Research for the Environment

Dr. Sabine Kleinsteuber

Contact

Dr. Sabine Kleinsteuber
Senior Scientist

Head of the MicAS Group

Department of Environmental Microbiology
Department of Bioenergy

Helmholtz Centre
for Environmental Research - UFZ
Permoserstr. 15
04318 Leipzig, Germany

Phone: +49 341 235 1325
Fax: +49 341 235 1351
sabine.kleinsteuber@ufz.de

Sabine Kleinsteuber

CV / Scientific Career

1990

Diploma in Biology, Martin-Luther-University Halle-Wittenberg

1994

PhD, Martin-Luther-University Halle-Wittenberg, Faculty of Natural Sciences

1993-1995

Scientist at the Institute of Genetics of the Martin-Luther-University Halle-Wittenberg

1995-1999

Post-Doc at the UFZ Centre for Environmental Research Leipzig-Halle, Department Environmental Microbiology

since 1999

Senior scientist at the Helmholtz Centre for Environmental Research - UFZ, Department Environmental Microbiology

since 2011

Senior Scientist at the UFZ Dept. Environmental Microbiology and Dept. Bioenergy
Head of the MicAS Group (Microbiology of Anaerobic Systems)

Research interests

My research field is the microbial ecology of anaerobic systems, in particular in contaminated environments and technical systems. The aim is to identify key players of biogeochemical processes and to elucidate their ecophysiological function in biotechnological processes and microbial ecosystem services.
My current research is focussed on the microbial ecology of contaminated aquifers. In particular I am interested in the identification of key organisms and syntrophic consortia thriving in anoxic groundwater habitats and the elucidation of anaerobic degradation pathways for benzene.
Another focus of my research is the microbial ecology of anaerobic digestion. Community composition and dynamics in biogas reactors are analyzed by means of molecular methods with the aim to identify microbial indicators for process stability and malfunction, to develop diagnostic tools for process control, and to improve existing models on the anaerobic digestion process.

Selected publications

Ziganshin, A.M., J. Liebetrau, J. Pröter, and S. Kleinsteuber. 2013. Microbial community structure and dynamics during anaerobic digestion of various agricultural waste materials. Appl. Microbiol. Biotechnol. 97: 5161-5174.
Sträuber, H., M. Schröder, and S. Kleinsteuber. 2012. Metabolic and microbial community dynamics during the hydrolytic and acidogenic fermentation in a leach-bed process. Energy, Sustainability and Society 2:13.
Taubert, M., C. Vogt, T. Wubet, S. Kleinsteuber, M. T. Tarkka, H. Harms, F. Buscot, H.-H. Richnow, M. von Bergen, and J. Seifert. 2012. Protein-SIP enables time-resolved analysis of the carbon flux in a sulfate-reducing, benzene-degrading microbial consortium. ISME J. 6: 2291-2301.
Kleinsteuber, S., K. M. Schleinitz, and C. Vogt. 2012. Key players and team play: anaerobic microbial communities in hydrocarbon-contaminated aquifers. Appl. Microbiol. Biotechnol. 94: 851-873.
Ziganshin, A. M., T. Schmidt, F. Scholwin, O. N. Il’inskaya, H. Harms, and S. Kleinsteuber. 2011. Bacteria and archaea involved in anaerobic digestion of distillers grains with solubles. Appl. Microbiol. Biotechnol. 89: 2039-2052.
Herrmann, S., Kleinsteuber, S., Chatzinotas, A., Kuppardt, S., Lueders, T., Richnow, H.-H., and C. Vogt. 2010. Functional characterization of an anaerobic benzene-degrading enrichment culture by DNA stable isotope probing. Environ. Microbiol. 12: 401-411
Müller, S., Vogt, C., Laube, M., Harms, H., and S. Kleinsteuber. 2009. Community dynamics within a bacterial consortium during growth on toluene under sulfate-reducing conditions. FEMS Microbiol. Ecol. 70: 586-596.
Kleinsteuber, S., Schleinitz, K. M., Breitfeld, J, Harms, H., Richnow, H.-H., and C. Vogt. 2008. Molecular characterization of bacterial communities mineralizing benzene under sulfate-reducing conditions. FEMS Microbiol. Ecol. 66: 143-157.
Publications since 1995 (176 KB)

Reviewer

  • Applied and Environmental Microbiology
  • Applied Microbiology and Biotechnology
  • Biodegradation
  • Bioresource Technology
  • Cytometry Part A
  • Chemosphere
  • Engineering In Life Sciences
  • Environmental Science and Technology
  • European Food Research and Technology
  • FEMS Microbiology Ecology
  • Frontiers in Microbiotechnology, Ecotoxicology and Bioremediation
  • International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health
  • International Review of Hydrobiology
  • ISME Journal
  • Journal of Biotechnology
  • Journal of Microbiological Methods
  • Journal of Proteome Research
  • Microbial Cell Factories
  • Microbiological Research
  • Reviews in Environmental Science and Biotechnology
  • Water Research
  • World Journal of Microbiology and Biotechnology
  • Remote Reviewer for ERC, ANR and FCT
  • Member of the FCT Environment and Global Changes Evaluation Panel 2012