Welcome to Archaea Biology and Ecogenomics

Department of Functional and Evolutionary Ecology

We belong to the Faculty of Life Sciences of the University of Vienna. On 1 January 2022 Archaea Biology, Molecular Systems Biology, Limnology and Bio-Oceanography and Marine Biology merged to the Department of Functional and Evolutionary Ecology.

Archaea arose together with Bacteria as the first organisms on this planet about 3.5 billion years ago. They form a separate domain of life beside bacteria and eukaryotes and inhabit virtually all environments on earth, including the most extreme environments that can sustain life.
Our unit studies the biology of archaea as well as bacterial symbioses with a focus on ecological, physiological and evolutionary aspects to shed light on the diversity and fundamental distinctions between these two prokaryotic groups.

In particular we are interested in:

- the ecological distribution of archaea from terrestrial, aquatic and hot environments

- the phylogeny of archaea

- the metabolism and genomes of ammonia oxidizing thaumarchaeota

- virus-defense (CRISPR-) systems of hyperthermophilic archaea

- archaea Biotechnology

- bacterium-nematode symbioses

We thus attempt to improve the understanding of the role of microorganisms, in particular of archaea, in global biogeochemical cycles and in early evolution.

16.02.2023
 

"Analysis of biomass productivity and physiology of Nitrososphaera viennensis grown in continuous culture"

01.02.2023
 

"Higher biotic than abiotic natural variability of the plankton ecosystem revealed by a time series along a subantarctic transect"

 

31.01.2023
 

"Unexpected complexity of the ammonia monooxygenase in archaea"

20.01.2023
 

“Cultivation and Characterization of Novel Lokiarchaeia”

01.01.2023
 

"Modular structure of complex II: An evolutionary perspective"

 

21.12.2022
 

"Actin cytoskeleton and complex cell architecture in an Asgard archaeon"

 

Guest Lectures

15.11.2023
 

"Climate change, butterflies and agriculture: how do we tackle a polycrisis?"

08.11.2023
 

"Win-win for climate change mitigation, biodiversity and the bioeconomy in the EU. Is is possible? An analysis of policies and research findings"

07.11.2023
 

"Membrane remodeling proteins at the junction between prokaryotes and eukaryotes"