Invasive non-native species (INNS) are a major threat to biodiversity, human well-being and global economy. Because only a small fraction of introduced species worldwide become invasive and cause significant environmental harm, forecasting successful invaders remains a major global challenge. There is a growing evidence that microbiome has an important role in invasion success of a species, as microbes (particularly pathogenic) influence host fitness. This is especially evident in the case of viruses, which are among the most numerous pathogens in the environment, but also highly understudied. Currently there is inssuficent knowledge of the diversity, dynamics and effects of viruses on the invasion success of their hosts. Therefore, the aim of the interdisciplinary ViroCray project is to characterize composition and diversity of viromes and explore the relationship between the virome dynamics and invasion process using crayfish invaders as model organisms.
This is a postdoctoral project financed by Slovenian Research Agency (ARRS).
Project ID: N1-0441
Duration: 1.3.2026 – 28.2.2029
