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.

01.02.2018
 

"Human skin-associated Archaea"

01.02.2018
 

Travel grant awarded to Ruth-Sophie Taubner.

31.01.2018
 

"Worm’s migration through the redox discontinuity layer: Evidences from Thiosymbion physiology"

 

We, 31 January 2018, 1p.m.

26.01.2018
 

"Candidatus Nitrosocaldus cavascurensis, an Ammonia Oxidizing, Extremely Thermophilic Archaeon with a Highly Mobile Genome"

25.01.2018
 

Join us in this symbiosis workshop where researchers of nine labs present their work and exchange ideas.

Th, 25 January 2018

21.12.2017
 

"Reproduction mechanisms of host (nematode) - attached bacteria"

 

Th, 21 December 2017, 1 p.m.

 

Lecture Hall II, UZA 1

Guest Lectures

24.06.2016
 

Prof. Lisa Stein of University of Alberta, Canada, will give an open guest lecture: "NO way to Nitrous Oxide Production by Ammonia-Oxidizers".

24.06.2016
 

Prof. Jan Willem Erisman, Professor of Integrated Nitrogen Studies, VU University of Amsterdam, The Netherlands, CEO of Louis Bolk Institute, will...