Prof. Dr. Thomas Holstein

Project Leader A05

Heidelberg University
Centre for Organismal Studies (COS)
Department of Molecular Evolution and Genomics
Im Neuenheimer Feld 230
D-69120 Heidelberg

Prof. Dr. Thomas Holstein

Professional Career

since 2004

Professor of Molecular Evolution and Genomics (C4)

Zoological Institute and Centre for Organismal Studies (COS), Heidelberg University

1998-2004

Professor of Cell Biology (C4)

Zoological Institute, Darmstadt University (TU)

1993-1998

Professor of Cell and Developmental Biology (C3)

Zoological Institute, Frankfurt University

1987-1992

Research Associate (C2)

Zoological Institute, Munich University (LMU)

1983-1987

Research Fellow

Zoological Institute, Munich University (LMU), Germany

1980-1983

Research Fellow

Zoological Institute, Zurich University, Switzerland

1991

Dr.rer.nat.habil

Munich University (LMU)

1980

Dr.phil

Vienna University, Austria

Achievements & Awards

since 2017

Speaker, since 2021 Vice-Speaker

DFG Collaborative Research Center (CRC) 1324

since 2020

Member

Academic Advisory Council, Heidelberg University

since 2018

Visiting professor

Developmental Biology, Kyoto University, Japan

2015-2020

President

President of the Heidelberg Academy of Sciences and Humanities

2013-2019

Member

Senate Committee on Research Training Groups, DFG

2013-2014

Fellow

Marsilius Kolleg, Heidelberg University

2013-2015

Head

Math.-Nat. Class of the Heidelberg Academy of Sciences and Humanities

2012-2018

Directorate Member

“Heidelberg-Karlsruhe Research Partnership” (HEiKA)

2011-2012

Fellow

Marsilius Kolleg, Heidelberg University

2010-2014

Vice-Coordinator

DFG Collaborative Research Center SFB 873

2009-2014

Vice-Coordinator

DFG Research Unit FOR1036

since 2007

Elected Member

Heidelberg Academy of Sciences and Humanities

2007-2012

Dean of the Faculty of Biosciences

Heidelberg University

since 2006

Member and Vice-Coordinator

Heidelberg Excellence Cluster Cellular Networks

2006-2013

Member of the Steering committee

Heidelberg Molecular Life Science (HMLS)

since 2005

Founder and Head

Nikon Imaging Center at Heidelberg University

2004-2012

Member and Deputy Spokesperson

DFG Reviewing Board 203-06

2004-2011

Director of the Zoological Institute

Heidelberg University

2002-2004

Director of the Zoological Institute

Darmstadt University (TU)

1998-2000

Dean of the Faculty of Biology

Darmstadt University (TU)

1996-1997

Offers for full professorships at the Universities of Karlsruhe and Vienna, declined

1993-1995

Visiting professor for Developmental Biology, University of Vienna, Austria

Publications

Wnt/β-catenin signaling induces axial elasticity patterns of Hydra extracellular matrix

Veschgini M, Suzuki R, Kling S, Petersen HO, Bergheim BG, Abuillan W, Linke P, Kaufmann S, Burghammer M, Engel U, Stein F, Özbek S, Holstein TW, Tanaka M. iScience. 2023 Mar 16;26(4):106416. doi: 10.1016/j.isci.2023.106416. eCollection 2023 Apr 21. PMID: 37009232

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From injury to patterning-MAPKs and Wnt signaling in Hydra

Tursch A, Holstein TW. Curr Top Dev Biol. 2023;153:381-417. doi: 10.1016/bs.ctdb.2023.01.003. Epub 2023 Feb 9. PMID: 36967201 Review.

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Injury-induced MAPK activation triggers body axis formation in Hydra by default Wnt signaling

Tursch A, Bartsch N, Mercker M, Schlüter J, Lommel M, Marciniak-Czochra A, Özbek S, Holstein TW. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A. 2022 Aug 30;119(35):e2204122119. doi: 10.1073/pnas.2204122119. Epub 2022 Aug 22. PMID: 35994642

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The role of cnidarian developmental biology in unraveling axis formation and Wnt signaling.

Holstein TW. Dev Biol. 2022 Apr 22;487:74-98. doi: 10.1016/j.ydbio.2022.04.005. Online ahead of print. PMID: 35461834

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Two plus one is almost three: a fast approximation for multi-view deconvolution

Hüpfel M, Fernández Merino M, Bennemann J, Takamiya M, Rastegar S, Tursch A, Holstein TW, Nienhaus GU. Biomed Opt Express. 2021 Dec 7;13(1):147-158. doi: 10.1364/BOE.443660. eCollection 2022 Jan 1. PMID: 35154860

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The Wnt-specific astacin proteinase HAS-7 restricts head organizer formation in Hydra

Ziegler B, Yiallouros I, Trageser B, Kumar S, Mercker M, Kling S, Fath M, Warnken U, Schnölzer M, Holstein TW, Hartl M, Marciniak-Czochra A, Stetefeld J, Stöcker W, Özbek S. BMC Biol. 2021 Jun 9;19(1):120. 
PMID: 34107975

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MAPK signaling links the injury response to Wnt-regulated patterning in Hydra regeneration

Tursch, A., M. Lommel, N. Bartsch, and T.W. Holstein. 2020.  bioRxiv, preprint.

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Expansion of a single transposable element family is associated with genome-size increase and radiation in the genus Hydra

Wong WY, Simakov O, Bridge DM, Cartwright P, Bellantuono AJ, Kuhn A, Holstein TW, David CN, Steele RE, Martínez DE. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A. 2019 Nov 12;116(46):22915-22917. PMID: 31659034

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What makes flatworms go to pieces

Holstein TW. Nature. 2019 Aug;572(7771):593-594. PMID: 31444489

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Hydra Mesoglea Proteome Identifies Thrombospondin as a Conserved Component Active in Head Organizer Restriction

Lommel M, Strompen J, Hellewell AL, Balasubramanian GP, Christofidou ED, Thomson AR, Boyle AL, Woolfson DN, Puglisi K, Hartl M, Holstein TW, Adams JC, Özbek S. Sci Rep. 2018 Aug 6;8(1):11753. PMID:30082916

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Making head or tail of cnidarian hox gene function

Rentzsch F, Holstein TW. Nat Commun. 2018 Jun 5;9(1):2187. PMID:29872045

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Tracking mechanical and morphological dynamics of regenerating Hydra tissue fragments using a two fingered micro-robotic hand

Veschgini, M., Gebert, F., Khangai, N., Ito, H., Suzuki, R., Holstein, T. W., Mae, Y., Arai, T. and Tanaka, M. 2016. Appl. Phys. Lett. 108, 103702

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A Comprehensive Transcriptomic and Proteomic Analysis of Hydra Head Regeneration.

Petersen, H.O., S.K. Hoger, M. Looso, T. Lengfeld, A. Kuhn, U. Warnken, C. Nishimiya-Fujisawa, M. Schnolzer, M. Kruger, S. Ozbek, O. Simakov, and T.W. Holstein. Mol Biol Evol. 2015 Aug;32(8):1928-47. doi: 10.1093/molbev/msv079. Epub 2015 Apr 3. PMID: 25841488

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Nodal signalling determines biradial asymmetry in Hydra

Watanabe H, Schmidt HA, Kuhn A, Höger SK, Kocagöz Y, Laumann-Lipp N, Ozbek S, Holstein TW. Nature. 2014 Nov 6;515(7525):112-5. doi: 10.1038/nature13666. Epub 2014 Aug 24.
PMID: 25156256

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Molecular dissection of Wnt3a-Frizzled8 interaction reveals essential and modulatory determinants of Wnt signaling activity

Kumar S, Žigman M, Patel TR, Trageser B, Gross JC, Rahm K, Boutros M, Gradl D, Steinbeisser H, Holstein T, Stetefeld J, Özbek S. BMC Biol. 2014 May 30;12:44. doi: 10.1186/1741-7007-12-44. PMID: 24885675

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Autoregulatory and repressive inputs localize Hydra Wnt3 to the head organizer

Nakamura Y, Tsiairis CD, Özbek S, Holstein TW. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A. 2011 May 31;108(22):9137-42. doi: 10.1073/pnas.1018109108. Epub 2011 May 16. PMID: 21576458

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Unexpected complexity of the Wnt gene family in a sea anemone

Kusserow A, Pang K, Sturm C, Hrouda M, Lentfer J, Schmidt HA, Technau U, von Haeseler A, Hobmayer B, Martindale MQ, Holstein TW. Nature. 2005 Jan 13;433(7022):156-60. doi: 10.1038/nature03158.
PMID: 15650739

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WNT signalling molecules act in axis formation in the diploblastic metazoan Hydra

Hobmayer B, Rentzsch F, Kuhn K, Happel CM, von Laue CC, Snyder P, Rothbächer U, Holstein TW. Nature. 2000 Sep 14;407(6801):186-9. doi: 10.1038/35025063.
PMID: 11001056

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