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De­part­ment of Sym­bi­osis

Symbiosis November 2022

Director

Department of Symbiosis

Prof. Dr. Nicole Dubilier

MPI for Marine Microbiology
Celsiusstr. 1
D-28359 Bremen
Germany

Room: 

3241

Phone: 

+49 421 2028-9320

Prof. Dr. Nicole Dubilier

Assistance 

Biogeochemistry Group

Ulrike Tietjen

MPI for Marine Microbiology
Celsiusstr. 1
D-28359 Bremen
Germany

Room: 

3102

Phone: 

+49 421 2028-6000

Ulrike Tietjen
The De­part­ment of Sym­bi­osis stud­ies the bio­logy and eco­logy of as­so­ci­ations between bac­teria and eu­k­a­ryotes, with our main em­phasis on mar­ine in­ver­teb­rates from chemo­syn­thetic en­vir­on­ments such as sulf­ide-rich coastal sed­i­ments, vents and seeps.

Our re­search on sym­bi­oses between mi­crobes and an­im­als is centered around three ques­tions:



Who are the symbiotic partners?

This ques­tion is easy to an­swer for the an­imal side of the sym­bi­osis, but it re­mains a chal­lenge to re­veal the true di­versity of mi­croor­gan­isms, even in such low-di­versity hab­it­ats as sym­bi­oses.


What are they doing?

What is the meta­bol­ism of the sym­bionts? Which path­ways do the sym­bionts use to gain en­ergy and feed their host? How do the sym­bionts se­quester car­bon, ni­tro­gen, and sul­fur from the en­vir­on­ment?


How has the symbiosis evolved?

How have biogeo­graphy, en­vir­on­mental con­di­tions, and phylo­gen­etic re­la­tion­ships in­flu­enced the evol­u­tion of the sym­bi­osis? How have the part­ners ad­ap­ted to the sym­bi­osis?

Unsere Forschung
In support of obtaining a deeper understanding of the function and metabolism of the wide array of microbes that drive chemosynthetic primary production in marine environments through their symbioses with marine invertebrates
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