Only one year after establishing her independent research group at the Max Planck Institute for Marine Microbiology in Bremen, Dr. Alicia L. Bruzos has secured €2,006,562 from the European Research Council (ERC). This five-year grant will allow her to substantially expand her laboratory and inves...
A new study provides unexpected insights into how biodegradable PHA plastics are broken down in nature.
An international research team led by scientists from the Max Planck Institute for Marine Microbiology in Bremen and the Leibniz Institute for Baltic Sea Research Warnemünde (IOW) investigated how the shape of black corals influences the functions of their cilia. By combining an unusually compreh...
It is a helping hand for scientists entering the exciting field of marine exometabolomics: Researchers from the Max Planck Institute for Marine Microbiology have published a practical guide providing advice on choosing the most suitable methods for studying the small, and at times elusive, molecu...
The same bacterial symbiont can behave very differently in different hosts. This finding from Caribbean seagrass meadows reveal a surprising flexibility in symbiotic relationships that might allow closely related species to live in close quarters, demonstrating the power of symbiosis for biodiver...
A publication led by researchers from the Max Planck Institute for Marine Microbiology in Bremen, Germany, shows that microscopic partnerships between ciliates and bacteria play a role in the nitrogen cycle of lakes. The study, published in The ISME Journal, investigates what determines the ecolo...
On Friday, June 5 2026, we had the pleasure of welcoming the incumbent State Councillor Karolina Kumar and her adviser Dr Jolita Rolf to our institute.
Genes are not passed on exclusively from parents to their offspring. Some are mobile and can also jump to other species, as researchers at the Max Planck Institute for Marine Microbiology in Bremen have now shown. The direct observation of a jumping gene provides the first evidence that such gene...
More than 30 employees successfully completed the B2Run company race
Scientists from the Max Planck Institute for Marine Microbiology discover that a group of beneficial gut bacteria and their marine relatives use the same feeding strategies. This sheds new light on the potential of these bacteria for gut health research, as well as their role in marine carbon cyc...
A sulfated, negatively charged polysaccharide secreted by diatoms selectively feeds only the bacteria equipped to break it down.
Scientists have found a new type of iron-storing protein in a mixture of microbes containing methane-degraders. This discovery underscores the importance of characterizing proteins from microbes that cannot be isolated, thereby enabling the discovery of new enzymes for future applications.
A short research trip to Bremen became a lifetime experience: Manabu Fukui never imagined the city would become his second home, but three decades at the Max Planck Institute transformed his career and life through science, friendship, and unexpected adventures.
The ecologist Jean-Baptiste Raina will join the Max Planck Institute for Marine Microbiology in June 2026 to lead a new department exploring microscale microbial interactions and their impact on marine ecosystems. We are very happy to welcome him and look forward to our collaboration!
Climate scientist Tatiana Ilyina will be strengthening our executive board and expanding our research with a new Department of Ocean Biosphere Dynamics. We are very happy to welcome her and look into our shared future with confidence and joy!