Virology of Microorganisms
Team
Research
Our research group focuses on viruses that infect archaea.
Archaea are small, single-celled organisms – similar to bacteria, but they form their own distinct group. They often live in extreme environments such as hot springs, salt lakes, or deep-sea habitats. Unlike bacteria, they have unique cell walls and are more closely related to the cells of animals, plants, and humans (i.e., eukaryotes) than to bacteria.
We use classical microbiological techniques such as cultivating microbes and viruses, genetically manipulating microorganisms, protein characterization, and electron microscopy, combined with RNA and DNA sequencing technologies to better understand the interactions between viruses and microorganisms.
We study virus-host models from extreme environments, particularly salt lakes. Our interests include discovering new viral defense mechanisms, understanding the impact of viruses on microbial communities (composition, genetic exchange, evolutionary development of microorganisms), and the evolution of viruses.
While working with viruses, we also frequently encounter extracellular vesicles and have developed this topic as a second research focus. We are particularly interested in the interactions between extracellular vesicles and viruses.
Although our research so far has focused on archaea from extreme environments, we are open to collaborating with other scientists who are interested in viruses of different microorganisms or with microbial viruses from other environments, especially alpine habitats.
Projects
Open Projects for Students
Publications