About Us

The Division of Microbial Ecology (DOME) at the Centre for Microbiology and Environmental Systems Science (CeMESS) is a team of microbiologists and molecular biologists. Our mission is to unravel the complexities of microbial life and its profound impact on our health and environment.

Our research explores the evolution, ecophysiology, interactions and functions of microbes across a broad range of systems. We apply cutting-edge methods, from 'omics analysis, to single-cell isotope probing, to microbial imaging, to computational community modelling.

Get to know our research by exploring our active projects and the researcher profiles of our principle investigators. 

At DOME, we are committed to nurturing the next generation of scientists at every level of education, including undergraduate and doctoral programs, as well as intensive methods-based courses.

 News

05.06.2025
 

Kerrin Steensen successfully defended her PhD thesis entitled "Diversity and Evolution of Mobile Genetic Elements in Vibrio" on May 26, 2025.

13.05.2025
 

CeMESS researcher Marie-Therese Fischer (DOME) is investigating the microbiome of fire salamanders in collaboration with Tiergarten Schönbrunn. An ORF...

29.04.2025
 

Several open PhD positions are currently available in our doctoral school.

 Events

26.05.2025 15:00
 

Carolin Wendling

LMU Munich, Germany

hybrid, UBB HS 3

30.04.2025 10:00
 

Fengping Wang

Shanghai Jiao Tong University, China

hybrid, UBB SR 2.1

30.04.2025 10:00
 

Yongqin Liu

Chinese Academy of Sciences, China

hybrid, UBB SR 2.1

 Latest Publications

Global Water Microbiome Consortium, Zhu, C, Wu, L, Ning, D, Tian, R, Gao, S, Zhang, B, Zhao, J, Zhang, Y, Xiao, N, Wang, Y, Brown, MR, Tu, Q, Ju, F, Wells, GF, Guo, J, He, Z, Nielsen, PH, Wang, A, Zhang, Y, Chen, T, He, Q, Criddle, CS, Wagner, M, Tiedje, JM, Curtis, TP, Wen, X, Yang, Y, Alvarez-Cohen, L, Stahl, DA, Alvarez, PJJ, Rittmann, BE & Zhou, J 2025, 'Global diversity and distribution of antibiotic resistance genes in human wastewater treatment systems', Nature Communications, vol. 16, no. 1, 4006. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-025-59019-3

Breyer, E, Stix, C, Kilker, S, Roller, BRK, Panagou, F, Doebke, C, Amano, C, Saavedra, DEM, Coll-García, G, Steger-Mähnert, B, Dachs, J, Berrojalbiz, N, Vila-Costa, M, Sobrino, C, Fuentes-Lema, A, Berthiller, F, Polz, MF & Baltar, F 2025, 'The contribution of pelagic fungi to ocean biomass', Cell. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cell.2025.05.004