Johannes Werner PhD - Projects

Analysis of bacterial communities in contact with anthropogenous substances

Marine systems are exposed to a wide range of chemical products, such as plastics or microplastics, biocides (e.g. glyphosate), or even explosive substances that reside in the marine sediment since World War II. Bacteria have developed special mechanisms to adapt to such compounds, for instance by adapted enzymes or novel metabolic pathways. By comparative (meta)genomics, we attempt to unravel their adaptation mechanisms in order to better understand their life style and ecological impact.

Meta-omic analyses of extremophilic microorganisms in extreme marine environment

Extremophilic microorganisms thrive in environments with harsh physicochemical conditions (high/low temperature, acidic/alkaline pH, high/low pressure, or hypersalinity) that are hostile for the majority of organisms. Different habitats (e.g. Baltic Sea and Black Sea) are examined to deepen the understanding of the metabolic capability, their interdependency and the ecological impact by a combined meta-genomics/transciptomics approach.

Analysis of enzyme patterns of halophilic archaeal enzymes

Halophilic archaea constitute the major microbial groups in hypersaline marine environments. Their enzyme repertoire show contrasting patterns compared to their mesophilic counterparts. We investigate the diverse characteristics with regards to the primary, secondary and tertiary protein structure of extremophilic enzymes correlated with their sampling site and corresponding physicochemical parameters.