Elena L. Peredo

Research Scientist

Elena L. Peredo headshot
Contact Information
Education
Sept 2008 Ph.D. in Biology, University of Oviedo (Spain)
MBL Affiliations
Ecosystems Center
Research Area
Evolution
Genomics
Microbiomes
Lab Website
ScenGen Workshops

Dr. Peredo's research is focused on adaptations associated with shifts between terrestrial and aquatic lifestyles during plant evolution. She is broadly interested in the genetic basis of physiological traits that evolve under radically different environmental conditions upon colonization of new ecosystems. Because internal and external microbial communities are invariably intertwined with plants in natural environments, she is also interested in the broader consequences of the movements of plants and their associated microbiomes between habitats, whether transitions between emerged and submerged environments, or introductions of to new localities.

Desert-evolved and aquatic algae within the Scendesmaceae as model for the study of adaptation to terrestrial environments.
Desert-evolved and aquatic algae within the Scendesmaceae as model for the study of adaptation to terrestrial environments.

At the Marine Biological Laboratory, Dr. Peredo uses comparative transcriptomics and genomics to understand the adaptive traits that are necessary to colonize terrestrial environments. She uses as model system independently evolved desert-dwelling algae within the Scenedesmaceae and their aquatic counterparts. This suite of algal species are ideal candidates to pinpoint specific adaptations acquired during terrestrialization using comparative approaches because despite the shared genetic background  deeply differ in their physiology.

Sulfur cycling bacteria and smooth cordon grass form a symbiotic relationship that is essential for the salt marsh health.
Sulfur cycling bacteria and smooth cordon grass form a symbiotic relationship that is essential for the salt marsh health.

Dr. Peredo also uses comparative metagenomics and lab-based techniques to study microbiome-plant host interactions. Human actions, specially the increase of human population, pollution, and sea level rise has placed extreme pressure on aquatic and coastal ecosystems making them specially susceptible. Dr. Peredo is interested in the role of microbiome during biological invasions and the symbiotic relationships between plant roots and sulfur cycling bacteria in salt marshes.

Since 2019, Dr. Peredo teaches the University of Chicago course Microbiomes Across Environments (BIOS 27720). This course is designed to provide to a reduced number of students a comprehensive introduction to Microbiome research, using molecular tools and bioinformatic approaches to complete an hypothesis-driven research project. 

University of Chicago students collecting samples of the microbiome of invasive algae Gracilaria vermiculophylla.
University of Chicago students collecting samples of the microbiome of invasive algae Gracilaria vermiculophylla.
News and Research Highlights
Elena L. Peredo works with
Anne Giblin Headshot
Anne Giblin
Senior Scientist and Director, The Ecosystems Center
Ecosystems Center
Bezanilla
Magdalena Bezanilla
Professor
Dartmouth College
Selected Publications

Cardon Z., Peredo EL, Enloe C, Oakey J, Wu S-Z, Bezanilla M. (submitted) Slip slidin’ away: bristle-driven gliding by Tetradesmus deserticola (Chlorophyta) in microfluidic chambers"

Peredo EL, SL Simmons (2021) Leaf-FISH: in situ hybridization method for visualizing bacterial taxa on plant surfaces. In “An overview of FISH concepts and protocols for microbial cells”, N. Azevedo and C. Almeida eds. Methods in Molecular Biology, (Springer Nature) https://experiments.springernature.com/articles/10.1007/978-1-0716-1115-9_8

Peredo EL, Cardon Z. (2020) Shared upregulation and contrasting downregulation of gene expression distinguish desiccation tolerant from intolerant green algae. PNAS 117 (29) 17438-17445 https://www.pnas.org/content/117/29/17438

Stark J, Cardon Z, Peredo EL. (2020) Extraction of high-quality, high molecular-weight DNA depends heavily on cell homogenization methods in green microalgae. Apps in Plant Sci, 8: e11333. https://bsapubs.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1002/aps3.11333

Bono L, Orton RJ, Peredo EL, Morrison HG, Sistrom M,  Simmons SL, Turner PE. (2019) Spatiotemporal dynamics of RNA viruses associated with white clover (Trifolium repens L.) bioRxiv https://doi.org/10.1101/772475

Cardon Z, Peredo EL, Dohnalkova AC, Gershone H,  Bezanilla M. (2018) A model suite of green algae within the Scenedesmaceae for investigating contrasting desiccation tolerance and morphology. Journal of Cell Biology 131 pii: jcs212233. https://doi.org/10.1242/jcs.212233 Selected for highlights section of the Journal and for cover image.

Peredo EL, SL Simmons. (2018) Leaf-FISH: Microscale imaging of microbial communities on phyllosphere. Frontiers of Microbiology 8: 1–14. https://doi.org/10.3389/fmicb.2017.02669

Les DH, EL Peredo, U King, L Benoit, NP Tippery, C Ball, R Shannon. (2015) Through thick and thin: cryptic sympatric speciation in the submersed genus Najas (Hydrocharitaceae). Mol Phylog and Evol 82: 15-30. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ympev.2014.09.022

Peredo EL, U King, D Les. (2013) The plastid genome Najas flexilis: adaptation to submerged environments lead to the complete loss of the ndh complex in an aquatic angiosperms. Plos One 8: e68591 https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0068591

Peredo EL, D Les, U King, L Benoit. (2012) Extreme conservation of the psaA/psaB intercistronic spacer reveals a translational motif coincident with the evolution of land plants. J Mol Evol 75:184–197. https://doi.org/10.1007/s00239-012-9526-z