Dr. Guido Bonthond
Dr. Guido Bonthond
I am interested in the biogeography of microbial life. While we need to zoom-in with powerful microscopes to see microbes, they are distributed around the globe and impact ecosystems at large spatial and temporal scales. Besides zooming-in with microscopes, I therefore like to ‘zoom-out’, to uncover microbial patterns at large scales (or macroecological scales) and better understand the processes giving rise to these patterns, as well as the consequences they have on hosts and ecosystems.
I am a biologist by training with an emphasis on microbial ecology. My research focusses on the marine realm and targets holobionts (primarily seaweeds) and marine sediments. I combine field studies and experimental approaches and utilize molecular tools and statistical modelling.
Research
Seaweeds as model holobionts to study host-microbe interactions
During my doctoral research, I studied microbiota associated with the seaweed Gracilaria vermiculophylla, an invasive species that spread around the northern hemisphere. Besides evaluating how its microbiota vary across the northern hemispere, we also simulated invasions in the lab to learn how microbiota change when their hosting organism is translocated to a new envrionment, and how this influences the chances of an introduced host to survive an introduction event and may become a succesful invader.
Unraveling the drivers of benthic microbial biogeography
Since August 2020, I am a postdoc in the Umbio group at the ICBM. Besides continuing research on seaweed holobionts, I study microbiota in marine sediments. Specifically, I evaluate how the benthic microbial biogeography of the North Sea is shaped by environmental variables such as sediment characteristics and temperature and in particular whether microbial biogeography is affected by bottom trawling, which is a destructive fishing practice. This postdoc is conducted within the joint research project MGF North Sea, which is part of the German Marine Research Alliance.
Academic information
Dr Natural Sciences (2017 - 2020)
Christian-Albrechts-University of Kiel (CAU), Kiel, Germany
MSc Biological Sciences (2013 - 2016)
University of Amsterdam (UvA), Amsterdam, the Netherlands
BSc Biology (2009 - 2012)
Utrecht University (UU), Utrecht, the Netherlands
Publications
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Mudlaff CM, Weinberger F, Duesedau L, Ghotbi M, Kuenzel S, Bonthond G. Seasonal Cycles in a Seaweed Holobiont: A Multiyear Time Series Reveals Repetitive Microbial Shifts and Core Taxa. 2025. Environmental Microbiology 27, e70062. DOI:10.1111/1462-2920.70062
ICES Working Group on Fisheries Benthic Impact and Trade-offs (WGFBIT; outputs from 2024 meeting). Beauchard O, Pierucci A, Pulcini M, Vaz S, van Denderen D, Zhang W, Todorova V, Mamede R, Rufino M, Depestele J, Boulcott P, Nguyen Xuan A, Di Lorenzo B, Bradshaw C, Seidel L, Penna M, van der Reijden K, Calero Blanco B, Farriols Garau MT, Hiddink JG, Tiano J, Van Hoey G, Parry M, Parry M, Laffargue P, Russo T, Di Bona G, Parker R, McKellar L, Egekvist J, Plaza-Morlote M, González Irusta JM, Soetaert K, Blomqvist M, Wright K, Hartley M, Sciberras M, Mobilia V, Gruender A, Vina-Herbon C, Garcia C, Todorova V, Zlateva I, Markovic L, Clare D, Papadopoulou N, Smith C, Tsikopoulou I, Mangano MC, Wright K, Brown L, Beukhof E, DeSchmidt J, Porz L, Aldridge J, Valanko S, Andresen H, Buhl-Mortensen L, Tsikopoulou I, Sbrana A, Sala A, Farriols MT, Bonthond G, Ferravega C, Tassetti AN. 2025. ICES Scientific Reports 7: 90. DOI:10.17895/ices.pub.28351412.
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Ghotbi, M., G. Bonthond, M. Ghotbi, S. Künzel, D. M. Needham, and F. Weinberger. Greater host influence and promiscuity: How an invasive seaweed host has advantages over co-occurring natives. 2024. BioRXiv. DOI:10.1101/2024.12.02.626238.
Mudlaff CM, Weinberger F, Duesedau L, Ghotbi M, Kuenzel S, Bonthond G. Seasonal Cycles in a Seaweed Holobiont: A Multiyear Time Series Reveals Repetitive Microbial Shifts and Core Taxa. 2024. BioRXiv. DOI:10.1101/2024.10.23.619769.
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Bonthond G, Beermann J, Gutow L, Neumann A, Barboza FR, Desiderato A, Fofonova V, Helber S, Khodami S, Kraan C, Neumann H, Rohde S, Schupp PJ. (2023). Benthic Microbial Biogeographic Trends in the North Sea Are Shaped by an Interplay of Environmental Drivers and Bottom Trawling Effort. ISME communications 3. DOI:10.1038/s43705-023-00336-3.
Lipinska AP, Krueger-Hadfield SA, Godfroy O, Dittami SM, Ayres-Ostrock L, Bonthond G, Brillet-Guéguen L, Coelho S, Corre E, Cossard G, Destombe C, Epperlein P, Faugeron S, Ficko-Blean E, Beltrán J, Lavaut E, Le Bars A, Marchi F, Mauger S, Michel G, Potin P, Scornet D, Sotka EE, Weinberger F, Cabral De Oliveira M, Guillemin M-L, Plastino EM, Valero M. (2023). The Rhodoexplorer Platform for Red Algal Genomics and Whole-Genome Assemblies for Several Gracilaria Species. Genome Biology & Evolution. 15, evad124. DOI:10.1093/gbe/evad124.
Bonthond G, Neu A, Bayer T, Krueger‐Hadfield SA, Künzel S, Weinberger F. (2023). Non‐native Hosts of an Invasive Seaweed Holobiont Have More Stable Microbial Communities Compared to Native Hosts in Response to Thermal Stress. Ecology & Evolution 13, e9753. DOI:10.1002/ece3.9753.
Garaba SP, Albinus M, Bonthond G, Flöder S, Miranda MLM, Rohde S, Yong JYL, Wollschläger J. (2023). Bio-Optical Properties of the Cyanobacterium Nodularia Spumigena. ESSD 15, 4163–4179. DOI:10.5194/essd-15-4163-2023.
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Bonthond G, Barilo A, Allen RJ, Cunliffe M, Krueger‐Hadfield SA. (2022). Fungal Endophytes Vary by Species, Tissue Type, and Life Cycle Stage in Intertidal Macroalgae. Journal of Phycology 58, 330–342. DOI:10.1111/jpy.13237.
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Bonthond G, Shalygin S, Bayer T, Weinberger F. (2021). Draft Genome and Description of Waterburya Agarophytonicola Gen. Nov. Sp. Nov. (Pleurocapsales, Cyanobacteria): A Seaweed Symbiont. Antonie van Leeuwenhoek 114, 2189–2203. DOI:10.1007/s10482-021-01672-x.
Krueger‐Hadfield SA, Byers JE, Bonthond G, Terada R, Weinberger F, Sotka EE. (2021). Intraspecific Diversity and Genetic Structure in the Widespread Macroalga Agarophyton Vermiculophyllum. Journal of Phycology 57, 1403–1410. DOI:10.1111/jpy.13195.
Bonthond G, Bayer T, Krueger-Hadfield SA, Stärck N, Wang G, Nakaoka M, Künzel S, Weinberger F. (2021). The Role of Host Promiscuity in the Invasion Process of a Seaweed Holobiont. ISME Journal 15, 1668–1679. DOI:10.1038/s41396-020-00878-7.
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Pan M, Zhu H, Bonthond G, Tian C, Fan X. (2020). High Diversity of Cytospora Associated With Canker and Dieback of Rosaceae in China, With 10 New Species Described. Frontiers in Plant Science 11, 690. DOI:10.3389/fpls.2020.00690.
Bonthond G, Bayer T, Krueger‐Hadfield SA, Barboza FR, Nakaoka M, Valero M, Wang G, Künzel S, Weinberger F. (2020). How Do Microbiota Associated with an Invasive Seaweed Vary across Scales? Molecular Ecology 29, 2094–2108. DOI:10.1111/mec.15470.
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Ryan WH, Adams L, Bonthond G, Mieszkowska N, Pack KE, Krueger-Hadfield SA. (2019). Environmental Regulation of Individual Body Size Contributes to Geographic Variation in Clonal Life Cycle Expression. Marine Biology 166, 157. DOI:10.1007/s00227-019-3608-z.
Pan M, Zhu H, Bezerra JDP, Bonthond G, Tian C, Fan X. (2019). Botryosphaerialean Fungi Causing Canker and Dieback of Tree Hosts from Mount Yudu in China. Mycological Progress 18, 1341–1361. DOI:10.1007/s11557-019-01532-z.
Zhu H, Pan M, Bonthond G, Tian C, Fan X. (2019). Diaporthalean Fungi Associated with Canker and Dieback of Trees from Mount Dongling in Beijing, China. MycoKeys 59, 67–94. DOI:10.3897/mycokeys.59.38055.
Ryan WH, Heiser S, Curtis MD, Amsler CD, Bayer T, Bonthond G, Wang G, Weinberger F, Krueger-Hadfield SA. (2019). The Use of Photographic Color Information for High-Throughput Phenotyping of Pigment Composition in Agarophyton Vermiculophyllum (Ohmi) Gurgel, J.N.Norris & Fredericq. Cryptogamie, Algologie 40, 73. DOI:10.5252/cryptogamie-algologie2019v40a7.
Marin-Felix Y, Hernández-Restrepo M, Iturrieta-González I, García D, Gené J, Groenewald JZ, Cai L, Chen Q, Quaedvlieg W, Schumacher RK, Taylor PWJ, Ambers C, Bonthond G, Edwards J, Krueger-Hadfield SA, Luangsa-ard JJ, Morton L, Moslemi A, Sandoval-Denis M, Tan YP, Thangavel R, Vaghefi N, Cheewangkoon R, Crous PW. (2019). Genera of Phytopathogenic Fungi: GOPHY 3. Studies in Mycology 94, 1–124. DOI:10.1016/j.simyco.2019.05.001.
Zhang L, Alvarez LV, Bonthond G, Tian C, Fan X. (2019). Cytospora Elaeagnicola Sp. Nov. Associated with Narrow-Leaved Oleaster Canker Disease in China. Mycobiology 47, 319–328. DOI:10.1080/12298093.2019.1633902.
Liu F, Bonthond G, Groenewald JZ, Cai L, Crous PW. (2019). Sporocadaceae, a Family of Coelomycetous Fungi with Appendage-Bearing Conidia. Studies in Mycology 92, 287–415. DOI:10.1016/j.simyco.2018.11.001.
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Jiang N, Bonthond G, Fan X-L, Tian C-M. (2018). Neopestalotiopsis Rosicola Sp. Nov. Causing Stem Canker of Rosa Chinensis in China. mycotaxon 133, 271–283. DOI:10.5248/133.271.
Bonthond G, Sandoval-Denis M, Groenewald JZ, Crous PW. (2018). Seiridium (Sporocadaceae): An Important Genus of Plant Pathogenic Fungi. Persoonia 40, 96–118. DOI:10.3767/persoonia.2018.40.04
Bonthond G, Merselis DG, Dougan KE, Graff T, Todd W, Fourqurean JW, Rodriguez-Lanetty M. (2018). Inter-Domain Microbial Diversity within the Coral Holobiont Siderastrea Siderea from Two Depth Habitats. PeerJ 6, e4323. DOI:10.7717/peerj.4323.