Microbial Ecophysiology

Photomontage of chemical devices and students working in the lab.

The Microbial Ecophysiology group at the University of Bremen is part of the Bremen Marine Ecology Centre for Research & Education (BreMarE) and is associated with MARUM, Center for Marine Environmental Sciences. Our main research interests are anaerobic microbial processes in marine sediments, and the functional biodiversity of microorganisms involved.

August, 2024. Dr. Karen Krüger started her postdoc position - welcome!

June, 2024. Microorganisms and Biogeochemical Cycles - How does water from glacier retreat impact marine life? Dr. Willis Poratti leads a biogeochemistry project that studies the cycles of elements such as sulfur, iron, and carbon. From this, she examines how glacier retreat, nutrient overload, marine sediments, and associated organisms are affected.

September, 2023. Dr. Graciana Willis Poratti arrived for a DAAD funded research stay - welcome back!

June, 2023. Dr. Yunru Chen started her postdoc position - welcome!

April/May, 2023. Microbial Ecophysiology group moved to the new research and teaching building BIOM

Wunder L, Breuer I, Willis-Poratti G, Adeyemi Aromokeye D, Henkel S, Richter-Heitmann T, Yin X, Friedrich MW (2024) Manganese reduction and associated microbial communities in Antarctic surface sediments.Frontiers Vol. 15

Zhu Q, Yin X, Taubner H, Wendt J, Friedrich MW, Elvert M, Hinrichs K-U, Middeburg J et al. (2024) Secondary production and priming reshape the organic matter composition in marine sediments.Science Advances Vol 10, Issue 20

Yin X, Zhou G, Cai M, Richter-Heitmann T, Zhu Q, Maeke M, Kulkarni A, Nimzyk R, Elvert M, Friedrich MW (2024) Physiological versatility of ANME-1 and Bathyarchaeotoa-8 archaea evidenced by inverse stable isotope labeling. Microbiome 12: 68

Gande D, Hassenrück C, Zure M, Richter-Heitmann T, Willerslev E, Friedrich MW (2024) Recovering short DNA fragments from minerals and marine sediments: A comparative study evaluating lysis and isolation approaches. Environmental DNA 6(2)

Wang G, Feng Z, Yin X (2024) Biogenic manganese oxides promote metal(loid) remediation by shaping microbial communities in biological aqua crust. Water Research 253: 121287

Yin X, Zhou G, Wang H, Han D, Maeke M, Richter-Heitmann T, Aromokeye D, Zhu Q, Nimzyk R, Elvert M, Friedrich MW (2023) Unexpected carbon utilization activity of sulfate-reducing microorganisms in temperate and permanently cold marine sediments. ISME J 18(1)

Clark MS, Hoffman, JI, Peck LS, Bargelloni L, Gande D..... Friedrich MW, ....et al. (2023) Multi-omics for studying and understanding polar life. Nat Commun 14, 7451

Yang Y, Rivera Pérez CA, Richter-Heitmann T, Nimzyk R, Friedrich MW et al. (2023) Effects of oxygen availability on mycobenthic communities of marine coastal sediments. Sci Rep 13, 15218

Han D, Richter-Heitmann T, Kim J-H, Friedrich MW, Yin X, Elvert M, Ryu J-S, Jang K and Nam S-I (2023) Influence of sedimentary deposition on the microbial assembly process in Arctic Holocene marine sediments. Front. Microbiol. 14:1231839.

Zhang, Fang, Yin X et al. (2023) Fermentation metabolism dominates in the gas-hydrate-rich sediments of the deep subseafloor. Research Square

Zhang, Fang, Yin X et al. (2023) The majority of microorganisms in gas hydrate-bearing subseafloor sediments ferment macromolecules. Microbiome 11, 37

Xiao X, Luo M, Zhang C, Zhang T, Yin X. et al. (2023) Metal-Driven Anaerobic Oxidation of Methane as an Important Methane Sink in Methanic Cold Seep Sediments. Microbiology Spectrum 11, 2 (2023)