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.

01.03.2019
 

"Chromosome segregation in non-model bacteria – daring a leap into the cellular anatomy of animal symbionts"

28.02.2019
 

Christa Schleper and Ulrich Technau talk about the great challenge of balancing family, research and the occasional time off.

27.02.2019
 

Exciting workshop coming up! We invite you to the DK+ event, co-organized with the Austrian Academy of Sciences.

25.02.2019
 

"Evolutionary and physiological aspects of potentially carboxydotrophic Archaea"

01.02.2019
 

"Evolution of Physiology: The link between Earth and Life"

26.01.2019
 

There are many challenges and advantages related to the use of gases in biotechnological processes...

Guest Lectures

01.09.2017
 

We are happy to welcome Christina Biasi, PhD as a visiting professor in our Department.

10.07.2017
 

"Autocatalytic sets"

 

Mo, 10 July 2017, 2 p.m., 1.116

30.06.2017
 

"Methane Cycling"

 

30 June 2017, 11:30 a.m., Lecture Hall II, UZA I