• Hunting for microbes since 2003

  • We seek to understand

    the role of microorganisms in Earth's nutrient cycles

    and as symbionts of other organisms

  • Cycling of carbon, nitrogen and sulfur

    affect the health of our planet

  • The human microbiome -

    Our own social network of microbial friends

  • Ancient invaders -

    Bacterial symbionts of amoebae

    and the evolution of the intracellular lifestyle

  • Marine symbioses:

    Listening in on conversations

    between animals and the microbes they can't live without

  • Single cell techniques offer new insights

    into the ecology of microbes

  • Doctoral School in Microbiology and Environmental Sciences

  • PhD program in Microbial Symbioses

    A special FWF funded track in our doctoral school

Dome News

Latest publications

Ecophysiology and interactions of a taurine-respiring bacterium in the mouse gut.

Taurine-respiring gut bacteria produce HS with ambivalent impact on host health. We report the isolation and ecophysiological characterization of a taurine-respiring mouse gut bacterium. Taurinivorans muris strain LT0009 represents a new widespread species that differs from the human gut sulfidogen Bilophila wadsworthia in its sulfur metabolism pathways and host distribution. T. muris specializes in taurine respiration in vivo, seemingly unaffected by mouse diet and genotype, but is dependent on other bacteria for release of taurine from bile acids. Colonization of T. muris in gnotobiotic mice increased deconjugation of taurine-conjugated bile acids and transcriptional activity of a sulfur metabolism gene-encoding prophage in other commensals, and slightly decreased the abundance of Salmonella enterica, which showed reduced expression of galactonate catabolism genes. Re-analysis of metagenome data from a previous study further suggested that T. muris can contribute to protection against pathogens by the commensal mouse gut microbiota. Together, we show the realized physiological niche of a key murine gut sulfidogen and its interactions with selected gut microbiota members.

Ye H, Borusak S, Eberl C, Krasenbrink J, Weiss AS, Chen SC, Hanson BT, Hausmann B, Herbold CW, Pristner M, Zwirzitz B, Warth B, Pjevac P, Schleheck D, Stecher B, Loy A
2023 - Nat Commun, 1: 5533

Jellyfish detritus supports niche partitioning and metabolic interactions among pelagic marine bacteria

Background

Jellyfish blooms represent a significant but largely overlooked source of labile organic matter (jelly-OM) in the ocean, characterized by a high protein content. Decaying jellyfish are important carriers for carbon export to the ocean’s interior. To accurately incorporate them into biogeochemical models, the interactions between microbes and jelly-OM have yet to be fully characterized. We conducted jelly-OM enrichment experiments in microcosms to simulate the scenario experienced by the coastal pelagic microbiome after the decay of a jellyfish bloom. We combined metagenomics, endo- and exo-metaproteomic approaches to obtain a mechanistic understanding on the metabolic network operated by the jelly-OM degrading bacterial consortium.

Results

Our analysis revealed that OM released during the decay of jellyfish blooms triggers a rapid shuffling of the taxonomic and functional profile of the pelagic bacterial community, resulting in a significant enrichment of protein/amino acid catabolism-related enzymes in the jelly-OM degrading community dominated by PseudoalteromonadaceaeAlteromonadaceae and Vibrionaceae, compared to unamended control treatments. In accordance with the proteinaceous character of jelly-OM, Pseudoalteromonadaceae synthesized and excreted enzymes associated with proteolysis, while Alteromonadaceae contributed to extracellular hydrolysis of complex carbohydrates and organophosphorus compounds. In contrast, Vibrionaceae synthesized transporter proteins for peptides, amino acids and carbohydrates, exhibiting a cheater-type lifestyle, i.e. benefiting from public goods released by others. In the late stage of jelly-OM degradation, Rhodobacteraceae and Alteromonadaceae became dominant, growing on jelly-OM left-overs or bacterial debris, potentially contributing to the accumulation of dissolved organic nitrogen compounds and inorganic nutrients, following the decay of jellyfish blooms.

Conclusions

Our findings indicate that specific chemical and metabolic fingerprints associated with decaying jellyfish blooms are substantially different to those previously associated with decaying phytoplankton blooms, potentially altering the functioning and biogeochemistry of marine systems. We show that decaying jellyfish blooms are associated with the enrichment in extracellular collagenolytic bacterial proteases, which could act as virulence factors in human and marine organisms’ disease, with possible implications for marine ecosystem services. Our study also provides novel insights into niche partitioning and metabolic interactions among key jelly-OM degraders operating a complex metabolic network in a temporal cascade of biochemical reactions to degrade pulses of jellyfish-bloom-specific compounds in the water column.

Tinta T, Zhao Z, Bayer B, Herndl GJ
2023 - Microbiome, in press

Seasonal patterns in microbial carbon and iron transporter expression in the Southern Ocean

Background

Heterotrophic microbes in the Southern Ocean are challenged by the double constraint of low concentrations of organic carbon (C) and iron (Fe). These essential elements are tightly coupled in cellular processes; however, the prokaryotic requirements of C and Fe under varying environmental settings remain poorly studied. Here, we used a combination of metatranscriptomics and metaproteomics to identify prokaryotic membrane transporters for organic substrates and Fe in naturally iron-fertilized and high-nutrient, low-chlorophyll waters of the Southern Ocean during spring and late summer.

Results

Pronounced differences in membrane transporter profiles between seasons were observed at both sites, both at the transcript and protein level. When specific compound classes were considered, the two approaches revealed different patterns. At the transcript level, seasonal patterns were only observed for subsets of genes belonging to each transporter category. At the protein level, membrane transporters of organic compounds were relatively more abundant in spring as compared to summer, while the opposite pattern was observed for Fe transporters. These observations suggest an enhanced requirement for organic C in early spring and for Fe in late summer. Mapping transcripts and proteins to 50 metagenomic-assembled genomes revealed distinct taxon-specific seasonal differences pointing to potentially opportunistic clades, such as Pseudomonadales and Nitrincolaceae, and groups with a more restricted repertoire of expressed transporters, such as Alphaproteobacteria and Flavobacteriaceae.

Conclusion

The combined investigations of C and Fe membrane transporters suggest seasonal changes in the microbial requirements of these elements under different productivity regimes. The taxon-specific acquisition strategies of different forms of C and Fe illustrate how diverse microbes could shape transcript and protein expression profiles at the community level at different seasons. Our results on the C- and Fe-related metabolic capabilities of microbial taxa provide new insights into their potential role in the cycling of C and Fe under varying nutrient regimes in the Southern Ocean.

Debeljak P, Bayer B, Sun Y, Herndl GJ, Obernosterer I
2023 - Microbiome, in press

Lecture series

DOME Lecture: "Gut microbiome profiling predicts antibiotic resistance of urinary tract infections"

Marta Lukačišinová
EMBO Postdoctoral Research Fellow, Kishony Lab, Technion - Israel Institute of Technology
01.06.2023
12:00 h
hybrid, UBB HS 2

DOME Lecture: "Selection on the accessory genome can predict bacterial evolution"

Bill Hanage
Associate Professor, Harvard TH Chan School of Public Health, USA
21.04.2023
12:00 h
hybrid, UBB HS 2

DOME Lecture: "Recycling versus loss: the pivotal role of nitrite in the marine nitrogen cycle"

Laura Bristow
Assistant Professor for Marine Sciences, University of Gothenburg, Sweden
17.11.2022
12:00 h
hybrid, UBB HS 1