Ralf Sommer

Integrative Evolutionary Biology

Max Planck Institute for Biology Tübingen
IMPRS Faculty

Vita

• Diplom in Biology 1989, RWTH Aachen & University of Tübingen
• PhD work 1989-92 at the Ludwig-Maximilians University Munich
• Research fellow 1993-95 at CALTECH, Pasadena, USA
• Director at the MPI since 1999
• Adjunct Professor, University of Tübingen since 2002

Research Interest
My primary scientific interest is to unravel the mechanisms that give rise to evolutionary alterations and novelty. We use an interdisciplinary approach that integrates development, ecology and population genetics. We study the nematode Pristionchus pacificus, which we have established as a model system. P. pacificus combines laboratory studies building on forward genetic, CRISPR-engineering, genomic and transgenic tools with field work. A core aspect of our current research is developmental plasticity, a concept that has recently received a lot of attention as a facilitator of phenotypic diversity.

 

 









 

 

 

Available PhD Projects

• Transgenerational inheritance in P. pacificus

Selected Reading

• Quiobe SP,  Kalirad A, Zurheide R, Witte H, Rödelsperger C, Sommer RJ. (2025). Diet-derived vitamin B12 induces transgenerational inheritance of nematode predation through elevated vitellogenin provisioning. bioRxiv. doi: https://doi.org/10.1101/2025.05.21.655301
• Quiobe SP, Sommer RJ. (2025). Adaptive consequences of transgenerational inheritance of a predatory mouth-form trait in nematodes. bioRxiv. doi: https://doi.org/10.1101/2025.10.05.680509
• Quiobe S P, Kalirad A, Röseler W, Witte H, Wang Y, Rödelsperger C, Sommer RJ. (2025). EBAX-1/ZSWIM8 destabilizes clustered mircoRNAs resulting in transgenerational memory of a predatory trait. Science Advances. doi: 10.1126/sciadv.adu0875
• Kalirad A and Sommer RJ. (2024). The role of plasticity and stochasticity in coexistence. Ecology Letters. doi: 10.1111/ele.14370
• Kalirad A and Sommer RJ. (2024). Spatial and temporal heterogeneity alters the cost of plasticity in Pristionchus pacificus. PLoS Computational Biology. doi: 10.1371/journal.pcbi.1011823
• Lo WS, Han Z, Witte H, Röseler W and Sommer RJ. (2022). Synergistic interaction of gut microbiota enhances the growth of nematode through neuroendocrine signaling. Current Biology. doi: 10.1016/j.cub.2022.03.056. Revelant feature- Microbiomes: How a gut bacterium promotes healthier living in a nematode
• Sun S, Witte H and Sommer RJ. (2022). Chitin contributes to the formation of a feeding structure ina predatory nematode. Current Biology. doi: 10.1016/j.cub.2022.11.011. Relevant feature- Developmental genetics: The structural basis of malleable teeth 
• Renahan T, Lo WS, Werner MS, Rochat J, Herrmann M, Sommer RJ. (2021). Nematode biphasic ‘boom and bust’ dynamics are dependent on host bacterial load while linking dauer and mouth-form polyphenisms. Environmental Microbiology. doi: 10.1111/1462-2920.15438
• Lightfoot JW, Dardiry M, Kalirad A, Giaimo S, Eberhardt G, Witte H, Wilecki M, Rödelsperger C, Traulsen A, Sommer RJ. (2021). Sex or cannibalism: polyphenism and kin recognition control social action strategies in nematodes. Science Advances. doi: 10.1126/sciadv.abg8042
• Lightfoot JW, Wilecki M, Rödelsperger C, Moreno E, Susoy V, Witte H, Sommer RJ.(2019). Small peptide mediated nematode self-recognition prevents cannibalism. Science. doi: 10.1126/science.aav9856
• Ragsdale EJ, Müller MR, Rödelsperger C, Sommer RJ. (2013). A developmental switch coupled to the evolution of plasticity acts through a sulfatase. Cell. doi: 10.1016/j.cell.2013.09.054
• Bento, G., Ogawa, A. & Sommer, R. J. (2010). Co-option of the hormone-signalling module dafachronic acid–DAF-12 in nematode evolution. Nature. doi: 10.1038/nature09164