Rehab Elshehawy

Associate professor
Room: V513
Phone:
Mobile: 0704165685
Rehab.Elshehawy@aces.su.se

About me

I am a microbiologist/molecular biologist by studies and work experience.

MSc in Microbiology, Ph.D. in Microbiology, Docent in Environmental Science.

Research interests

  • Cyanobacteria-zooplankton predators and their microbiomes; host-microbiome and microbe-microbe interactions in ecologically relevant scenarios.
  • CyanoHABs; bloom formation and toxin production under current and future climate change.
  • Bacterial biodegradation of cyanotoxins; functional diversity, pathways, and genetics.

Examples of Current projects

  • Cyanobacteria the missing link in the spread of Vibriosis- VR funded project.
  • Ecological significance of hepatotoxin biodegradation: towards understanding adaptations to harmful blooms- VR-funded project.
  • Towards microbiome research standards in ecotoxicology- FORMAS funded project.
  • Marine snow as a vector in microplastic transport and degradation- FORMAS funded project

Selected Publications

  1. R. El-Shehawy, S. Luecke-Johansson, A. Ribbenstedt, E. Gorokhova (2021). Microbiota-dependent and -independent production of L-Dopa in the gut of Daphnia magna. mSystems, 6: e00892-21.
  2. Gorokhova E, El-Shehawy R, Lehtiniemi M, Garbaras A (2021). How Copepods Can Eat Toxins Without Getting Sick: Gut Bacteria Help Zooplankton to Feed in Cyanobacteria Blooms. Frontiers in Microbiology. DOI: 10.3389/fmicb.2020.589816.
  3. Gorokhova E, Motiei A, El-Shehawy R (2021). Understanding Biofilm Formation In Ecotoxicological Assays With Natural And Anthropogenic Particulates. Frontiers in Microbiology. DOI: 10.3389/fmicb.2021.632947.
  4. Motiei A, Brindefalk B, Ogonowski M, El-Shehawy R, Pastuszek P, Ek K, Liewenborg B, Udekwu K, Gorokhova E (2020) Disparate effects of antibiotic-induced microbiome change and enhanced fitness in Daphnia magna. PLoS ONE 15(1). DOI: e0214833.
  5. Lezcano M-A, Velazquez D, Quesada A, El-Shehawy R (2017) Diversity and temporal shifts of the bacterial community associated with a toxic cyanobacterial bloom: An interplay between microcystin producers and degraders. Water Research 125: 52-61.
  6. Morón-López J, Nieto-Reyes L, El-Shehawy R (2017) Assessment of the influence of key abiotic factors on the alternative microcystin degradation pathway(s) (mlr−): A detailed comparison with the mlr route (mlr+). Science of the Total Environment 599-600: 1945-1953.
  7. Lezcano M-A, Quesada A, El-Shehawy R (2017) Seasonal dynamics of microcystin degrading bacteria and toxic cyanobacterial blooms: interaction and influence of abiotic factors. Harmful Algae 71: 19-28.
  8. El-Shehawy R, Quesada A (2017) Quantification of Potentially Cylindrospermopsin-Producing Chrysosporum ovalisporum. SOP 7. pp: 229-231. In: Molecular tools for the detection of toxigenic cyanobacteria. Kurmayer R, Sivonen K, Wilmotte A, Salmaso N (Eds). Wiley. ISBN: 978-1-119-33210-7.
  9. Lezcano M-A, Morón-López J, Agha R, López-Heras I, Nozal L, Quesada A, El-Shehawy R (2016) Presence or absence of mlr genes and nutrient concentrations co-determine the microcystin biodegradation efficiency of a natural bacterial community. Toxins 8: 318-335. DOI: 10.3390/toxins8110318.
  10. Hogfors H, Motwani N, Hajdu S, El-Shehawy R, Holmborn T, Vehmaa A, Engström-Öst J, Brutemark A, Gorokhova E (2014) Bloom-forming cyanobacteria support copepod reproduction and development in the Baltic Sea.  PLoS ONE  (9). DOI: 1371/journal.pone.0112692.
  11. Voß B, Bolhuis H, Fewer DP, Kopf M, Möke F, Haas F, El-Shehawy R, Hayes P, Bergman B, Sivonen K, Dittmann E, Scanlan D, Hagemann M, Stal L, Hess WR (2013) Insights into the Physiology and Ecology of the Brackish-Water-Adapted Cyanobacterium Nodularia spumigena CCY9414 based on a Genome-Transcriptome Analysis. PLoS ONE (8). DOI: 1371/journal.pone.0060224: e60224.
  12. Campo E, Lezcano M-A, Agha R, Cirés S, Quesada A, El-Shehawy R (2013) First TaqMan Assay to Identify and Quantify the Cylindrospermopsin-Producing Cyanobacterium Aphanizomenon ovalisporum in Water. Advances in Microbiology 3: 430-437.
  13. El-Shehawy R, Gorokhova E (2013) The Baltic Sea bloom- forming Nodularia spumigena: a peculiar nitrogen-fixer. In: Cyanobacteria: Toxicity, Ecology and Management. Filho A (Ed). Nova publisher. ISBN: 978-1-62618-115-1.
  14. El-Shehawy R, Gorokhova E, Piñas F, Del Campo F (2012) Global warming and hepatotoxic cyanobacteria: what can we learn from experiments? Water Research 46: 1420-1429.
  15. Vintila S, Selao T, Norén A, Bergman B, El-Shehawy R (2011) Characterization of nifH gene expression, modification and rearrangement in Nodularia spumigena strain AV1. FEMS Microbiology Ecology 77: 449–459.
  16. Engström-Öst J, Hogfors H, El-Shehawy R, De Stasio B, Vehmaa A, Gorokhova E (2011) Toxin-producing cyanobacterium Nodularia spumigena, potential competitors and grazers: testing mechanisms of reciprocal interactions. Aquatic Microbial Ecology 62: 39-48.
  17. Vintila S, Wadensten H, Nilsson A, Andrén PE, El-Shehawy R (2010) Proteomic profiling of the Baltic Sea cyanobacterium Nodularia spumigena strain AV1 during ammonium supplementation. Journal of Proteomics 73: 1670-1679.
  18. Vintila S, El-Shehawy R (2010) Variability in the response of the cyanobacterium Nodularia spumigena to nitrogen supplementation. Journal of Environmental Monitoring 12: 1885-1890.
  19. Sandh G, El-Shehawy R, Díez B, Bergman B (2009) Temporal separation of cell division and diazotrophy in the marine diazotrophic cyanobacterium Trichodesmium erythraeum FEMS Microbiology Letters 295: 281-288.
  20. Jonasson S, Vintila S, Sivonen K, El-Shehawy R (2008) Expression analysis of the nodularin synthetase genes in the Baltic Sea bloom-former cyanobacterium Nodularia spumigena strain AV1in response to nitrogen and phosphate stress. FEMS Microbiology Ecology 65: 31-39.
  21. Díez B, Bergman B, El-Shehawy R (2008) Marine cyanobacteria: out of the blue. Plant Biotechnology 25: 221-225.
  22. Vintila S, El-Shehawy R (2007) Ammonium ions inhibit nitrogen fixation but do not affect heterocyst frequency in the bloom-forming cyanobacterium Nodularia spumigena strain AV1. Microbiology 153: 3704-3712.
  23. El-Shehawy R, Lugomela C, Ernst A, Bergman B (2003) Diurnal expression of hetR and diazocyte development in the filamentous non- heterocystous cyanobacterium Trichodesmium. Microbiology 149: 1139-1146.
  24. El-Shehawy R, Bergman B (2003) Inhibition of cell division blocks the synthesis of the second nitrogenase (nif2) in the cyanobacterium Anabaena variabilis. FEMS Microbiology Letters 14: 23-25.
  25. El-Shehawy R, Kleiner K (2003) The mystique of irreversibility in cyanobacterial heterocyst formation: Parallels to differentiation and senescence in Eukaryotic cells. Physiologia Plantarum 119: 49-55.
  26. El-Shehawy R, Kleiner K (2003) Effect of controlled expression of hetR gene on heterocyst formation in the filamentous cyanobacterium Anabaena PCC 7120. Physiologia Plantarum 119: 44-49.

Exposure & Effects

Exposure and effects of chemical contaminants on living organisms.