Scientific background

Why study microorganisms?

Life on this planet ultimately depends on the activities of microorganisms which have pivotal roles in biomass conversion, bioremediation, photosynthesis, in promoting plant growth, and (as intestinal flora) facilitating animal and insect nutrient acquisition. In addition to these beneficial roles, microorganisms contribute to several serious problems such as the production of greenhouse gases (eg methane) and, thus, contribute to global warming. They are also the etiological agents of many human, livestock, and agricultural diseases and cause massive economic losses every year. Furthermore, complex microbial communities contribute biofouling and antimicrobial resistance. Microorganisms are omnipresent and hardly a single ecological niche has been recognized which does not harbor them. The key to the widespread success of microorganisms is the immense biochemical and physiological diversity among microbial species and the ability of individual microorganisms and microbial communities to adapt to changes in the environment. Thus, the study of microorganisms represents an important facet of both basic and applied biological research with wide ranging benefits.

To reap the benefits of microorganisms in agriculture, bioremediation, and in the biotechnology industry and to combat their detrimental effects, it is central to understand how microorganisms function at an integrated level involving ecological, cellular and molecular aspects. This scientific goal can only be reached in a multidisciplinary research approach in which researchers covering the entire spectrum of microbiology, from molecular aspects to microbial communities, join forces.

Why study microorganisms at the IMPRS-Mic in Marburg?

Traditionally, research and training in microbiology focuses either on molecular and cellular aspects or on ecological aspects of microbial function. The International Max Planck Research School for Environmental, Cellular and Molecular Microbiology (IMPRS-Mic) integrates these approaches by providing a Ph.D. study program that exposes students to ecological, cellular and molecular aspects of a diverse range of microorganisms and microbial activities.

IMPRS-Mic combines 30 research groups from the Max Planck Institute for Terrestrial Microbiology and the Philipps Universitä in which cutting-edge research and training are treated in a highly integrated and multidisciplinary fashion. State-of-the-art scientific problems and technologies from molecular microbiology, cellular microbiology and microbial ecology are integrated.

The following technologies are covered in the Research School: molecular genetics, protein structure determination using X-ray crystallography, analytical techniques (e.g. gas chromatography, HPLC, ion chromatography, mass spectrometry), genome sequencing including metagenomics, bioinformatics, functional genomics including global gene profiling using DNA microarrays and proteomics, live cell imaging, fluorescence microscopy, scanning confocal laser microscopy, electron microscopy, in situ hybridization, characterization of new microorganisms using stable isotope probing, and the whole suite of biogeochemical methods and molecular ecology tools.