Now, thanks to Sabine, our working group has evolved to one of the most prominent to study anaerobic fungi (Neocallimastigomycota). These fungi are excellent lignocellulose degraders, and unleashing their biotechnological potential is her major task (HiPoAF , FUNGAS).

A centerpiece of our research has involved anaerobic digestion of various organic residues, ranging from sewage sludge, lignocellulosic residues, and organic-, industrial-, and agricultural wastes. Further optimization of biogas plants, either by challenging classical meso- and thermophilic processes or through improving co-digestion in serial and parallel reactors (2strategies4AD , Temp4AD), may lead to unprecedented efficiency, a goal integrated by Magdalena. This research line is followed in the master’s course on Microbial Resource Management.

Fundamental research is continuously performed to further improve the DNA extraction efficiency from different environmental matrices, through sequential extraction and downstream-analyses of extracellular (exDNA) and intracellular DNA (iDNA). Comparisons between these DNA fractions and the total environmental DNA pool (eDNA) help to optimize the molecular accessibility and correct depiction of microbial communities.

Being the only microbiologist team in the western part of Austria researching wastewater microbiology and understanding the need to develop treatment technologies, we consider this topic as one of our major foci. Therefore, our research not only contributes to the state of the art, but aims at applying results to wastewater treatment plants. Here the DEMON® treatment process, patented by the University of Innsbruck and applied at facilities worldwide, serves as a constant research topic for the team. Close interdisciplinary cooperation with the institute of environmental engineering (Christian Ebner), engineering companies (BioTreat GmbH) and plant operators forms the basis for successful project realization. Here analyses of the group of anammox bacteria, overall microbial community compositions and -dynamics play a pivotal role. Highlighting the significance of discovering novel microbiological applications, this research field is integrated into the master’s Course Microbial Resource Management.

All our research areas have a method development aspect. This can be focused on novel detection techniques, e.g. with microscopy or the optimization of quantification methods for underexplored microbial groups or novel habitats, as well as the development of bioinformatics workflows (CoMA).

We invite you to visit the webpage on our in-house developed CoMA  (Comparative Microbiome Analysis) pipeline for intuitive metabarcoding analyses.

Being the only microbiologist team in the western part of Austria researching wastewater microbiology and understanding the need to develop treatment technologies, we consider this topic as one of our major foci. Therefore, our research not only contributes to the state of the art, but aims at applying results to wastewater treatment plants. Here the DEMON® treatment process, patented by the University of Innsbruck and applied at facilities worldwide, serves as a constant research topic for the team. Close interdisciplinary cooperation with the institute of environmental engineering (Christian Ebner), engineering companies (BioTreat GmbH) and plant operators forms the basis for successful project realization. Here analyses of the group of anammox bacteria, overall microbial community compositions and -dynamics play a pivotal role. Highlighting the significance of discovering novel microbiological applications, this research field is integrated into the master’s Course Microbial Resource Management.