Prof. Dr. Alexander Suh is a professor of molecular biodiversity research at the University of Bonn and director of the Center for Molecular Biodiversity Research at the Leibniz Institute for the Analysis of Biodiversity Change. His research focuses on evolutionary genomics, with a particular emphasis on the evolutionary mechanisms that shape sex- and tissue-specific differences in genomes.
After earning his Ph.D. and habilitation in biology at the University of Münster and Uppsala University in Sweden, Alexander Suh held various international positions, including research and teaching roles in Sweden, the United Kingdom, and the United States. He combines state-of-the-art molecular biology methods with comparative genomics to unravel the evolutionary history of birds and other organisms.
His work has contributed significantly to our understanding of the role of retrotransposons in the evolution of sex chromosomes and provides important insights into the mechanisms that shape biodiversity at the molecular level. Alexander Suh is a Fellow of the Higher Education Academy (FHEA) and is actively involved in training the next generation of evolutionary biologists.The Centre for Molecular Biodiversity Research (zmb) is an international leader in innovative and integrative biodiversity change research across ecological and evolutionary time scales. The zmb redefines collection-based molecular research by integrating interdisciplinary expertise with cutting-edge infrastructures to drive and disseminate both basic and applied research.
Projects
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Evolution and development of the plug, a transient novel tissue in ricefishes
Management: Dr. Julia Schwarzer
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SeaLion - polarised quartet analysis in phylogenomics
Management: Dr. Patrick Kück
Publications
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2026/08
The complete genome of a songbird
Cell, 16, 189
2026/05
Elevated retrocopy burden and sloth-specific expansions illuminate mammalian genome evolution
BMC Biology
2026/05
Chromosome-level genome assembly of the sand martin (Riparia riparia)
Scientific data
2026/04
Persistent conflict in palaeognath phylogeny revealed by quartet-based and ML analyses
Frontiers in Zoology
2026/03
Paralog-aware assembly and filtering strategies reveal minimal nucleotide variation on the macro germline-restricted chromosome of the zebra finch
Heredity
2025/12
The germline-restricted chromosome orchestrates germ cell development in passerine birds
2025/10
A mosaic of modular variation at a single gene underpins convergent plumage coloration
Science, 6770, 390
2025/10
Evolution of large polymorphic inversions in a panmictic songbird
Molecular Biology and Evolution
2025/10
Accumulation of a biparentally-inherited Neptune transposable element in natural Killifish hybrids (Fundulus diaphanus × F. heteroclitus)
Molecular Biology and Evolution
2025/10
Chromosome-level assembly of the club-legged grasshopper (Gomphocerus sibiricus) genome
G3
2025/07
Programmed DNA elimination drives rapid genomic innovation in two thirds of all bird species
bioRxiv
2025/07
Germline-restricted chromosome of songbirds has different centromere compared to regular chromosomes
Heredity
2025/05
Mechanisms and timing of programmed DNA elimination in songbirds
2025/05
Accumulation of a biparentally-inherited Neptune transposable element in natural Killifish hybrids (Fundulus diaphanus × F. heteroclitus)
bioRxiv
2025/05
Type genomics: a framework for integrating genomic data into biodiversity and taxonomic research
Systematic Biology, 6, 74
2025/02
The role of transposon activity in shapingcis-regulatory element evolution after whole genome duplication
Genome Research
2024/12
Chromosome-level genome assembly of the morabine grasshopper Vandiemenella viatica19
Scientific data, 1, 11
2024/09
Contemporary intergeneric hybridization and backcrossing among birds-of-paradise
Evolution Letters, 5, 8
2024/08
The genomes of all lungfish inform on genome expansion and tetrapod evolution
Nature
2023/12
Songbird germline-restricted chromosome as a potential arena of genetic conflicts
Current Opinion in Genetics & Development, 83
2022/09
Mendelian nightmares: the germline-restricted chromosome of songbirds
Chromosome Research, 2, 30