2014 - PhD in evolutionary biology, University of Münster, Germany

2009 - MSc, University of Zagreb, Croat

Marie Sklodowska-Curie Action postdoctoral fellow

How do animal groups cope with increased susceptibility to infectious diseases?
Living in groups brings many benefits, but it also increases disease risk due to close interactions among individuals. Eusocial insects, such as ants, bees, and termites, have evolved sophisticated collective defense strategies against pathogens, known as social immunity, which involve coordinated responses at the colony level.

However, most of our understanding of these collective defenses comes from studies on eusocial species, while relatively little is known about disease management in other group-living animals—which actually represent the majority of social species. My research addresses this critical knowledge gap by using flour beetles (Tribolium) as a model. Specifically, I investigate how these non-eusocial animals detect pathogens and prevent epidemics within their groups, thereby providing insights relevant to a broader range of animal societies.

Stock M*, Milutinović B*, Hoenigsberger M, Grasse AV, Wiesenhofer F, Kampleitner N, Narasimhan M, Schmitt M, Cremer S (2023). Pathogen evasion of social immunity, Nat Ecol Evol 7, 450–460.

Milutinović B, Stock M, Grasse AV, Naderlinger E, Hilbe C, Cremer S (2020). Social immunity modulates competition between coinfecting pathogens, Ecol Lett, doi: 10.1111/ele.13458., research featured as issue cover image.

Izvorni znanstveni rad

• Lo, Lai Ka ; R, Reshma ; Tewes, Lisa Johanna ; Milutinović, Barbara ; Müller, Caroline ; Kurtz, Joachim | Immune Stimulation via Wounding Alters Chemical Profiles of Adult Tribolium castaneum // Journal of chemical ecology, 49 (2022), 1-2; 46-58. doi: 10.1007/s10886-022-01395-x

  doilink.springer.com

• Stock, Miriam ; Milutinović, Barbara ; Hoenigsberger, Michaela ; Grasse, Anna V. ; Wiesenhofer, Florian ; Kampleitner, Niklas ; Narasimhan, Madhumitha ; Schmitt, Thomas ; Cremer, Sylvia | Pathogen evasion of social immunity // Nature ecology & evolution, 7 (2023), 3; 450-460. doi: 10.1038/s41559-023-01981-6

  doiwww.nature.comfulir.irb.hr

• Milutinović, Barbara ; Stock, Miriam ; Grasse, Anna V. ; Naderlinger, Elisabeth ; Hilbe, Christian ; Cremer, Sylvia | Social immunity modulates competition between coinfecting pathogens // Ecology letters, 23 (2020), 3; 565-574. doi: 10.1111/ele.13458

  doionlinelibrary.wiley.com

• Peuß, Robert ; Wensing, Kristina U. ; Woestmann, Luisa ; Eggert, Hendrik ; Milutinović, Barbara ; Sroka, Marlene G. U. ; Scharsack, Jörn P. ; Kurtz, Joachim ; Armitage, Sophie A. O. | Down syndrome cell adhesion molecule 1 : testing for a role in insect immunity, behaviour and reproduction // Royal Society open science, 3 (2016), 4; 1-12. doi: 10.1098/rsos.160138

  doiroyalsocietypublishing.org

• Milutinović, Barbara ; Fritzlar, Svenja ; Kurtz, Joachim | Increased Survival in the Red Flour Beetle after Oral Priming with Bacteria-Conditioned Media // Journal of innate immunity, 6 (2013), 3; 306-314. doi: 10.1159/000355211

  doiwww.karger.com

• Behrens, Sarah ; Peuß, Robert ; Milutinović, Barbara ; Eggert, Hendrik ; Esser, Daniela ; Rosenstiel, Philip ; Schulenburg, Hinrich ; Bornberg-Bauer, Erich ; Kurtz, Joachim | Infection routes matter in population-specific responses of the red flour beetle to the entomopathogen Bacillus thuringiensis // Bmc genomics, 15 (2014), 1; 1-17. doi: 10.1186/1471-2164-15-445

  doibmcgenomics.biomedcentral.com

• Milutinović, Barbara ; Stolpe, Clemens ; Peuβ, Robert ; Armitage, Sophie A. O. ; Kurtz, Joachim | The Red Flour Beetle as a Model for Bacterial Oral Infections // PLoS One, 8 (2013), 5; e64638, 11. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0064638

  doijournals.plos.org

• Milutinović, Barbara ; Höfling, Christina ; Futo, Momir ; Scharsack, Jörn P. ; Kurtz, Joachim | Infection of Tribolium castaneum with Bacillus thuringiensis: Quantification of bacterial replication within cadavers, transmission via cannibalism, and inhibition of spore germination // Applied and environmental microbiology, 81 (2015), 23; 8135-8144. doi: 10.1128/aem.02051-15

  doijournals.asm.orgaem.asm.org

Pregledni rad (znanstveni)

• Milutinović, Barbara ; Schmitt, Thomas | Chemical cues in disease recognition and their immunomodulatory role in insects // Current opinion in insect science, 50 (2022), 100884, 10. doi: 10.1016/j.cois.2022.100884

  doiwww.sciencedirect.comfulir.irb.hr

• Milutinović, Barbara ; Peuß, Robert ; Ferro, Kevin ; Kurtz, Joachim | Immune priming in arthropods: an update focusing on the red flour beetle // Zoology-analysis of complex systems, 119 (2016), 4; 254-261. doi: 10.1016/j.zool.2016.03.006

  doiwww.sciencedirect.com

• Milutinović, Barbara ; Kurtz, Joachim | Immune memory in invertebrates // Seminars in immunology, 28 (2016), 4; 328-342. doi: 10.1016/j.smim.2016.05.004

  doiwww.sciencedirect.com

Ostalo

• Greenwood, Jenny M. ; Milutinović, Barbara ; Peuß, Robert ; Behrens, Sarah ; Esser, Daniela ; Rosenstiel, Philip ; Schulenburg, Hinrich ; Kurtz, Joachim | Oral immune priming with Bacillus thuringiensis induces a shift in the gene expression of Tribolium castaneum larvae // Bmc genomics, 18 (2017), 1; 1-14. doi: 10.1186/s12864-017-3705-7

  doilink.springer.com

Uvodnik

• Armitage, Sophie A.O. ; Milutinović, Barbara | Editorial overview: Evolutionary ecology of insect immunity // Current opinion in insect science, 53 (2022), 100948, 7. doi: 10.1016/j.cois.2022.100948

  doiwww.sciencedirect.comfulir.irb.hr

Sažetak izlaganja sa skupa

• Pezer, Željka ; Dumbović, Gabrijela ; Milutinović, Barbara ; Ugarković, Đurđica | Transcription of pericentromeric heterochromatin in beetles – satellite DNAs as active regulatory elements // The EMBO Meeting 2009 - Abstracts. | Amsterdam: European Molecular Biology Organization (EMBO), 2009. str. 53-54

  2009.the-embo-meeting.org

Diplomski rad (sveučilišni)

• Milutinović, Barbara | Imunofluorescencija na kromosomima brašnara Tenebrio molitor L. / Ugarković, Đurđica (mentor). | Zagreb, Prirodoslovno-matematički fakultet, Zagreb, 2009