Prof. Miroslav Oborník

Miroslav Oborník obtained his Ph.D. at the University of South Bohemia in 1995. He is working on the evolution of eukaryotes, particularly on organisms that passed through the process of complex endosymbioses, such as, for example, apicomplexans, euglenophytes, and stramenopiles. MO substantially participated in the discovery of chromerids, the closest known photosynthetic relative to apicomplexan parasites. His primary interest is in the evolution of parasitism in Apicomplexa, in the evolutionary transition of phototrophic alga to the parasite. In addition, he has been involved, for example, in annotations of the genomes of diatoms Phaeodactylum tricornutum and Thalassiosira pseudonana, cryptophyte Guillardia theta and chlorarachniophyte Bigelowiella natans, the discovery of the urea cycle and phytotransferrins in diatoms, the discovery of the metabolic pathway for the synthesis of neurotoxin domoic acid in diatoms, and in the discovery and characterization of the non-canonical pathway for tetrapyrrole synthesis in chromerids.