marine ecology, evolution, RNA-seq, sponges, reproductive biology, early diverging metazoans, host-microbe interaction

My current research topic focus on the interaction of early diverging metazoans with their microbial symbionts. Specifically, I look at comparative genomic and RNA-seq data from sponges, ctenophores and cnidarians to study the evolution of the immune system in animals and the positive selection of immune genes regarding the different environments. The Immubase project is part of the CRC1182-B1 project "Metaorganisms"

• Feb 2021-Present: Postdoctoral Researcher at Geomar, Kiel.
• 2016-2020: PhD in reproductive biology of deep-sea sponges with ecological and evolutionary aspects, SponGES project. Natural History Museum, London-UK/ Uppsala University, Sweden
• May 2015- Dec 2015: Associate Research Fellow at Hellenic Center for Marine Research (HCMR), Institute of Marine Biology, Biotechnology and Aquaculture Crete, Greece
• Dec 2013- Oct 2014: Associate Research Fellow at Center of Genomics and Bioinformatics (Universidad Mayor), Santiago, Chile
• 2011-2013: Double M.Sc. Integrative Biology and Physiology: Biology of Marine Organisms/ Animal Sciences - University of Pierre and Marie Curie (UPMC) Paris, Roscoff Marine station, Banyuls Marine station, France / Pontificia Universidad Catolica, Santiago, Chile
• 2006-2011: B.Sc. Biology: Environmental Biology and Management of Biological Resources, University of Crete, Greece

• Sweden, research vessel “Nereus”,  SponGES project, 27-28/03/2019
• Arctic Sea, research vessel “G.O Sars”, SponGES project, 21/07- 08/08/2017
• Cantabric sea, research vessel “Ángeles Alvariño”, SponGES project, 11-26/06/2017
• Norway, research vessel Hans Brattstrom”, SponGES project, 08/09/2016-09/09/2016

• NHM student conference, March 2020, London
• ICES International Council for Marine Exploration / Annual Science Conference, Sept 2018, Hamburg-Germany
• International Congress on Invertebrate Morphology, Aug 2017, Moscow-Russia                    
• 10th World Sponge Conference, June 2017, Galway-Ireland
• Blue Symposium, Sponges, Corals and the World, March 2017, Blanes-Spain  
• First National meeting of young researchers in Chemical ecology, June 2013, Montpellier-France
• European Aquaculture society, June 2011, Rhodes-Greece

• Post-graduate course: Drugs of Natural origin, Department of Medicinal Chemistry and Pharmacognosy, Uppsala University, online course, January-June 2019           
• Introduction to Phylogenetics, Marine and Coastal Research Institute (INVEMAR), Santa Marta Colombia,  March 2018
• Sponge Genetics and Natural products chemistry, University of Colombo, Srilanka, 20/July-06/August/2018  

Geraghty S, Koutsouveli V, Hall C, Chang L, Sacristan-Soriano O, Hill, M, Riesgo A, Hill A and Sloan D (2021) Establishment of Host–Algal Endosymbioses: Genetic Response to Symbiont Versus Prey in a Sponge Host.  Genome Biology and Evolution, 13 (11). Art.Nr. evab252. DOI 10.1093/gbe/evab252

Koutsouveli, V., Cárdenas, P., Conejero, M., Rapp, H. T., and Riesgo, A. 2020. Reproductive Biology of Geodia Species (Porifera, Tetractinellida) From Boreo-Arctic North-Atlantic Deep-Sea Sponge Grounds. Front. Mar. Sci. 7, 1–22. doi:10.3389/fmars.2020.595267.

Maldonado, M., López-Acosta, M., Beazley, L., Kenchington, E., Koutsouveli, V., and Riesgo, A. 2020. Cooperation between passive and active silicon transporters clarifies the ecophysiology and evolution of biosilicification in sponges. Sci. Adv. 6, eaba9322. doi:10.1126/sciadv.aba9322.

Koutsouveli, V., Cárdenas P., Santodomingo N., Marina A., Morato E., Rapp H.T., Riesgo A. 2020. The molecular machinery of gametogenesis in Geodia demosponges (Porifera): evolutionary origins of a conserved toolkit across animals, MBE, 37, 3485–3506. https://doi.org/10.1093/molbev/msaa183

Koutsouveli, V, Manousaki T, Riesgo A, Lagnel J, Kollias S, Tsigenopoulos CS, Arvanitidis C, Dounas C, Magoulas A, Dailianis T. 2020. Gearing Up for Warmer Times: Transcriptomic Response of Spongia officinalis to Elevated Temperatures Reveals Recruited Mechanisms and Potential for Resilience. Front Mar Sci. 6:786. doi:10.3389/fmars.2019.00786.

Taboada S, Silva AS, Neal L, Cristobo J, Ríos P, Álvarez-Campos P, Hestetun JT, Koutsouveli, V, Sherlock E, Riesgo A. 2020. Insights into the symbiotic relationship between scale worms and carnivorous sponges (Cladorhizidae, Chondrocladia). Deep Sea Res Part I Oceanogr Res Pap. 156:103191. doi:https://doi.org/10.1016/j.dsr.2019.103191.

Manousaki T, Koutsouveli, V, Lagnel J, Kollias S, Tsigenopoulos CS, Arvanitidis C, Magoulas A, Dounas C, Dailianis T. 2019. A de novo transcriptome assembly for the bath sponge Spongia officinalis, adjusting for microsymbionts. BMC Res Notes. 12(1):813. doi:10.1186/s13104-019-4843-6.

Plese B, Rossi ME, Kenny NJ, Taboada S, Koutsouveli, V, Riesgo A. 2019. Trimitomics: An efficient pipeline for mitochondrial assembly from transcriptomic reads in nonmodel species. Mol Ecol Resour. 19(5):1230–1239. doi:10.1111/1755-0998.13033.

Koutsouveli V, Taboada S, Moles J, Cristobo J, Ríos P, Bertran A, Solà J, Avila C, Riesgo A. 2018. Insights into the reproduction of some Antarctic dendroceratid, poecilosclerid, and haplosclerid demosponges. PLoS One. 13(2):e0192267.

Taboada S, Riesgo A, Wiklund H, Paterson GLJ, Koutsouveli, V, Santodomingo N, Dale AC, Smith CR, Jones DOB, Dahlgren TG, et al. 2018. Implications of population connectivity studies for the design of marine protected areas in the deep sea: An example of a demosponge from the Clarion-Clipperton Zone. Mol Ecol. 27(23):4657–4679. doi:10.1111/mec.14888.

Gardères J, Bedoux G, Koutsouveli, V, Crequer S, Desriac F, Le Pennec G. 2015. Lipopolysaccharides from commensal and opportunistic bacteria: Characterization and response of the immune system of the host sponge Suberites domuncula. Mar Drugs. 13(8):4985–5006. doi:10.3390/md13084985