Almud Lonsing
PhD Student
Department of Molecular Ecology
MPI for Marine Microbiology
Celsiusstr. 1
D-28359 Bremen
Germany
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Raum: |
2100 |
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My Research
My research focuses on the characterization of a limonene-degrading methanogenic enrichment culture, utilizing bioinformatics and superresolution microscopy to gain insights into the syntrophic community of Bacteria and Archaea involved in degrading limonene to methane. Limonene is the most abundant monocyclic monoterpene in nature and well known for its scent. While the degradation of limonene under aerobic and anoxic denitrifying conditions was studied for a long time, limonene degradation under methanogenic conditions remained so far unexplored. Metagenomic, metatranscriptomic, and metaproteomic data are currently explored to reveal genes that may be involved in a new limonene degradation pathway. Fluorescence in situ hybridization and superresolution microscopy have shown an ultramicrobial, coccoid-shaped predatory bacterium that attaches itself to Methanosaeta filaments as well as other bacteria within the limonene-degrading methanogenic enrichment culture. This predatory bacterium has been identified as Velamenicoccus archaeovorus strain OP3 LiM.
Publications
Kizina J, Jordan SFA, Martens GA, Lonsing A, Probian C, Kolovou A, Santarella-Mellwig R, Rhiel E, Littmann S, Markert S, Stüber K, Richter M, Schweder T, Harder J. 2022. Methanosaeta and “Candidatus Velamenicoccus archaeovorus”. Applied and Environmental Microbiology. [doi: 10.1128/aem.02407-21]