Forschen für die Umwelt

Dr. Antonis Chatzinotas

CV / Scientific Career

My research has focused on understanding the diversity, functioning and ecosystem services of microbial communities in terrestrial (and some aquatic) ecosystems using a diverse set of molecular-biological tools. These research topics include amongst others aspects of ecological theories, the interactions between different microbial groups, and the interactions between microbes and plants. The aim of these studies is not only to increase our knowledge regarding the phylogenetic and functional diversity of microorganisms, but also to better understand the interaction of different trophic levels (bacteria, protists, phages, fungi and plants) as a response to anthropogenic activities or global change.

Moreover, I am very interested in using microbial model systems to address key principles in ecological theories. Since microorganisms are the key players in many ecosystems, it is absolutely necessary to bridge the gap between microbial ecology and general ecology and to identify novel theories in microbial ecology. Such model systems enable a high degree of replication and experimental control and are very helpful to test e.g. the relation between microbial diversity, trophic networks and the stability of ecosystem processes. We further want to apply ecological concepts to improve biotechnological applications using microbes.

Microbial diversity and functioning. We are studying how environmental parameters and human activities affect microbial communities, their functions and distribution in terrestrial systems. These impacts include e.g. pollution with (polycyclic) aromatic hydrocarbons or land use gradients. Analysis of microbial communities is mainly based on cultivation-independent approaches including high throughput sequencing, but requires in some cases also alternative cultivation approaches. A recent, new focus is the role of the flexible gene pool (e.g. plasmids) for the adaptation of bacteria to changing environmental condition (antibiotic resistance genes or genes involved in BTEX degradation).

Interactions between different trophic levels. Understanding the interactions within the same and between different trophic levels is required for a full comprehension of microbial responses to environmental changes. We are studying the diversity and distribution of bacterivorous protists as one of the main drivers of bacterial community structure and functions. Trophic interactions in polluted systems are addressed using stable isotope based approaches such as SIP. With respect to plant-microbe interactions, we are currently investigating the effect of rhizophere microbial interactions on plants using plant metabolite analysis (cooperation with Dr. Fester); moreover we have recently shown the influence of soil type and plant litter on specific functional groups in soil.
Another new international project focuses on the importance of three micropredator groups (i.e. bacterivorous protists, predatory bacteria and phage) for an efficient removal of bacterial pathogens. Terrestrial/plant phage ecology and (meta)genomics represents a new aspect in our research; first projects focus on specific phage-bacteria interactions in constructed wetlands, however, we will be substantially strengthening our research activities in this field

Ecological theories. We are using manipulative experiments to test the applicability of ecological concepts and theories derived from experiments with higher organisms. Such concepts include e.g. the relationship between biodiversity and ecosystem functioning, the role of spatial heterogeneity for the establishment of microbial communities or the role of microbial interactions networks for the resilience to varying environmental regimes. 

Bioreporter bacteria. We have optimized and applied arsenic biosensors for field tests. Besides the analysis of drinking water, we succeeded in developing a protocol for visualizing the distribution of arsenic in the rhizosphere. On-going work focuses on the development of a strip test.

Publications

Seminar WS 12/13

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