MSc. Maria-Cecilia Chiriac, Ph.D.

Job Position: Research Scientist - Department of Aquatic Microbial Ecology (AME)

Contact details

Phone: +420 387 77 5836
E-mail: cecilia.chiriac@hbu.cas.cz
Web: https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Cecilia_Chiriac2
Room: B 028

Description

Current project:
One of the most important discoveries in microbiology in the last decade was Candidate Phyla Radiation (CPR) or Patescibacteriota, a recently described phylum of mostly episymbionts that include up to 26% of bacterial diversity. Although >10000 representative genomes are available, less than a dozen members were cultivated to date, belonging to just three out of 29 CPR classes. Because of their prevalence in the environment, cultivating Patescibacteriota is important, but notoriously difficult due to their complex nutrition needs and reliance on other microorganisms, and new strategies and techniques are needed to understand their ecophysiology. In our project, we propose to target both partners with metagenomics, metatranscriptomics and EpicPCR to assess the functional potential and host range of CPRs. Further, we aim to obtain episymbionts - hosts co-cultures by combining reverse metagenomics and high-throughput cultivation. These approaches represent the necessary steps that will advance the understanding of CPRs biology.
The project aims 1) to understand the functional potential of Patescibacteriota members in the environment; 2) to assess the host range of these epi- and endo-symbiotic bacteria; and 3) to obtain new enrichment cultures and co-cultures.

Curriculum vitae

Education:

2014-2018: Ph.D. in Biology, Babes-Bolyai University, Cluj-Napoca, Romania

2012-2014: M.Sc. in Molecular Biotechnology, Babes-Bolyai University, Cluj-Napoca, Romania

2009-2012: B.Sc. in Biochemistry, Babes-Bolyai University, Cluj-Napoca, Romania

Employment history:

• 2024-present: Research Scientist at Department of Aquatic Microbial Ecology, Institute of Hydrobiology, Biology Centre CAS

• September 2019 – 2024: Postdoctoral fellow at the Institute of Hydrobiology, Biology Centre CAS, Czech Republic.

• March – August 2019: Scientific Researcher, Institute of Biological Research (INCDSB), Cluj-Napoca, Romania.

• 2014-2019 Research Assistant, Institute of Biological Research (INCDSB), Cluj-Napoca, Romania.

Awards and grants:

• Otto Wichterle Award (2024) from the Czech Academy of Sciences.

• Czech Science Foundation (GAČR) – Junior Star (24-12912M) 2024-2028, High-throughput host detection and cultivation of freshwater CPRs (‘Ca. Patescibacteria’).

• Postdoctoral grant 2021-2023 – “Programul 1 – Dezvoltarea sistemului național de cercetare-dezvoltare”, Executive Agency for Higher Education, Research, Development and Innovation Funding, Ministry of National Education, Romania. Grant No. PD 177/2020.

• Postdoctoral grant 2019-2021 – “Program for the Support of Perspective Human Resources”, Czech Academy of Sciences, Grant No. PPPLZ ve13

• Mobility grant 2019 - BC Grant Programme “Incorporation of the Biology Centre of the CAS into the European Research Area”.

• Mobility grant 2019 “Proiecte de mobilitate pentru cercetători”, Executive Agency for Higher Education, Research, Development and Innovation Funding, Ministry of National Education, Romania. Grant No. PN-III-P1-1.1-MC-2019-0789

• PhD Scholarship 2015-2016 - “Quality, excellence, transnational mobility in doctoral research”, Grant No. POSDRU/187/1.5/S/155383.

Online scientific profiles:

• Scopus Author ID: 56589710800

• ORCID: 0000-0001-5130-5232

• ResearcherID: R-7093-2017.

• ResearchGate: https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Cecilia_Chiriac2

Publications

Total found: 19 records
Chiriac M., Layoun P., Fernandes C., Szöke-Nagy T., Kasalický V., Okazaki Y., Woodhouse J.N., Grossart H., Piwosz K., Znachor P., Sonntag B., Callieri C., Orlić S., Sommaruga R., Lepère C., Biderre-Petit C., Tammert H., Herlemann D.P.R., Ślusarczyk M., Bednarska A., Banciu H.L., Zalewski M., Woźniczka A., Ghai R., Salcher M., Haber M. (2026) Ecological success in freshwater lakes: insights from novel cultivated lineages of the abundant Nanopelagicales order. Microbiome 14 : 27. DOI: 10.1186/s40168-025-02272-x
Fernandes C., Haber M., Layoun P., Chiriac M., Bulzu P., Ghai R., Kasalický V., Shabarova T., Grossart H., Woodhouse J., Piwosz K., Alonso C., Zanetti J., Hamilton D.P., Ngochera M., Nakano S., Okazaki Y., Salcher M. (2025) Ecophysiology and global dispersal of the freshwater SAR11-IIIb genus Fontibacterium. Nature Microbiology 10 : 2194–2206. DOI: 10.1038/s41564-025-02091-8
Mukherjee I., Bulzu P., Boukheloua R., Asghar U., Park H., Henriques Vieira H., Chiriac M., Kasalický V., Znachor P., Rychtecký P., Salcher M., Šimek K., Haber M., Ghai R. (2025) Cultivation, genomics, and giant viruses of a ubiquitous and heterotrophic freshwater cryptomonad. The ISME Journal 19 : wraf271. DOI: 10.1093/ismejo/wraf271
Salcher M., Layoun P., Fernandes C., Chiriac M., Bulzu P., Ghai R., Shabarova T., Lanta V., Callieri C., Sonntag B., Posch T., Lepori F. , Znachor P., Haber M. (2025) Bringing the uncultivated microbial majority of freshwater ecosystems into culture. Nature Communications 16 : 7971. DOI: 10.1038/s41467-025-63266-9
Boukheloua R., Mukherjee I., Park H., Šimek K., Kasalický V., Ngochera M., Grossart H., Picazo-Mozo A., Camacho A. , Cabello-Yeves P.J., Rodriguez-Valera F. , Callieri C., Andrei A.S., Pernthaler J., Posch T., Alfreider A., Sommaruga R., Hahn M., Sonntag B., López-García P., Moreira D., Jardillier L., Lepère C., Biderre-Petit C., Bednarska A., Ślusarczyk M., Tóth V.R., Banciu H.L., Kormas K., Orlić S., Śantić D., Muyzer G., Herlemann D.P.R., Tammert H., Bertilsson S., Langenheder S., Zechmeister T. , Salmaso N., Storelli N., Capelli C., Lepori F. , Lanta V., Henriques Vieira H., Kostanjšek F., Kabeláčová K., Chiriac M., Haber M., Shabarova T., Rychtecký P., Fernandes C., Znachor P., Szöke-Nagy T., Layoun P., Wong H., Kavagutti V., Bulzu P., Salcher M., Piwosz K., Ghai R. (2024) Global freshwater distribution of Telonemia protists. The ISME Journal 18 : wrae177. DOI: 10.1093/ismejo/wrae177
Tiodar E.D., Chiriac M., Pošćić F., Văcar C.L., Balázs Z.R., Coman C., Weindorf D.C., Banciu M., Krämer U., Podar D. (2024) Plant colonizers of a mercury contaminated site: trace metals and associated rhizosphere bacteria. Plant and Soil 502 : 373–396. DOI: 10.1007/s11104-024-06552-7
Wong H., Bulzu P., Ghai R., Chiriac M., Salcher M. (2024) Ubiquitous genome streamlined Acidobacteriota in freshwater environments. ISME Communications 4 : ycae124. DOI: 10.1093/ismeco/ycae124
Briddon C.L., Miclăuş M., Hegedüs A., Chiriac M., Nicoară M., Drugă B. (2023) Long-term exposure to elevated temperature leads to altered gene expression in a common bloom-forming cyanobacterium. Limnology and Oceanography 68 : 2654–2667. DOI: 10.1002/lno.12448
Chiriac M., Haber M., Salcher M. (2023) Adaptive genetic traits in pelagic freshwater microbes. Environmental Microbiology 25 : 606–641. DOI: 10.1111/1462-2920.16313
Kavagutti V., Bulzu P., Chiriac M., Salcher M., Mukherjee I., Shabarova T., Grujčić V., Mehrshad M., Kasalický V., Andrei A.S., Jezberová J., Seďa J., Rychtecký P., Znachor P., Šimek K., Ghai R. (2023) High‑resolution metagenomic reconstruction of the freshwater spring bloom. Microbiome 11 : 15. DOI: 10.1186/s40168-022-01451-4
Kavagutti V., Chiriac M., Ghai R., Salcher M., Haber M. (2023) Isolation of phages infecting the abundant freshwater Actinobacteriota order ‘Ca. Nanopelagicales’. The ISME Journal 17 : 943–946. DOI: 10.1038/s41396-023-01400-5
Ngugi D.K., Salcher M., Andrei A.S., Ghai R., Klotz F., Chiriac M., Ionescu D., Büsing P., Grossart H., Xing P., Priscu J.C., Alymkulov S., Pester M. (2023) Postglacial adaptations enabled colonization and quasi-clonal dispersal of ammonia-oxidizing archaea in modern European large lakes. Sciences Advances 9 : eadc9392. DOI: 10.1126/sciadv.adc9392
Brad T., Bizic M., Ionescu D., Chiriac M., Kenesz M., Roba C., Ionescu A., Fekete A., Mirea I.C., Moldovan O.T. (2022) Potential for natural attenuation of domestic and agricultural pollution in karst groundwater environments. Water 14 : 1597. DOI: 10.3390/w14101597
Briddon C.L., Szekeres E. , Hegedüs A., Nicoară M., Chiriac M., Stockenreiter M., Drugă B. (2022) The combined impact of low temperatures and shifting phosphorus availability on the competitive ability of cyanobacteria. Scientific Reports 12 : 16409. DOI: 10.1038/s41598-022-20580-2
Chiriac M., Bulzu P., Andrei A.S., Okazaki Y., Nakano S., Haber M., Kavagutti V., Layoun P., Ghai R., Salcher M. (2022) Ecogenomics sheds light on diverse lifestyle strategies in freshwater CPR. Microbiome 10 : 84. DOI: 10.1186/s40168-022-01274-3
Vadaq N., Schirmer M., Tunjungputri R.N., Vlamakis H., Chiriac M., Ardiansyah E., Gasem M.H., Joosten L.A.B., de Groot P.G., Xavier R.J., Netea M.G., van der Ven A., de Mast Q. (2022) Untargeted plasma metabolomics and gut microbiome profiling provide novel insights into the regulation of platelet reactivity in healthy individuals. Thrombosis and Haemostasis 122 : 529-539. DOI: 10.1055/a-1541-3706
Bulzu P., Kavagutti V., Chiriac M., Vavourakis C.D. , Inoue K. , Kandori H. , Andrei A.S., Ghai R. (2021) Heliorhodopsin evolution is driven by photosensory promiscuity in monoderms. mSphere 6 : e00661-21. DOI: 10.1128/mSphere.00661-21
Drugă B., Ramm E., Szekeres E. , Chiriac M., Hegedüs A., Stockenreiter M. (2021) Long-term acclimation might enhance the growth and competitive ability of Microcystis aeruginosa in warm environments. Freshwater Biology 67 : 589–602. DOI: 10.1111/fwb.13865
Kust A., Řeháková K., Vrba J., Maicher V., Mareš J., Hrouzek P., Chiriac M., Benedová Z., Tesařová M., Saurav K. (2020) Insight into unprecedented diversity of cyanopeptides in eutrophic ponds using an MS/MS networking approach Toxins 12 : 561. DOI: doi:10.3390/toxins12090561

MSc. Maria-Cecilia Chiriac, Ph.D.

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