Max Planck Institute for Terrestrial Microbiology

The Max Planck Institute for Terrestrial Microbiology (Max-Planck-Institut für terrestrische Mikrobiologie) is a research institute for terrestrial microbiology in Marburg, Germany. It was founded in 1991 by Rudolf K. Thauer and is one of 80 institutes in the Max Planck Society (Max-Planck-Gesellschaft). Its sister institute is the Max Planck Institute for Marine Microbiology, which was founded a year later in 1992 in Bremen.



Research
There are currently around 19 research groups at the institute. The research at MPI-Marburg broadly focuses on understanding the functioning of microorganisms at the molecular, cellular and community levels. In particular, the focus is the mechanisms of cellular and community adaptation of bacteria in response to changes in the environment.

Organization
The institute consists of five departments with their respective research groups and heads:

Biogeochemistry
The Biogeochemistry Department, headed by Ralf Conrad, is focused on the microbial metabolism and biogeochemical matter cycling in soil. Soil microbial metabolism plays an important role in the global cycling of matter and — through the formation of atmospheric trace gases such as methane and nitrous oxide — also influences the climate on Earth. The department examines the role of soil microorganisms in carbon and nitrogen cycling, particularly in chemically well-defined processes such as the production and consumption of methane, the oxidation of ammonia, or denitrification. There are four research leaders in charge of six research groups and two project groups:

Research Groups

Ralf Conrad Andreas Brune Werner Liesack
 * Methanogenic degradation
 * Microbial metabolism of trace gases
 * Microbial ecology of the termite gut
 * Microbial symbioses
 * Molecular biology and ecology of methanotrophs
 * Environmental genomics and transcriptomics

Project Group

Peter Frenzel
 * Methane oxidation
 * Biogeochemistry and microbial ecology of wetlands

Ecophysiology
The Ecophysiology Department, headed by Lotte Søgaard-Andersen, focuses on understanding how intracellular signalling networks are wired to allow bacteria to adapt and differentiate in response to changes in the environment or in response to self-generated signals. Specifically, the department has two aims. Firstly, they aim to understand how bacteria process information to generate appropriate output responses (e.g. changes in gene expression, changes in motility behavior). Secondly, they aim to understand how molecular machines involved in motility and secretion function and how their activity is regulated. Ecophysiology currently has three research groups led by the following in parentheses:
 * Bacterial secretion systems (Andreas Diepold)
 * The intracellular organization and differentiation of bacteria (Simon Ringgaard)
 * Bacterial development & differentiation (Lotte Søgaard-Andersen)

Organismic Interactions
The Organismic Interactions Department, headed by Regine Kahmann, is focused on the biology of phytopathogenic fungi and in particular the mechanisms that underlie morphological differentiation and communication of these fungi with their plant hosts. Furthermore, the department is focused on the mechanisms that enable fungi to colonize plants successfully and on the processes accounting for variations in host preference and fungal lifestyles. There are three research groups:
 * Molecular phytopathology (Regine Kahmann)
 * Establishment of compatibility in biotrophic interactions (Gunther Döhlemann)
 * Functional genomics and molecular biology of symbiotic fungi (Alga Zuccaro)

Systems and Synthetic Microbiology
The Department of Systems and Synthetic Microbiology, headed by Victor Sourjik, aims to elucidate general principles of evolutionary optimization of cellular networks and implement these principles in the design of novel networks in microorganisms. Having a single research group, microbial networks is also led by Sourjik.

Synthetic Biochemistry and Metabolism
The Department of Synthetic Biochemistry and Metabolism is headed by Tobias J. Erb.

Emeritus Group
The Emeritus Group at MPI-Marburg is headed by renowned biochemist and Gottfried Wilhelm Leibniz Prize recipient, Rudolf K. Thauer, who was also the founding director of the institute when it was established in 1991. The scientific focus of the group is on the biochemistry of methanogenic archaea, methanotrophic archaea and saccharolytic clostridia. The following specific topics are being addressed:
 * Hydrogen activation
 * Methane formation and anaerobic methane oxidation
 * Ferredoxin reduction

SYNMIKRO
MPI-Marburg is scheduled to expand with a new Department for Synthetic Microbiology (SYNMIKRO), in collaboration with the Max Planck Society and the University of Marburg. The new department will serve as a research centre for SYNMIKRO with about 100 scientific positions expected to be made available. A grant of about 21 million Euro has been allocated for the period of 2010-12 alone.

IMPRS-Mic
The Max Planck Institute for Terrestrial Microbiology operates the International Max Planck Research School for Environmental, Cellular and Molecular Microbiology program, in collaboration with the Philipps University of Marburg. The degrees are conferred by the university, as is the case for all other IMPRS programs in the MPG. Apart from the university, the MPI has close collaborations with research centres in the city and overseas. More specific information on their collaborations can be found on their cooperations page.