Dr. Sthandiwe Nomthandazo Kanyile
Appointments
Postdoctoral Research Associate | 2024 - Present
Max Planck Institute for Biology
Tübingen, Germany
Education
Dr. rer. nat. Max Planck Institute for Chemical Ecology, summa cum laude | 2024
Jena, Germany
M.Sc. University of the Witwatersrand, with distinction | 2018
Johannesburg, South Africa
B.Sc. Hons. University of the Free State, with distinction | 2016
Qwaqwa, Free State
B.Sc. University of the Free State | 2015
Qwaqwa, Free State
Fellowships & grants
M.Sc. Innovation Scholarship | 2017
National Research Foundation (NRF-South Africa)
B.Sc. Hons Scholarship | 2015
National Research Foundation (NRF-South Africa)
Research interests
I am interested insect-microbe symbioses and how these influence the ecology and evolution of insects. I currently study these interactions by experimentally manipulating beetle-bacteria mutualisms and using behavioural, molecular, and chemical approaches to elucidate their eco-evolutionary consequences in tortoise leaf beetles.
Publications
Kanyile, S.N., Engl, T. and Kaltenpoth, M. (2022). Nutritional symbionts enhance structural defence against predation and fungal infection in a grain pest beetle. Journal of Experimental Biology, doi.org/10.1242/jeb.243593
Kanyile, S.N., Engl, T., Heddi, A. and Kaltenpoth, M. Endosymbiosis allows Sitophilus oryzae to persist in dry conditions (2023). Frontiers in Microbiology, doi.org/10.3389/fmicb.2023.1199370
Kanyile, S.N., Pillay, N. and Schradin, C. Bachelor groups form due to individual choices or environmental disrupters in African striped mice. (2021). Animal Behaviour, doi.org/10.1016/j.anbehav.2021.10.005
Engl, T., Schmidt, T.H., Kanyile, S.N. and Klebsch, D. Metabolic cost of a nutritional symbiont manifests in delayed reproduction in a grain pest beetle. (2020). Insects, doi.org/10.3390/insects11100717
Nyoka, N.W.K., Kanyile, S.N., Bredenhand, E., Prinsloo, G.J. and Voua Otomo, P. Biochar alleviates the toxicity of imidacloprid and silver nanoparticles (AgNPs) to Enchytraeus albidus (Oligochaeta). (2018) Environmental Science and Pollution Research, doi.org/10.1007/s11356-018-1383-x
Selected presentations
Kanyile, SN; Engl TE; Kaltenpoth M. Inhibition of the shikimate pathway by glyphosate disrupts the stability of symbiosis and impairs host fitness across diverse grain pest beetles. Gordon Research Conference (GRC- Animal-Microbe Symbioses). June 18-23, 2023. Lucca, Italy. Prize for Best Poster.
Kanyile, SN; Engl TE; Kaltenpoth M. Cuticle-enhancing symbionts for a durable and waterproof armour: how nutritional symbionts enhance protection against natural enemies and desiccation in grain pest beetles. 10th Congress of the International Society of Symbiosis & 3rd International Conference on Holobionts, July 24-28, 2022, Lyon, France. Prize for Best Talk.
Kanyile, SN; Engl TE; Kaltenpoth M. Cuticle-enhancing symbionts for a durable and waterproof armour: how nutritional symbionts enhance protection against natural enemies and desiccation in grain pest beetles. (Invited Speaker: Young African Researchers at the Frontiers of Social Evolution). Virtual.
Contact
Max-Planck-Ring 5, Tübingen
72076, Germany
Email: sthandiwe.kanyile@tuebingen.mpg.de