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.

18.04.2023
 

"Microbes that look like strange deep-sea creatures are turning out to be a missing link in the story of how we got here. ..."

13.04.2023
 

"Previously uncharacterized rectangular bacterial structures in the dolphin mouth"

11.04.2023
 

"Primitive Asgard Cells Show Life on the Brink of Complexity"

30.03.2023
 

In person only on 30.03.2023 from 13:00 - 17:15 at the University Biology Building UBB.

 

24.03.2023
 

"Meiofauna Meets Microbes—Chemosynthetic Symbioses"

15.03.2023
 

"Extremely thermophilic microorganisms and the origin of life"

Guest Lectures

12.12.2023
 

"Using the house mouse radiation to study the rapid evolution of genes and genetic processes"

11.12.2023
 

"Suckers and segments of the octopus arm"

06.12.2023
 

"Environmental Disasters and Risk Management"