Department Microbial Ecology

Microbial communities are the greatest reservoirs of biodiversity on the planet and are known to be critical to the functioning of natural and engineered ecosystems. However, our understanding of the functioning and the underlying genetics of microbial communities in aquatic and terrestrial ecosystems is still poor, hampering our ability to utilize and manage this tremendous diversity.

The aim of the research program of the Department of Microbial Ecology is to obtain basic knowledge on the ecology, diversity and evolution of micro-organisms in natural and man-made ecosystems.
The main research activities focus on: i) the role of microbes in the biogeochemical cycles of C and N and their impact on Global Changes, ii) assessing the structural and functional biodiversity of microbes in ecosystems and iii) unlocking the hidden potentials of the microbial communities in the natural environment.