Evolution, ecology and genomics of invertebrate symbiosis
Selected Publications
*lab members
Panossian B, Kolp M, Wu T, Tallapragada K, Patel V, Goldstein E, Oliver K, Henry LM, Parker BJ (2026) Phenotypic divergence is driven by mobile genetic elements in a heritable insect symbiont. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America 123, e2607226123.
Cunningham P, Martín-Durán JM, Oettler J, Shultner E, Halitschke R, Engl T, Kaltenpoth M, Henry LM (2026) Metabolic plasticity supports a flexible nutritional symbiosis in Cardiocondyla ants. Nature Communications 17, 10002.
Rinke, JL, Franke L, He D, Fischer, Vizueta J, Eiocholt LA, Larsen RS, Xiong Z, Cunninghman P, Henry LM, Kaltenpoth M, Gadau J, Zhang G, Boomsma J, Shcrader L (2026) Comparative analysis of 163 ant genomes reveals recurrent horizontal gene transfer from bacteria to ants. Gigascience 15, 1-19.
Panossian B, McLean A, Patel V, Wu T, Haider M, Oliver K, Henry LM (2026) Phage toxin variants are linked to protection specificity in a defensive symbiont. Molecular Biology and Evolution 43, msag079.
Wu T, Rodrigues AA, Fayle F, Henry LM (2025) Defensive symbiont genotype distributions are linked to parasitoid attack networks. Ecology Letters 28, e70082.
Cornwallis C, van't Padje A, Ellers J, Klein M, Jackson R, Kiers T, West S. Henry LM (2023) Symbiont shape feeding niches and diversification across insects. Nature Ecology and Evolution 1-23.
Goffredi S, Panossian B, Brzechffa C, Field N, King C, Moggioli G, Rouse GW, Martín-Durán JM, Henry LM (2023) A dynamic epibiont community associated with the bone eating worm Osedax. mBio e03140-22.
Moggioli G, Panossian B, Sun Y, Thiel D, Martin-Zamora F, Tran M, Clifford A, Goffredi S, Rimskaya-Korsakova N, Jekely G, Tresguerres M, Qian PY, Qiu JW, Rouse G, Henry LM, Martín-Durán J (2023) Distinct genomic routes underlie transitions to specialised symbiotic lifestyles in deep sea annelid worms.
Nature Communications 14: 2814.
Jackson R, Patapiou PA, Golding G, Helantera H, Economou CK, Chapuisat M, Henry LM (2023) Evidence of phylosymbiosis in Formica ants.
Frontiers in Microbiology 14: 1044286.
Goldstein GB, de Anda Acosta Y, Henry LM, Parker BJ (2023) Variation in density, immune gene suppression, and coinfection outcomes among strains of the aphid endosymbiont Regiella insecticola. Evolution 77: 1704–1711.
Jackson R, Monnin D, Patapiou P, Golding G, Helanterä H, Oettler J, Heinze J, Wurm Y, Economou C, Chapuisat M, Henry LM (2022) Convergent evolution of a nutritional symbiosis in ants. ISME 16: 2114-2122.
T Wu, D Monnin, RAR Lee, LM Henry (2022) Local adaptation to hosts and parasitoids shape Hamiltonella defensa genotypes across aphid species. Proceedings of the Royal Society B 289: 20221269.
Jackson R, Henry LM, Wurm Y (2020) Evolution: The legacy of endosymbiosis in ants. Current Biology 30: R1385-R1387.
Monnin D, Jackson R, Kiers T, Bunker M, Ellers J, and Henry LM (2020)
Parallel Evolution in the Integration of a Co-Obligate Aphid Symbiosis.
Current Biology 30: 1949-1957.
McLean AHC, Godfray HCJ, Ellers J, Henry LM (2019) Host relatedness influences the composition of aphid microbiomes. Environmental Microbiology Reports. 11: 808-816.
Niepoth N, Ellers J, Henry LM, (2018) Symbiont interactions with non-native hosts limit the formation of new symbioses. BMC Evolutionary Biology 18.
Fisher RM, Henry LM, Cornwallis CK, Kiers ET, West SA (2017) The evolution of host-symbiont dependence. Nature Communications 15973.
McLean AHC, Parker BJ, Hrcek J, Henry LM, Henry LM, Godfray HCJ (2016) Insect symbionts in food webs. Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society B. 371: 1702.
Henry LM, Maiden MCJ, Ferrari J, Godfray HCJ (2015) Insect life history and the evolution of bacterial mutualism. Ecology Letters 18, 516-525.
Lukasik P, Guo H, van Asch M, Henry LM, Godfray HCJ, Ferrari J (2015) Horizontal transfer of facultative endosymbionts is limited by host relatedness. Evolution 69, 2757-2766.
Chubaty AM, Ma BO, Stein RW, Gillespie DR, Henry LM, Phelan C, Palsson E, Simon FW, Roitberg BD (2014). On the evolution of omnivory in a community context. Ecology and Evolution 4:251 - 265.
Henry LM, Peccoud J, Simon J-C, Hadfield JD, Maiden MCJ, Ferrari J, Godfray HCJ (2013) Horizontally transmitted symbionts and host colonization of ecological niches. Current Biology 23, 1713-1717.