, R. J. & Dieterich, C. (2012): Divergent gene expression in the conserved dauer stage of the nematodes Pristionchus pacificus and Caenorhabditis elegans. BMC Genomics, 13, 254. [pdf]
Kanzaki, N., Ragsdale, E. J., Herrmann, M., & Sommer, R. J. (2012): Two new species of Pristionchus (Rhabditida: Diplogastridae) P. fissidentatus n.sp. from Nepal and La Réunion island and P. elegans n.sp. from Japan. J. of Nematology, 44, 80-91. [pdf]
Kanzaki, N., Ragsdale, E. J., Herrmann, M., Mayer, W. E., Tanaka, R. & Sommer, R. J. (2012): Parapristionchus giblindavisi n. gen, n. sp. (Rhabditida: Diplogastridae) isolated from stag beetles (Coleoptera: Lucanidae) in Japan. Nematology, 14, 933-947. [pdf]
Kanzaki, N., Ragsdale, E. J., Herrmann, M., Mayer, W. E. & Sommer, R. J. (2012): Description of three Pristionchus species (Nematoda: Diplogastridae) from Japan that form a cryptic species complex with the model organism P. pacificus. Zool. Science, 29, 403-417. [pdf]
Sommer, R. J. & Bumbarger, D. J. (2012): Nematode model systems in evolution and development. WIREs Dev Biol, 1: 389-400. doi: 10.1002/wdev.33.
Sommer, R. J. (2012): Evolution of regulatory networks: nematode vulva induction as an example of developmental systems drift. Adv Exp Med Biol, 751, 79-91.
Morgan, K., McGaughran, A., Villate, L., Herrmann, M., Witte, H., Bartelmes, G., Rochat, J. & Sommer, R. J. (2012): Multi locus analysis of Pristionchus pacificus on La Réunion Island reveals an evolutionary history shaped by multiple introductions, constrained dispersal events and rare out-crossing. Mol Ecol., 21 (2), 250-266. [pdf]
Rödelsperger, C. & Sommer, R. J. (2011): Computational archeology of the Pristionchus pacificus genome reveals evidence of horizontal gene transfers from insects. BMC Evol. Biol., 11: 239. [pdf]
Featured in: Danchin, E. G. J. (2011): What Nematode genomes tell us about the importance of horizontal gene transfers in the evolutionary history of animals. Mobile Genetic Elements, 1: 4.
D’Anna, I. & Sommer, R. J. (2011): Pristionchus uniformis – should I stay or should I go? Recent host range expansion in an European nematode. Ecology and Evolution, 1, 468-478. [pdf]
Sommer, R. J. & Ogawa, A. (2011): Hormone signaling and phenotypic plasticity in nematode development and evolution. Curr. Biol., 21, R758-R766. PubMed
Sommer, R. J. & Streit, A. (2011): Comparative genetics and genomics in nematodes: Genome structure, development and life style. Ann. Rev. Genet., 45, 1-20. [pdf]
Wang, X. & Sommer, R. J. (2011): Antagonism of LIN-17/Frizzled and LIN-18/Ryk in nematode vulva induction reveals evolutionary alterations in core developmental pathways. PLoS Biology, 9, e1001110. [pdf]
Featured in: Burgess, D. J. (2011): Evo-devo: Hidden rewiring comes to light. Nature Reviews Genetics, 12, 586-587.
Featured in: Robinson, R. (2011): Different paths, same structure: "developmental systems drift" at work. PLoS Biology, 9 (7), e1001113.
Molnar, R. I., Bartelmes, G., Dinkelacker, I., Witte, H. & Sommer, R. J. (2011): Mutation rates and intra-specific divergence of the mitochondrial genome of Pristionchus pacificus. Mol. Biol. Evol., 28, 2317-2326. [pdf]
Rae, R. & Sommer, R. J. (2011): Bugs don´t make worms kill. J of Exp. Biology. 214, 1053.
Brown, F. D., D’Anna, I., Sommer, R. J. (2011): Host-finding behaviour in the nematode Pristionchus pacificus. Proc. Roy. Soc. B, 278, 3260-3269. [pdf]
Mayer, M. G. & Sommer R. J. (2011): Natural variation in Pristionchus pacificus dauer formation reveals cross-preference rather than self-preference of nematode dauer pheromones. Proc. Roy. Soc. B, 278, 2784-2790. [pdf]
Ogawa, A., Bento, G., Bartelmes, G., Dieterich, C. & Sommer, R. J. (2011): Pristionchus pacificus daf-16 is essential for dauer formation but dispensable for mouth form dimorphism. Development, 138, 1281-1284.
Mayer, W. E., Schuster, L., Bartelmes, G., Dieterich, C & Sommer R. J. (2011): Horizontal gene transfer of microbial cellulases into nematode genomes is associated with functional assimilation, high gene turnover and positive selection. BMC Evolutionary Biology, 11: 13.
Featured in: Scholl, E. H., Bird D. M. (2011): Computational and phylogenetic validation of nematode horizontal gene transfer. BMC Biology. 9: 9.
Herrmann, M. & Sommer, R. J. (2011): The genome of Pristionchus pacificus and implications for survival attributes. In: Molecular and Physiological Basis of Nematode Survival (Eds. R. Perry & D. Wharton). pp. 86-98.
Sommer R. J. (2011): Zur wissenschaftlichen Vielfalt der modernen Evolutionsbiologie. In: Charles Darwin und seine Bedeutung für die Wissenschaften (Eds.: Prof. E.-M. Engels, O. Betz, H.-R. Köhler, Th. Potthast). Attempto Verlag , pp 77-88.
Sommer R. J. (2011): Zum Wissenschaftsverständnis der modernen Evolutionsbiologie. In: Evolutionstheorie – Akzeptanz und Vermittlung im europäischen Vergleich (Ed.: D. Graf). Springer Verlag, Berlin, pp 91-98.
Rae, R., Iatsenko, I., Witte, H. & Sommer, R. J. (2010): A subset of naturally isolated Bacillus strains show extreme virulence to the free-living nematodes Caenorhabditis elegans and Pristionchus pacificus. Environmental Microbiology, 11, 3007-3021. [pdf]
Bento, G., Ogawa, A. & Sommer, R. J. (2010): Co-option of the endocrine signaling module Dafachronic Acid-DAF-12 in nematode evolution. Nature, 466, 494-497. [pdf]
Featured in: Kiontke, K., Fitch, D. H. (2010): Phenotypic plasticity: different teeth for different feasts. Current Biology, 20 (17), R710-712.
Borchert, N., Dieterich, C., Krug, K., Schütz, W., Jung, S., Nordheim, A., Sommer R. J. & Macek, B. (2010): Proteogenomics of Pristionchus pacificus reveals distinct proteome structure of nematode models, Genome Research, 20, 837-846. [pdf]
Weller, A., Mayer, W., Rae, R. & Sommer, R. J. (2010): Quantitative assessment of the nematode fauna present on Geotrupes dung beetles reveals species-rich communities with a heterogenous distribution. J. of Parasit., 96 (3), 525-531. PubMed
Herrmann, M., Kienle, S., Rochat, J., Mayer, W., & Sommer, R. J. (2010): Haplotype diversity of the nematode Pristionchus pacificus on Réunion in the Indian Ocean suggests multiple independent invasions. Biol. J. Linn. Soc., 100, 170-179. [pdf]
Streit, A. & Sommer, R. J. (2010): Random expression goes binary. Nature, 463, 891-892.
Ogawa, A. & Sommer R. J. (2009): Strategies to get arrested. Science, 326, 944-945. [pdf]
Yi, B., Bumbarger, D. & Sommer, R. J. (2009): Genetic evidence for pax-3 function in myogenesis in the nematode Pristionchus pacificus. Evol. & Devel., 11, 669-679. [pdf]
Mayer, W., Herrmann, M., Sommer, Ralf J. (2009): Molecular phylogeny of beetle associated diplogastrid nematodes suggests host switching rather than nematode-beetle coevolution. BMC Evolutionary Biology, 9: 212. [pdf]
Sommer, R. J. & Riebesell, M. (2009): Die Entstehung der biologischen Formenvielfalt und das Verhältnis zwischen Entwicklungsbiologie und Evolutionsforschung. In: Charles Darwin und seine Wirkung (Ed.: E.-M. Engels). Suhrkamp Verlag, pp 276-302.
Dieterich, C. & Sommer, R. J. (2009): How to become a parasite – lessons from the genomes of nematodes. Trends in Genetics, 25, 203-209. [pdf]
Sommer, R. J. (2009): The future of evo-devo: model systems and evolutionary theory. Nature Rev. Genetics, 10, 416-422. [pdf]
Schlager, B., Wang, X., Braach, G. & Sommer, R. J. (2009): Molecular cloning of a dominant roller mutant and establishment of DNA-mediated transformation in the nematode model Pristionchus pacificus. Genesis, 47, 300-304. [pdf]
Featured in: Lok, J. B. (2009): Transgenesis in parasitic nematodes: building a better array. Trends in Parasitology, 25 (8), 345-347.
Ogawa, A., Streit, A., Antebi, A. & Sommer R. J. (2009): A conserved endocrine mechanism controls the formation of dauer and infective larvae in nematodes. Current Biology, 19, 67-71. [pdf]
Featured in: Viney, M. E. (2009): How did parasitic worms evolve? Bioessays, 31 (5), 496-499.
Featured in: Wong, W. (2009): How to evolve into a parasite. Science Signaling, 2 (54), ec26.
Rae, R., Schlager, B. & Sommer, R. J. (2008): Pristionchus pacificus, a genetic model system for evolutionary developmental biology and the evolution of complex life-history traits. In: Emerging model organisms. (Ed.: N. Patel). Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory Press, pp. 275-290.
Dieterich, C. & Sommer R. J. (2008): A Caenorhabditis motif compendium for studying transcriptional gene regulation. BMC Genomics, 9: 30.
Rudel, D., Tian, H. & Sommer, R. J. (2008): Wnt signaling in Pristionchus pacificus gonadal arm extension and the evolution of organ shape. Proc. Natl. Aca. Sci., 105, 10826-10831. [pdf]
Sommer, R. J. (2008): Homology and the hierarchy of biological systems. BioEssays, 30, 653-658. [pdf]
Rae, R., Riebesell, M., Dinkelacker, I., Wang, Q., Herrmann, M., Weller, A. M., Dieterich, C. & Sommer, R. J. (2008): Isolation of naturally associated bacteria of necromenic Pristionchus nematodes and fitness consequences. J. Exp. Biology, 211, 1927-1936. [pdf]
Dieterich, C., Clifton, S. W., Schuster, L. N., Chinwalla, A., Delehaunty, K., Dinkelacker, I., Fulton, L., Fulton, R., Godfrey, J., Minx, P., Mitreva, M., Roeseler, W., Tian, H., Witte, H., Yang, S.P., Wilson, R. K., Sommer, R. J. (2008): The Pristionchus pacificus genome provides a unique perspective on nematode lifestyle and parasitism. Nature Genetics, 40, 1193-1198. [pdf]
Featured in: Srinivasan, J., Sternberg, P. W. (2008): Pristionchus pacificus: an appropriate fondness for beetles. Nature Genetics, 40 (10), 1146-1147.
Hong, R. L., Witte, H. & Sommer, R. J. (2008): Natural variation in Pristionchus pacificus insect pheromone attraction involves the protein kinase EGL-4. Proc. Natl. Aca. Sci., 105, 7779-7784. [pdf]
Featured in: Sokolowski, M. B., Fitzpatrick, M. J. (2008): Behavioural genetics: worms seek that old beetle smell. Current Biology, 18 (11), R480-482.
Tian, H, Schlager, B., Xiao, H. & Sommer, R. J. (2008): Wnt signaling induces vulva development in the nematode Pristionchus pacificus. Current Biology, 18, 142-146. [pdf]
Sommer, R. J. & Riebesell, M. (2008): Die Entstehung der biologischen Formenvielfalt - Zur Bedeutung der Entwicklungsbiologie für die Evolutionsforschung. In: Die Evolution des Lebendigen (Eds.: H. Köhler & O. Betz). Attempto Verlag, Tübingen, pp. 58-79.
Hong, R. L., Svatos, A., Herrmann, M. & Sommer, R. J. (2008): Species-specific recognition of beetle cues by the nematode Pristionchus maupasi. Evol. & Devel., 10, 273-279. [pdf]
Zauner, H. and Sommer, R. J. (2008): Evolution and development: Towards a synthesis of macro- and micro-evolution with ecology. In: Evolving pathways: Key themes in evolutionary developmental biology (Eds.: A. Minelli & G. Fusco). Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, pp. 157-171.
Kiontke, K., Barrière, A., Kolotuev, I., Podbilewicz, B., Sommer, R. J., Fitch, D. & Félix, M.-A. (2007): Trends, stasis, and drift in the evolution of nematode vulva development. Current Biology, 17, 1925-1937. [pdf]
Sommer, R. J. (2007): Population genetics meets development. Book review. Tinkering: The microevolution of development. Novartis Foundation. BioEssays, 29, 1062-1063.
Mayer, W. E., Herrmann, M. & Sommer, R. J. (2007): Phylogeny of the nematode genus Pristionchus and implications for biodiversity, biogeography and the evolution of hermaphroditism. BMC Evol Biol, 7:104. [pdf]
Yi, B. and Sommer, R. J. (2007): The pax-3 gene is involved in vulva formation in Pristionchus pacificusand is a target of the Hox gene lin-39. Development, 134, 3111-3119. [pdf]
Gutierrez, A. and Sommer, R. J. (2007): Functional diversification of the nematode mbd2/3 gene between Pristionchus pacificus and Caenorhabditis elegans. BMC Genetics, 8:57. [pdf]
Torday, J. S., Rehan, V. K., Hicks, J. W., Wang, T., Maina, J., Weibel, E. R., Hsia, C. C., Sommer, R. J. & Perry, S. F. (2007): Deconvoluting lung evolution: from phenotypes to gene regulatory networks. Integrative and Comparative Biology, 47, 601-609.
Herrmann, M., Mayer, W. E., Hong, R. L., Kienle, S., Minasaki, R. & Sommer, R. J. (2007): The Nematode Pristionchus pacificus (Nematoda: Diplogastridae) is associated with the Oriental Beetle Exomala orientalis (Coleoptera: Scarabaeidae) in Japan. Zoological Science, 24, 883-889. [pdf]
Zauner, H. and Sommer, R. J. (2007): Evolution of robustness in the signaling network of Pristionchus vulva development, Proc. Natl. Acad Sci., 104, 10086-10091. [pdf]
Rätsch, G., Sonnenburg, S., Srinivasan, J., Witte, H., Müller, K. R., Sommer, R. J. & Schölkopf, B. (2007): Improving the C. elegans genome annotation using machine learning. PLoS Computational Biology, 3:e20.
Zauner, H., Mayer, W. E., Herrmann, M., Weller, A., Erwig, M. & Sommer, R. J. (2007): Distinct patterns of genetic variation in Pristionchus pacificus and Caenorhabditis elegans, two partially selfing nematodes with cosmopolitan distribution. Molecular Ecology, 16, 1267-1280. [pdf]
Dieterich, D., Roeseler, W., Sobetzko, P. & Sommer R. J. (2007): Pristionchus.org: A genome-centric database of the nematode satellite species Pristionchus pacificus. Nucleic Acids Res., 35, D498-D502. [pdf]
Hong, R. L. & Sommer, R. J. (2006b): Chemoattraction in Pristionchus nematodes and implication for insect recognition. Current Biology, 16, 2359-2365. [pdf]
Sommer, R. J. (2006): New inroads to development. Development, 133, 2451-2453.
Sommer, R. J. (2006): Pristionchus pacificus. WormBook, 1-8. doi:10.1895/wormbook 1.102.1.
Herrmann, M., Mayer, W. E. & Sommer, R. J. (2006): Sex, bugs and Haldane’s rule: the nematode genus Pristionchus in the United States. Frontiers in Zoology, 3:14. [pdf]
Schlager, B., Röseler, W., Zheng, M., Gutierrez, A. & Sommer, R. J. (2006): HAIRY-like transcription factors and the evolution of the nematode vulva equivalence group. Current Biology, 16, 1386-1394. [pdf]
Featured in: Chamberlin, H. M. (2006): Nematode development: new tricks for old genes. Current Biology, 16 (14), R532-533.
Hong, R. L. & Sommer, R. J. (2006): Pristionchus pacificus: a well-rounded nematode. BioEssays, 28, 651-659. [pdf]
Photos, A., Gutierrez, A. & Sommer, R. J. (2006): sem-4/spalt and egl-17/FGF have a conserved role in sex myoblast specification and migration in P.pacificus and C.elegans. Developmental Biology, 293, 142-153. [pdf]
Herrmann, M., Mayer, W. E. & Sommer, R. J. (2006): Nematodes of the genus Pristionchus are closely associated with scarab beetles and the Colorado potato beetle in Western Europe. Zoology, 109, 96-108. [pdf]
Srinivasan, J. & Sommer, R. J. (2006): The C. elegans genome: Comparative sequencing. In: Encyclopedic references in genomics and proteomics (Eds. P. Ruiz & H. Lehrach). Springer Verlag, Heidelberg.
Sommer, R. J. (2005): Genomic platforms for „evo-devo“. Current Genomics, 6, 569-570.
Hong, R. L., Villwock, A. & Sommer, R. J. (2005): Cultivation of the rhabditid Poikilolaimus oxycercus as a laboratory nematode for genetic analyses. J Exp Zool A Comp Exp Biol, 303, 742-760.
Sommer, R. J. (2005): Evolution of development in nematodes related to C. elegans. WormBook, 1-17. doi:10.1895/wormbook.1.46.1.
Zheng, M., Messerschmidt, D. Jungblut, B. & Sommer, R. J. (2005): Conservation and diversification of Wnt signaling function during the evolution of nematode vulva development. Nature genetics, 37, 300-304. [pdf]
Featured in: Félix, M. A. (2005): An inversion in the wiring of an intercellular signal: evolution of Wnt signaling in the nematode vulva. Bioessays, 27 (8), 765-769.
Rudel, D., Riebesell, M. & Sommer, R. J. (2005): Gonadogenesis in Pristionchus pacificus and organ evolution: development, adult morphology and cell-cell interactions in the hermaphrodite gonad. Developmental Biology, 277, 200-221. [pdf]
Gutierrez, A. and Sommer, R. J. (2004): Evolution of dnmt-2 and mbd-2-like genes in the free-living nematodes Pristionchus pacificus, Caenorhabditis elegans and Caenorhabditis briggsae. Nucleic Acids Res., 21, 6388-6396.
Sommer, R. J. (2004): Beyond Darwin – towards an inclusive evolutionary synthesis. Book review. Wallace Arthur: Biased embryos and evolution. Development, 131, 5769-5770.
Kenning, Ch., Kipping, I. & Sommer, R. J. (2004): Isolation of mutations with dumpy-like phenotypes and of collagen genes in the nematode Pristionchus pacificus. Genesis, 40, 176-183.
Pires da Silva, A. and Sommer, R. J. (2004): Conservation of the global sex determination gene tra-1 in distantly related nematodes. Genes Dev, 18, 1198-1208.
Srinivasan, J., Otto, G. W., Kahlow, U., Geisler, R. & Sommer, R. J. (2004): AppaDB: an AcedB database for the nematode satellite organism Pristionchus pacificus. Nucleic Acids Research, 32 (Database issue), D421-D422.
Sommer, R. J. (2004): Evolution of nematode development – how cells and genes change their function. In: Modularity in evolution and development (Eds.: G. Schlosser and G. Wagner). Chicago University Press, Chicago, pp. 414-428.
Lee, K. Z. and Sommer, R. J. (2003): Operon structure and trans-splicing in the nematode Pristionchus pacificus. Molecular Biology and Evolution, 20 (12), 2097-2103.
Srinivasan, J., Sinz, W., Jesse, T., Wiggers-Perebolte, L., Jansen, K., Buntjer, J., van der Meulen, M. & Sommer, R. J. (2003): An integrated physical and genetic map of the nematode Pristionchus pacificus. Mol. Genet. Genomics, 269, 715-722.
Pires da Silva, A. and Sommer, R. J. (2003): Finally, worm polycomb-like genes meet Hox regulation. Development Cell, 4, 770-772.
Lee, K. Z., Eizinger, A., Nandakumar, R., Schuster, S. C. & Sommer, R. J. (2003): Limited microsynteny between the genomes of Pristionchus pacificus and Caenorhabditis elegans. Nucleic Acids Research, 31, 2553-2560.
Rudel, D. and Sommer, R. J. (2003): The evolution of developmental mechanisms. Developmental Biology, 264, 15-37 (Review).
Gutierrez, A., Knoch, L., Witte, H. & Sommer, R. J. (2003): Functional specificity of the nematode Hox gene mab-5. Development, 130, 983-993.
Pires da Silva, A. and Sommer, R. J. (2003): The evolution of signalling pathways in animal development. Nature Reviews Genetics, 4, 39-49.
Sommer, R. J. (2003): Genetische Analyse der Entwicklung bei Tieren. Beispiel: Caenorhabditis elegans. In: Lehrbuch der Genetik, Kapitel 26, (Ed.: W. Seyffert). Gustav Fischer Verlag, Berlin, pp. 663-668.
Sommer, R. J. & Tautz, D. (2003): Evolution von Entwicklungsprozessen. In: Lehrbuch der Genetik, Kapitel 28, (Ed.: W. Seyffert). Gustav Fischer Verlag, Berlin, pp. 723-733.
Sommer, R. J. (2003): Caenorhabditis elegans. In: Lehrbuch der Genetik, Kapitel 38, (Ed.: W. Seyffert). Gustav Fischer Verlag, Berlin, pp. 987-993.
Sommer, R. J. (2003): Cells and genes as networks in nematode development and evolution. In: Handbook of Graphs and Networks (Eds.: S. Bornholdt, H. G. Schuster). Wiley-VHC, Weinheim, pp. 131-144.
Srinivasan, J. and Sommer, R. J. (2002): From evolutionary developmental biology to genomics: towards a genome map of the free-living nematode Pristionchus pacificus. In: Genome sciences - towards a new paradigm? Uehara Memorial Foundation Symposium-2002. (Ed.: H. Yoshikawa, N. Ogasawara, N. Satoh). Elsevier Sciences. International Congress Series 1246, Amsterdam, pp. 101-110.
Srinivasan, J., Sinz, W., Lanz, C., Brand, A., Nandakumar, R., Raddatz, G., Witte, H., Keller, H., Kipping, I., Pires da Silva, A., Jesse, T., Millare, J., de Both, M., Schuster, S. C. & Sommer, R. J. (2002): A bacterial artificial chromosome-based genetic linkage map of the nematode Pristionchus pacificus. Genetics, 162, 129-134.
Sommer, R. J. (2002): C. elegans. In: Oxford Encyclopedia of Evolution, 127-129.
Sommer, R. J. (2001): As good as they get: cells in nematode vulva development and evolution. Current Opinion in Cell Biology, 13, 715-720.
Jungblut, B., Pires da Silva, A. & Sommer, R. J. (2001): Formation of the egg-laying system in Pristionchus pacificus requires complex interactions between gonadal, mesodermal and epidermal tissues and does not rely on single cell inductions. Development, 128, 3395-3404.
Grandien, K. and Sommer, R. J. (2001): Functional comparison of the nematode Hox gene lin-39 in C.elegans and P.pacificus reveals evolutionary conservation of protein function despite divergence of primary sequences. Genes & Development, 15, 2161-2172.
Featured in: Chamberlin, H. M. (2001): The adaptable lin-39. Nature Genetics, 29 (2), 106-107.
Featured in: Casci, T. (2001): Evo-devo: Regulatory affairs. Nature Reviews Genetics, 2, 657.
Srinivasan, J., Pires da Silva, A., Gutierrez, A., Zheng, M., Jungblut, B., Witte, H., Schlak, I. & Sommer, R. J. (2001): Microevolutionary analysis of the nematode genus Pristionchussuggests a recent evolution of redundant developmental mechanisms during vulva formation. Evolution and Development, 3, 229-240.
Featured in: Gibson, G. (2001): Developmental evolution: the unbearable likeness of beings. Current Biology, 11 (9), R345-R348.
Jungblut, B. and Sommer, R. J. (2001): The nematode even-skipped homolog vab-7 regulates gonad and vulva position in Pristionchus pacificus. Development, 128, 253-261.
Sommer, R. J., Witte, H. & Schlak, I. (2001): Towards a microevolutionary approach in evolutionary developmental biology: Biogeography of the nematode genus Pristionchus (Diplogastridae). Zoology, 103, 91-98.
Sommer, R. J. (2000): Comparative genetics: A third model nematode species. Current Biology, 10, R879-R881.
Jungblut, B. and Sommer, R. J. (2000): Novel cell-cell interactions during vulva development in Pristonchus pacificus. Development, 127, 3295-3303.
Featured in: Chamberlin, H. M. (2000): Nematode development: an evolutionary fugue. Current Biology, 10 (17), R631-633.
Kagoshima, H., Sommer, R. J., Reinhart, B. J., Cassata, G., Ruvkun, G. & Bürglin, T. R. (2000): Graded expression of ceh-14 reporters in the hypodermis is induced by a gonadal signal. Dev. Genes. Evol., 210, 564-569.
Sommer, R. J. (2000): Evolution of nematode development. Curr. Opin. Gen. Devel., 10, 443-448.
Félix, M. A., De Ley, P., Sommer, R. J., Frisse, L., Nadler, S. A., Thomas, W. K., Vanfleteren, J., Sternberg, P. W. (2000): Evolution of vulva development in the Cephalobina (Nematoda). Developmental Biology, 221, 68-86.
Sommer, R. J., Carmi, I., Eizinger, A., Grandien, K., Jungblut, B., Lee, K. Z., Nguyen, H., Pires da Silva, A., Schlak, I., Sigrist, C. B. & Srinivasan, J. (2000): Pristionchus pacificus: a satellite organism in evolutionary developmental biology. Nematology, 2, 81-88.
Sommer, R. J. (2000): Caenorhabditis elegans - Ein Wurm für alle Fälle. Bioforum, 23, 126-128.
Félix, M. A., Hill, R. J., Schwarz, H., Sternberg, P. W., Sudhaus, W. & Sommer R. J. (1999): Pristionchus pacificus, a nematode with only three juvenile stages, displays major heterochronic changes relative to Caenorhabditis elegans. Proc. R. Soc. Lond. B, 266, 1617-1621.
Sommer, R. J. (1999): Convergence and the interplay of evolution and development. Evolution & Development, 1(1), 8-10.
Eizinger, A., Jungblut, B. & Sommer, R. J. (1999): Evolutionary change in the functional specificity of genes. Trends Genet., 15, 197-202.
Sigrist, C. B. and Sommer, R. J. (1999): Vulva formation in Pristionchus pacificus relies on continuous gonadal induction. Dev. Genes. Evol., 209, 451-459.
Sommer, R. J., Sigrist, C. B., Grandien, K., Jungblut, B., Eizinger, A., Adamis, H. & Schlak, I. (1999): A phylogenetic interpretation of nematode vulval variations. Invertebrate Reproduction and Development, 36, 57-65.
Jungblut, B. & Sommer, R. J. (1998): The Pristionchus pacificus mab-5 gene is involved in the regulation of ventral epidermal cell fates. Current Biology, 8, 775-778.
Sommer, R. J., Eizinger, A., Lee, K.-Z., Jungblut, B., Bubeck, A. & Schlak, I. (1998): The Pristionchus HOX gene Ppa-lin-39 inhibits programmed cell death to specify the vulva equivalence group and is not required during vulva induction. Development, 125, 3865-3873.
Sommer, R. J. (1997a): Evolutionary changes of developmental mechanisms in the absence of cell lineage alterations during vulva formation in the Diplogastridae (Nematoda). Development, 124, 243-251.
Featured in: Emmons, S. W. (1997): Worms as an evolutionary model. Trends in Genetics, 13 (4), 131-134.
Featured in: Lambie, E. J. (1997): Nematode development: evolutionary detours of a pivotal cell. Current Biology, 7 (3), R160-163.
Sommer, R. J. (1997b): Evolution and development - The nematode vulva as a case study. BioEssays, 19, 225-231.
Schlak, I., Eizinger, A. & Sommer, R. J. (1997): High rate of restriction fragment length polymorphisms between two populations of the nematode Pristionchus pacificus (Diplogastridae). J. Zool. Syst. Evol. Research, 35, 137-142.
Eizinger, A. & Sommer, R. J. (1997): The homeotic gene lin-39 and the evolution of nematode epidermal cell fates. Science, 278, 452-455.
Sommer, R. J. and Sternberg, P. W. (1996): Apoptosis and change of competence limit the size of the vulva equivalence group in Pristionchus pacificus: a genetic analysis. Current Biology, 6, 52-59.
Sommer, R. J. and Sternberg, P. W. (1996): Evolution of vulval fate patterning. Dev. Biol. 173, 396-407.
Sommer, R. J. & Sternberg, P. W. (1996): Using nematode vulva development to model the evolution of developmental systems. In: Molecular Zoology: Advances, Strategies and Protocols (Ed.: J. D. Ferraris & St. R. Palumbi). Wiley-Liss Inc., New York, pp. 209-220.
Sommer, R. J., Carta, L. K., Kim, S.-Y. & Sternberg, P. W. (1996): Morphological, genetic and molecular description of Pristionchus pacificus sp. n. (Nematoda: Neodiplogastridae). Fundamental and Applied Nematology, 19, 511-521.
Tautz, D. & Sommer, R. J. (1995): Evolution of segmentation genes in insects. Trends in Genetics, 11, 23-27.
Sommer, R. J. & Sternberg, P. W. (1995): Evolution of cell lineage and pattern formation in the vulva equivalence group of rhabditid nematodes. Dev. Biol. , 167, 61-74.
Featured in: Lambie, E. J. (1994): Nematode development. Variations on a vulval theme. Current Biology, 4 (12), 1128-1130.
Wolff, C., Sommer, R. J., Schröder, R., Glaser, G. and Tautz, D. (1995): Conserved and divergent expression aspects of the Drosophila segmentation gene hunchback in the short germ band embryo of the flour beetle Tribolium. Development, 121, 4227-4236.
Sommer, R. J. & Tautz, D. (1994): Expression patterns of twist and snail in Tribolium (Coleoptera) suggest a homologous formation of mesoderm in long and short germ band insects. Dev. Genet., 15, 32-37.
Sommer, R. J. & Sternberg, P. W. (1994): Changes of induction and competence during the evolution of vulva development in nematodes. Science, 265, 114-118.
Featured in: Lambie, E. J. (1994): Nematode development. Variations on a vulval theme. Current Biology, 4 (12), 1128-1130.
Sommer, R. J., Carta, L. K. & Sternberg, P. W. (1994): The evolution of cell lineage in nematodes. Development Supplement, 85-95.
Sommer, R. J. & Tautz, D. (1993): Involvement of an orthologue of the Drosophila pair-rule gene hairy in segment formation of the short germ band embryo of Tribolium (Coleoptera). Nature, 361, 448-450.
Featured in: French, V. (1993): Insect development. The long and the short of it. Nature, 361 (6411), 400-401.
Tautz, D., Hülskamp, M. & Sommer, R. J. (1992): Whole mount In situ Hybridization in Drosophila. In: In situ Hybridization: A practical approach. (Ed.: D. Wilkinson), pp 61-73.
Sommer, R. J., Retzlaff, M., Goerlich, K., Sander, K. & Tautz, D. (1992): Evolutionary conservation pattern of Zinc-finger domains from Drosophila segmentation genes. Proc. Nat. Acad. Sci., 89, 10782-10786.
Sommer, R. & Tautz, D. (1991): Asynchronous mitotic domains during blastoderm formation in Musca domestica L. (Diptera). Roux´s Arch. Dev. Biol., 199, 373-376.
Sommer, R. & Tautz, D. (1991): Non-radioactive in situ hybridization to sectioned tissues. TIG, 7, 110.
Sommer, R. & Tautz, D. (1991): Segmentation gene expression in the housefly Musca domestica. Development, 113, 419-430.
Sommer, R. & Tautz, D. (1989): Minimal homology requirements for PCR primers. Nucl. Acid. Res., 17, 6749.

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