Evolutionary and Environnemental Microbiology
Damien DEVOS
IPL research director
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We work on PVC bacteria, in particular on bacteria from the phylum Planctomycetota. Planctomycetes are found to be primarily associated with particles, microbial mats, and biofilm. Various members of this peculiar bacterial phylum display features that are usually not seen in bacteria, including cell morphologies, a developed endomembrane system sustained by membrane coat proteins, and the capacity to synthesize sterol lipids. Here, we study some of the most conspicuous aspects of those fascinating bacteria.
We work on PVC bacteria, in particular on bacteria from the phylum Planctomycetota. Planctomycetes are found to be primarily associated with particles, microbial mats, and biofilm. Various members of this peculiar bacterial phylum display features that are usually not seen in bacteria, including cell morphologies, a developed endomembrane system sustained by membrane coat proteins, and the capacity to synthesize sterol lipids. Here, we study some of the most conspicuous aspects of those fascinating bacteria.
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DEVOS Damien
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Jeremy Desmaraut
Nausicaa Gantois
Manuel Lonigro
Luis Felipe Muriel
Angeline Reboul
Carlos Vigil
- A century of research on the Planctomycetota bacterial phylum, previously known as Planctomycetes. [1]
- Lage OM, Godinho O, García-Domínguez R, Øvreås L, DEVOS DP. FEMS Microbiol Rev. 2025 Jan 14;49:fuaf056. doi: 10.1093/femsre/fuaf056. PMID: 41206740 Verrucomicrobium spinosum_ essential genome and the divergence of cell division in the PVC superphylum. [2]
- Henriques V, Moyano-Palazuelo D, Alonso-Pascual MT, Pazos M, DEVOS DP, Rivas-Marin E. iScience. 2025 Jun 30;28(8):113037. doi: 10.1016/j.isci.2025.113037. eCollection 2025 Aug 15. PMID: 40703445
- Essential gene complement of Planctopirus limnophila from the bacterial phylum Planctomycetes. [3] Rivas-Marin E, Moyano-Palazuelo D, Henriques V, Merino E, DEVOS DP. Nat Commun. 2023 Nov 9;14(1):7224. doi: 10.1038/s41467-023-43096-3. PMID: 37940686
- The squalene route to C30 carotenoid biosynthesis and the origins of carotenoid biosynthetic pathways.
Santana-Molina C, Henriques V, Hornero-Méndez D, Devos DP, Rivas-Marin E. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A. 2022 Dec 27;119(52):e2210081119. doi: 10.1073 pnas.2210081119. Epub 2022 Dec 19. PMID: 36534808 - Reconciling Asgardarchaeota Phylogenetic Proximity to Eukaryotes and Planctomycetes Cellular Features in the Evolution of Life.
Devos DP. Mol Biol Evol. 2021 Aug 23;38(9):3531-3542. doi: 10.1093/molbev/msab186. PMID: 34229349 - Origin and Evolution of Polycyclic Triterpene Synthesis.
Santana-Molina C, Rivas-Marin E, Rojas AM, Devos DP. Mol Biol Evol. 2020 Jul 1;37(7):1925-1941. doi: 10.1093/molbev/msaa054. PMID: 32125435 - Non-essentiality of canonical cell division genes in the planctomycete Planctopirus limnophila.
Rivas-Marin E, Peeters SH, Claret Fernández L, Jogler C, van Niftrik L, Wiegand S, Devos DP. Sci Rep. 2020 Jan 9;10(1):66. doi: 10.1038/s41598-019-56978-8. PMID: 31919386 - Essentiality of sterol synthesis genes in the planctomycete bacterium Gemmata obscuriglobus.
Rivas-Marin E, Stettner S, Gottshall EY, Santana-Molina C, Helling M, Basile F, Ward NL, Devos DP. Nat Commun. 2019 Jul 2;10(1):2916. doi: 10.1038/s41467-019-10983-7. PMID: 31266954