Publications

Krohn, S., S. Boehm, C. Engelmann, J. Hartmann, A. Brodzinski, A. Chatzinotas, K. Zeller, D. Prywerek, I. Fetzer, T. Berg. 2014. Application of qualitative and quantitative real-time PCR, direct sequencing, and terminal restriction fragment length polymorphism analysis for detection and identification of polymicrobial 16S rRNA genes in ascites. Journal of Clinical Microbiology 52(5): 1754-1757.

Qualitative and quantitative 16S rRNA gene-based real-time PCR and direct sequencing were applied for rapid detection and identification of bacterial DNA (bactDNA) in 356 ascites samples. bactDNA was detected in 35% of samples, with a mean of 3.24 log copies ml(-1). Direct sequencing of PCR products revealed 62% mixed chromatograms predominantly belonging to Gram-positive bacteria. Terminal restriction fragment length polymor...

Gharasoo, M., F. Centler, I. Fetzer, M. Thullner. 2014. How the chemotactic characteristics of bacteria can determine their population patterns. Soil Biology and Biochemistry 69: 346-358.

Spatial distribution of soil microorganisms is relevant for the functioning and performance of many ecosystem processes such as nutrient cycling or biodegradation of organic matters and contaminants. Beside the multitude of abiotic environmental factors controlling the distribution of microorganisms in soil systems, many microbial species exhibit chemotactic behavior by directing their movement along concentration gradients of...

Buehligen, F., P. Lindner, I. Fetzer, F. Stahl, T. Scheper, H. Harms, S. Mueller. 2014. Analysis of aging in lager brewing yeast during serial repitching. Journal of Biotechnology 187:60-70.

Serial repitching of brewing yeast inoculates is an important economic factor in the brewing industry, as their propagation is time and resource intensive. Here, we investigated whether replicative aging and/or the population distribution status changed during serial repitching in three different breweries with the same brewing yeast strain but different abiotic backgrounds and repitching regimes with varying numbers of reuses...

Bühligen, F., P. Rüdinger, I. Fetzer, F. Stahl, T. Scheper, H. Harms, S. Müller. 2013. Sustainability of industrial yeast serial repitching practice studied by gene expression and correlation analysis, Journal of Biotechnology 168:718-728, doi:10.1016/j.jbiotec.2013.09.008

Bottom-fermenting  Saccharomyces pastorianus  strains driving brewing fermentation processes are usually reused several times. It is still unclear, whether the number of successions may have an impact on cell physiology prompting consequences for brewing quality. In this study, fermentation performance of up to twenty consecutive runs in a brewery was investigated. For each run mRNA expression levels of cellular marker molecu...

Koch C., I. Fetzer, T. Schmidt, H. Harms, S. Müller. 2013. Monitoring Functions in Managed Microbial Systems by Cytometric Bar Coding, Environmental Science & Technology :130108105239000, doi:10.1021/es3041048

Cytometric monitoring of microbial community dynamics can be used to estimate stability of technical microbial processes like biogas production by analysis of segregated cell abundance changes. In this study, structure variations of a biogas community were cytometrically recorded over 9 months and found to be of diagnostic value for process details. The reactor regime was intentionally disturbed with regard to substrate overlo...

K. Tischer, S. Kleinsteuber, K. M. Schleinitz, I. Fetzer, O. Spott, F. Stange, U. Lohse, J. Franz, F. Neumann, S. Gerling, C. Schmidt, E. Hasselwander, H. Harms, A. Wendeberg. 2013. Microbial communities along biogeochemical gradients in a hydrocarbon-contaminated aquifer, Environmental Microbiology 15:2603-2615, doi:10.1111/emi.2013.15.issue-9

Micro-organisms are known to degrade a wide range of toxic substances. How the environment shapes microbial communities in polluted ecosystems and thus influences degradation capabilities is not yet fully understood. In this study, we investigated microbial communities in a highly complex environment: the capillary fringe and subjacent sediments in a hydrocarbon-contaminated aquifer. Sixty sediment sections were analysed usi...

Saleem, M., I. Fetzer, H. Harms, A. Chatzinotas. 2013. Diversity of protists and bacteria determines predation performance and stability, The ISME Journal 7:1912-1921, doi:10.1038/ismej.2013.95

Predation influences prey diversity and productivity while it effectuates the flux and reallocation of organic nutrients into biomass at higher trophic levels. However, it is unknown how bacterivorous protists are influenced by the diversity of their bacterial prey. Using 456 microcosms, in which different bacterial mixtures with equal initial cell numbers were exposed to single or multiple predators ( Tetrahymena  sp.,  Po...

Koch, C., I. Fetzer, H. Harms, S. Müller. 2013. CHIC-an automated approach for the detection of dynamic variations in complex microbial communities, Cytometry Part A 83A:561-567, doi:10.1002/cyto.a.v83a.6

Altering environmental conditions change structures of microbial communities. These effects have an impact on the single-cell level and can be sensitively detected using community flow cytometry. However, although highly accurate, microbial monitoring campaigns are still rarely performed applying this technique. One reason is the limited access to pattern analysis approaches for the evaluation of microbial cytometric data. I...

Gharasoo, M ; Centler, F ; Fetzer, I ; Thullner, M (2012) The relation between pore-scale heterogeneity, bioavailability and bacterial mobility: a numerical modelling approach, in: MODELS - REPOSITORIES OF KNOWLEDGE (Oswald, SE; Kolditz, O; Attinger, S (Eds.)), IAHS Publication, pp. 175-180

Desirable reactive subsurface processes, e.g. nutrient cycling or degradation of organic contaminants, are driven by microorganisms populating the soil matrix. These environments are characterized by heterogeneities at various scales which influence the transport of chemical species and the spatial distribution of microorganisms. As a result, the biodegradation rate of contaminants at large scales does not only depend on the d...

Schulz, S., J. Giebler, A. Chatzinotas, L. Y. Wick, I. Fetzer, G. Welzl, H. Harms, M. Schloter. 2012. Plant litter and soil type drive abundance, activity and community structure of alkB harbouring microbes in different soil compartments, The ISME Journal 6:1763-1774, doi:10.1038/ismej.2012.17

Alkanes are major constituents of plant-derived waxy materials. In this study, we investigated the abundance, community structure and activity of bacteria harbouring the alkane monooxygenase gene alkB, which catalyses a major step in the pathway of aerobic alkane degradation in the litter layer, the litter-soil interface and in bulk soil at three time points during the degradation of maize and pea plant litter (2, 8 and 30 wee...