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.

05.04.2018
 

Christa Schleper answers the University of Vienna's question of the summer term 2018.

05.04.2018
 

Interview with Christa Schleper in uni:view Magazin

18.03.2018
 

The prestigious endorsement was awarded for the Marie Skłodowska-Curie actions (MSCA) proposal "Ecology and Activity of Bathyarchaeota in wetland...

12.03.2018
 
28.02.2018
 

"Biological methane production under putative Enceladus-like conditions"

12.02.2018
 

Senior research fellow @ Archaea Biology & Ecogenomics

Guest Lectures

01.03.2017
 

"Evolution, Metabolism, and Interactions of Cable Bacteria"

 

We, 1 March 2017, 11a.m.

UZA 1, Floor 1, Spange 3, MoSys seminar room 1.320

24.01.2017
 

“What we know and don’t know about N-gas fluxes”

 

Tu, 24 January 2017, 12:30 p.m. Lecture Hall II, UZA 1

17.01.2017
 

"Squeezing Responsibility into Rhythms of Academic Life"

 

We, 17 January 2017, 12:30 p.m. Lecture Hall II, UZA 1