Dr. Ivonne Nijenhuis
Contact / Address:
Phone + 49 (0) 341 235 1356
Helmholtz Centre for Environmental Research - UFZ
Permoserstrasse 15
04318 Leipzig

Curriculum Vitae
from 1.09.2022 | Staff Unit Change Manangement // Internationalisation |
from 04.2022 | Member of the Works Council |
2004 -current |
Senior Scientist, Department Isotope Biogeochemistry |
04.2020- 08.2022 | Scientific Manager Integration Platform 'Tapping nature's potential for sustainable production and a healthy environment-TapNature'; Research Unit Environmental Engineering and Biotechnology |
2016 | Habilitation in natural sciences, Martin-Luther-University Halle-Wittenberg, Germany |
2013 | Certified Manager, Helmholtz Academy for managers Malik Management Centre St. Gallen |
2010-2015 | Coordinator European Union FP7 'People' programme Initial Training Network CSI:ENVIRONMENT |
2009-2017 | Elected employee representative member of the supervisory board of the UFZ |
2002 - 2004 |
Post-Doctoral Scientist EU Marie Curie Host Development fellowship (BIOISOTOPE) European expert in Anaerobic Microbiology, UFZ-Leipzig |
2002 | Ph.D. in Microbiology; Cornell University, USA |
1996 | M.Sc. in Environmental Sciences; Wageningen Agricultural University, the Netherlands |
Research interests
My research in the Department of Isotope Biogeochemistry focused on the anaerobic biotransformation of halogenated organic contaminants and the application of stable isotope concepts. The main objectives of this research are 1) understanding of microbial transformation of chlorinated and brominated ethenes and ethanes, halogenated pesticides, e.g. hexachlorocyclohexane, and pharmaceuticals, e.g. diclofenac, and 2) development and application of multi-element compound-specific stable isotope (C, Cl, Br, H) fractionation as a tool to analyse microbial reactions and biotransformation in situ.
Projects
2011-2019 the DFG Forschergruppe "FOR1530 'Anaerobic Dehalogenation: Organisms, Biochemistry and (Eco-) Physiology'" links research groups in Jena, Halle and Leipzig. Within this project, I was in charge of sub-project 05: 'Characterisation of microbial dehalogenation using compound specific stable isotope analysis'.
Within the European Union FP7 project "GENESIS" we investigated how biogeochemical processes affect natural attenuation of chlorinated benzenes and are focusing on the microbial community involved in contaminant biotransformation.
From 2010-2015, I coordinated the European Union FP7 'People' programme Initial Training Network "CSI:ENVIRONMENT". In this project, 10 Partners and 4 Associated Partners from 9 European countries will work on 'Isotope forensics meets biogeochemistry - linking sources and sinks of organic contaminants by compound specific isotope investigation'.
2012-2014, Joint German-Israeli Water Technology Programme “Development of innovative tools for the assessment of in situ biodegradation of organobromine contaminant in groundwater” – INTIME. In this 3 year project we will investigate the application of CSIA for assessment of the natural attenuation of brominated groundwater contaminants.
Publications (in co-operation with the UFZ)
Enantioselective carbon stable isotope fractionation of hexachlorocyclohexane during aerobic biodegradation by Sphingobium spp.
Environ. Sci. Technol. 47 (20), 11432 - 11439
full text (doi)
Anaerobic biotransformation of hexachlorocyclohexane isomers by Dehalococcoides species and an enrichment culture
Biodegradation 29 (4), 409 - 418
full text (doi)
Effect of temperature on microbial reductive dehalogenation of chlorinated ethenes: a review
FEMS Microbiol. Ecol. 98 (9), fiac081
full text (doi)
Carbon stable isotope fractionation of sulfamethoxazole during biodegradation by Microbacterium sp. strain BR1 and upon direct photolysis
Environ. Sci. Technol. 49 (10), 6029 - 6036
full text (doi)
Evaluation of the hydrological flow paths in a gravel bed filter modeling a horizontal subsurface flow wetland by using a multi-tracer experiment
Sci. Total Environ. 621 , 265 - 272
full text (doi)
Variability in microbial carbon isotope fractionation of tetra- and trichloroethene upon reductive dechlorination
Chemosphere 71 (4), 639 - 648
full text (doi)
Tetrachloroethene conversion to ethene by a Dehalococcoides-containing enrichment culture from Bitterfeld
FEMS Microbiol. Ecol. 72 (2), 297 - 310
full text (doi)
Factors controlling the carbon isotope fractionation of tetra- and trichloroethene during reductive dechlorination by Sulfurospirillum ssp. and Desulfitobacterium sp. strain PCE-S
FEMS Microbiol. Ecol. 62 (1), 98 - 107
full text (doi)
Adaptation of anaerobically grown Thauera aromatica, Geobacter sulfurreducens and Desulfococcus multivorans to organic solvents on the level of membrane fatty acid composition
Microb. Biotechnol. 3 (2), 201 - 209
full text (doi)
Anaerobically grown Thauera aromatica, Desulfococcus multivorans, Geobacter sulfurreducens are more sensitive towards organic solvents than aerobic bacteria
Appl. Microbiol. Biotechnol. 77 (3), 705 - 711
full text (doi)
Using compound-specific isotope analysis to assess the degradation of chloroacetanilide herbicides in lab-scale wetlands
Chemosphere 99 , 89 - 95
full text (doi)
Microbial dehalogenation of trichlorinated dibenzo-p-dioxins by a Dehalococcoides-containing mixed culture is coupled to carbon isotope fractionation
Environ. Sci. Technol. 41 (22), 7744 - 7751
full text (doi)
Dehalococcoides ethenogenes strain 195 reductively dechlorinates diverse chlorinated aromatic pollutants
Environ. Sci. Technol. 38 (7), 2075 - 2081
full text (doi)
Origin of VC-only plumes from naturally enhanced dechlorination in a peat-rich hydrogeologic setting
J. Contam. Hydrol. 192 , 129 - 139
full text (doi)
Multi-element compound specific stable isotope analysis of chlorinated aliphatic contaminants derived from chlorinated pitches
Sci. Total Environ. 640-641 , 153 - 162
full text (doi)
Evaluation of aquifer recharge and vulnerability in an alluvial lowland using environmental tracers
J. Hydrol. 529 , 1657 - 1668
full text (doi)
Stable carbon isotope fractionation of 1,2-Dichloropropane during dichloroelimination by Dehalococcoides populations
Environ. Sci. Technol. 43 (18), 6915 - 6919
full text (doi)
Stable carbon isotope enrichment factors for cis-1,2-dichloroethene and vinyl chloride reductive dechlorination by Dehalococcoides
Environ. Sci. Technol. 45 (7), 2951 - 2957
full text (doi)
Liquid chromatography/isotope ratio mass spectrometry analysis of halogenated benzoates for characterization of the underlying degradation reaction in Thauera chlorobenzoica CB‐1T
Rapid Commun. Mass Spectrom. 32 (11), 906 - 912
full text (doi)
Triple-element compound-specific stable isotope analysis of 1,2-dichloroethane for characterization of the underlying dehalogenation reaction in two Dehalococcoides mccartyi strains
FEMS Microbiol. Ecol. 93 (12), fix137
full text (doi)
Dual element (C/Cl) isotope analysis indicates distinct mechanisms of reductive dehalogenation of chlorinated ethenes and dichloroethane in Dehalococcoides mccartyi strain BTF08 with defined reductive dehalogenase inventories
Front. Microbiol. 11 , art. 1507
full text (doi)
Requirements for chromium reactors for use in the determination of H isotopes in compound-specific stable isotope analysis cf chlorinated compounds
Anal. Chem. 92 (3), 2383 - 2387
full text (doi)
Photosynthesis‐driven methane production in oxic lake water as an important contributor to methane emission
Limnol. Oceanogr. 65 (12), 2853 - 2865
full text (doi)
Combined use of ISCR and biostimulation techniques in incomplete processes of reductive dehalogenation of chlorinated solvents
Sci. Total Environ. 648 , 819 - 829
full text (doi)
Key factors controlling microbial distribution on a DNAPL source area
Environ. Sci. Pollut. Res. 29 (1), 1508 - 1520
full text (doi)
The role of ecotones in the dehalogenation of chloroethenes in alluvial fan aquifers
Environ. Sci. Pollut. Res. 28 (21), 26871 - 26884
full text (doi)
Coupling of a headspace autosampler with a programmed temperature vaporizer for stable carbon and hydrogen isotope analysis of volatile organic compounds at microgram per liter concentrations
Anal. Chem. 87 (2), 951 - 959
full text (doi)
Special issue on anaerobic biological dehalogenation. Editorial
FEMS Microbiol. Ecol. 94 (6), fiy054
full text (doi)
Reductive debromination by sponge-associated anaerobic bacteria coupled to carbon isotope fractionation
Int. Biodeterior. Biodegrad. 155 , art. 105093
full text (doi)
Characterization of microbial communities in the aqueous phase of a constructed model wetland treating 1,2-dichloroethene-contaminated groundwater
FEMS Microbiol. Ecol. 72 (1), 74 - 88
full text (doi)
Assessment of in situ degradation of chlorinated ethenes and bacterial community structure in a complex contaminated groundwater system
Water Res. 42 (4-5), 871 - 882
full text (doi)
Characterization of groundwater microbial communities, dechlorinating bacteria, and in situ biodegradation of chloroethenes along a vertical gradient
Water Air Soil Pollut. 221 (1-4), 107 - 122
full text (doi)
Simulation of dual carbon–bromine stable isotope fractionation during 1,2-dibromoethane degradation
Isot. Environ. Health Stud. 54 (4), 418 - 434
full text (doi)
Isotopic fractionation indicates anaerobic monochlorobenzene biodegradation
Environ. Toxicol. Chem. 24 (6), 1315 - 1324
full text (doi)
Assessment of microbial in situ activity in contaminated aquifers
Eng. Life Sci. 6 (3), 234 - 251
full text (doi)
Dehalogenation of diverse halogenated substrates by a highly enriched Dehalococcoides-containing culture derived from the contaminated mega-site in Bitterfeld
FEMS Microbiol. Ecol. 83 (1), 176 - 188
full text (doi)
Editorial: Thematic issue on anaerobic biological dehalogenation
FEMS Microbiol. Ecol. 98 (11), fiac108
full text (doi)
Degradation of aromatic compounds coupled to selenate reduction
Geomicrobiol. J. 19 (1), 77 - 86
full text (doi)
Identification of TCE and PCE sorption and biodegradation parameters in a sandy aquifer for fate and transport modelling: batch and column studies
Environ. Sci. Pollut. Res. 22 (13), 9877 - 9888
full text (doi)
Interspecies metabolite transfer and aggregate formation in a co-culture of Dehalococcoides and Sulfurospirillum dehalogenating tetrachloroethene to ethene
ISME J. 15 (6), 1794 - 1809
full text (doi)
Dual carbon–bromine stable isotope analysis allows distinguishing transformation pathways of ethylene dibromide
Environ. Sci. Technol. 50 (18), 9855 - 9863
full text (doi)
Characterisation of a manganese-reducing, toluene-degrading enrichment culture
FEMS Microbiol. Ecol. 24 (2), 113 - 125
full text (doi)
Biotransformation and inhibition effects of hexachlorocyclohexanes during biogas production from contaminated biomass characterized by isotope fractionation concepts
Bioresour. Technol. 250 , 683 - 690
full text (doi)
Biotransformation of hexachlorocyclohexanes contaminated biomass for energetic utilization demonstrated in continuous anaerobic digestion system
J. Hazard. Mater. 384 , art. 121448
full text (doi)
Mechanistic dichotomy in bacterial trichloroethene dechlorination revealed by carbon and chlorine isotope effects
Environ. Sci. Technol. 53 (8), 4245 - 4254
full text (doi)
Carbon isotope fractionation during dechlorination of 1,2,3,4-tetrachlorodibenzo-p-dioxin by a Dehalococcoides-containing culture
Chemosphere 80 (10), 1113 - 1119
full text (doi)
Compound specific and enantioselective stable isotope analysis as tools to monitor transformation of hexachlorocyclohexane (HCH) in a complex aquifer system
Environ. Sci. Technol. 51 (16), 8909 - 8916
full text (doi)
Characterization of hexachlorocyclohexane isomer dehydrochlorination by LinA1 and LinA2 using multi-element compound-specific stable isotope analysis
Environ. Sci. Technol. 56 (23), 16848 - 16856
full text (doi)
Dual C–Cl isotope analysis for characterizing the anaerobic transformation of α, β, γ, and δ-hexachlorocyclohexane in contaminated aquifers
Water Res. 184 , art. 116128
full text (doi)
Dual C–Cl isotope analysis for characterizing the reductive dechlorination of α- and γ-hexachlorocyclohexane by two Dehalococcoides mccartyi strains and an enrichment culture
Environ. Sci. Technol. 54 (12), 7250 - 7260
full text (doi)
Enantiomer and carbon isotope fractionation of α-hexachlorocyclohexane by Sphingobium indicum strain B90A and the corresponding enzymes
Environ. Sci. Technol. 53 (15), 8715 - 8724
full text (doi)
Aerobic toluene degraders in the rhizosphere of a constructed wetland model show diurnal polyhydroxyalkanoate metabolism
Appl. Environ. Microb. 82 (14), 4126 - 4132
full text (doi)
Transformation and carbon isotope fractionation of tetra- and trichloroethene to Trans-Dichloroethene by Dehalococcoides sp. strain CBDB1
Environ. Sci. Technol. 45 (4), 1555 - 1562
full text (doi)
Microbial toluene removal in hypoxic model constructed wetlands occurs predominantly via the ring monooxygenation pathway
Appl. Environ. Microb. 81 (18), 6241 - 6252
full text (doi)
Detection of monochlorobenzene metabolizing bacteria under anoxic conditions by DNA-stable isotope probing
Biodegradation 22 (5), 973 - 982
full text (doi)
High stability and fast recovery of expression of the TOL plasmid-carried toluene catabolism genes of Pseudomonas putida mt-2 under conditions of oxygen limitation and oscillation
Appl. Environ. Microb. 76 (20), 6715 - 6723
full text (doi)
Reductive dechlorination of cis-1,2-dichlorethene and vinyl chloride by "Dehalococcoides ethenogenes"
Environ. Sci. Technol. 35 (3), 516 - 521
full text (doi)
Mucosal-associated invariant T-Cell (MAIT) activation is altered by chlorpyrifos- and glyphosate-treated commensal gut bacteria
J. Immunotoxicol. 17 (1), 10 - 20
full text (doi)
Occurrence of Dehalococcoides and reductive dehalogenase genes in microcosms, a constructed wetland and groundwater from a chlorinated ethene contaminated field site as indicators for in situ reductive dehalogenation
Water Air Soil Pollut. 224 (11), art. 1768
full text (doi)
Detoxification of 1,1,2-trichloroethane to ethene in a bioreactor co-culture of Dehalogenimonas and Dehalococcoides mccartyi strains
J. Hazard. Mater. 331 , 218 - 225
full text (doi)
Stable isotope fractionation of tetrachloroethene during reductive dechlorination by Sulfurospirillum multivorans and Desulfitobacterium sp. strain PCE-S and abiotic reactions with cyanocobalamin
Appl. Environ. Microb. 71 (7), 3413 - 3419
full text (doi)
Use of stable isotope fractionation for the assessment of bioattenuation of chlorinated ethenes
In: Verstraete, W. (ed.)
European Symposium on Environmental Biotechnology : proceedings of the European Symposium on Environmental Biotechnology, ESEB 2004, 25-28 April 2004, Oostende, Belgium
Balkema, Leiden, p. 209 - 212
Anaerobic microbial dehalogenation of organohalides — state of the art and remediation strategies
Curr. Opin. Biotechnol. 38 , 33 - 38
full text (doi)
In situ investigation of microbial diversity and anaerobic chlorobenzene degradation along a vertical gradient
Geochim. Cosmochim. Acta 73 (13 Suppl.), A943
full text (doi)
Assessment of the natural attenuation of chlorinated ethenes in an anaerobic contaminated aquifer in the Bitterfeld/Wolfen area using stable isotope techniques, microcosm studies and molecular biomarkers
Chemosphere 67 (2), 300 - 311
full text (doi)
Recent advances in multi-element compound-specific stable isotope analysis of organohalides: Achievements, challenges and prospects for assessing environmental sources and transformation
Trends Environ. Anal. Chem. 11 , 1 - 8
full text (doi)
Stable isotope fractionation concepts for characterizing biotransformation of organohalides
Curr. Opin. Biotechnol. 41 , 108 - 113
full text (doi)
A stable isotope approach for source apportionment of chlorinated ethene plumes at a complex multi-contamination events urban site
J. Contam. Hydrol. 153 , 92 - 105
full text (doi)
Sensitive detection of anaerobic monochlorobenzene degradation using stable isotope tracers
Environ. Sci. Technol. 41 (11), 3836 - 3842
full text (doi)
Anaerobic microbial dehalogenation and its key players in the contaminated Bitterfeld-Wolfen megasite
FEMS Microbiol. Ecol. 94 (4), fiy012
full text (doi)
Evidence for in situ natural attenuation of monochlorobenzene and chlorinated ethenes in an anaerobic contaminated aquifer
Abstr. Paper Am. Chem. Soc. 228 , U608 - U609
Characterization of hydrogenase and reductive dehalogenase activities of Dehalococcoides ethenogenes strain 195
Appl. Environ. Microb. 71 (3), 1664 - 1667
full text (doi)
Molecular characterization of dichloromethane-degrading Hyphomicrobium strains using 16S rDNA and DCM dehalogenase gene sequences
Syst. Appl. Microbiol. 28 (7), 582 - 587
full text (doi)
Stable carbon isotope fractionation during degradation of dichloromethane by methylotrophic bacteria
Environ. Microbiol. 8 (1), 156 - 164
full text (doi)
Metagenomic- and cultivation-based exploration of anaerobic chloroform biotransformation in hypersaline sediments as natural source of chloromethanes
Microorganisms 8 (5), art. 665
full text (doi)
Investigation of active site amino acid influence on carbon and chlorine isotope fractionation during reductive dechlorination
FEMS Microbiol. Ecol. 98 (8), fiac072
full text (doi)
Genome sequences of two dehalogenation specialists - Dehalococcoides mccartyi strains BTF08 and DCMB5 enriched from the highly polluted Bitterfeld region
FEMS Microbiol. Lett. 343 (2), 101 - 104
full text (doi)
Dehalococcoides mccartyi strain DCMB5 respires a broad spectrum of chlorinated aromatic compounds
Appl. Environ. Microb. 81 (2), 587 - 596
full text (doi)
Reductive dechlorination in recalcitrant sources of chloroethenes in the transition zone between aquifers and aquitards
Environ. Sci. Pollut. Res. 23 (18), 18724 - 18741
full text (doi)
Development and validation of an universal interface for compound-specific stable isotope analysis of chlorine (37Cl/35Cl) by GC-high-temperature conversion (HTC)-MS/IRMS
Anal. Chem. 87 (5), 2832 - 2839
full text (doi)
Combined C and Cl isotope effects indicate differences between corrinoids and enzyme (Sulfurospirillum multivorans PceA) in reductive dehalogenation of tetrachloroethene, but not trichloroethene
Environ. Sci. Technol. 48 (20), 11837 - 11845
full text (doi)
Evaluation of the microbial reductive dehalogenation reaction using compound-specific stable isotope analysis (CSIA)
In: Adrian, L., Löffler, F.E. (eds.)
Organohalide-respiring bacteria
Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg, p. 429 - 453
full text (doi)
Substrate hydrophobicity and cell composition influence the extent of rate limitation and masking of isotope fractionation during microbial reductive dehalogenation of chlorinated ethenes
Environ. Sci. Technol. 49 (7), 4293 - 4301
full text (doi)
Comparison of 1,2-dichloroethane, dichloroethene and vinyl chloride carbon stable isotope fractionation during dechlorination by two Dehalococcoides strains
Water Res. 52 , 146 - 154
full text (doi)
Iron oxides stimulate microbial monochlorobenzene in situ transformation in constructed wetlands and laboratory systems
Sci. Total Environ. 472 , 185 - 193
full text (doi)
Evaluation of carbon isotope fractionation during anaerobic reductive dehalogenation of chlorinated and brominated benzenes
Chemosphere 193 , 785 - 792
full text (doi)
In situ microcosms to evaluate natural attenuation potentials in contaminated aquifers
Org. Geochem. 37 (10), 1394 - 1410
full text (doi)
Integrative approach to delineate natural attenuation of chlorinated benzenes in anoxic aquifers
Environ. Pollut. 157 (6), 1800 - 1806
full text (doi)
Combined chemical and microbiological degradation of tetrachloroethene during the application of Carbo-Iron at a contaminated field site
Sci. Total Environ. 628-629 , 1027 - 1036
full text (doi)
Variable dual carbon-bromine stable isotope fractionation during enzyme-catalyzed reductive dehalogenation of brominated ethenes
Chemosphere 190 , 211 - 217
full text (doi)
Compound specific stable isotope analysis (CSIA) to characterize transformation mechanisms of α-hexachlorocyclohexane
J. Hazard. Mater. 280 , 750 - 757
full text (doi)