Assist.-Prof. Katharina Kitzinger
Assistant Professor at the Division of Microbial Ecology
☎ +43 1 4277 91239
✉ katharina.kitzinger(at)univie.ac.at

Few elemental cycles are as dependent on microbial activity as the global nitrogen cycle. Katharina began exploring nitrogen cycling, biogeochemistry and microbiology during her joint PhD between the University of Vienna and the Max Plank Institute for Marine Microbiology (Germany). She has been a senior scientist at the University of Vienna since 2022, investigating the physiological versatility and life strategies of nitrifying microorganisms. Her methods range from cultivation and investigation of microbial physiology under laboratory conditions, to biogeochemical process measurements via stable isotope incubations in the field, and single cell and molecular techniques to link the identity of specific microorganisms in complex communities to their activities in situ.
Group Members
Julia Alexandra Berger
Dr. Benjamin Coltman
Publications
Halbach L, Kitzinger K, Hansen M, Littmann S, Benning LG, Bradley JA et al. Single-cell imaging reveals efficient nutrient uptake and growth of microalgae darkening the Greenland Ice Sheet. Nature Communications. 2025 Feb 19;16(1):1521. doi: 10.1038/s41467-025-56664-6
Glasl B, Kitzinger K, Luter HM, Legin A, Salas Hernandez EK, Heldwein N et al. Branched-chain amino acid assimilation promotes mixotrophy of ammonia-oxidizing archaeal sponge symbionts. bioRxiv. 2025. doi: 10.1101/2025.09.09.672702
Del Rey YC, Kitzinger K, Lund MB, Schramm A, Meyer RL, Wagner M et al. pH-FISH: coupled microscale analysis of microbial identity and acid–base metabolism in complex biofilm samples. Microbiome. 2024 Dec 20;12(1):266. doi: 10.1186/s40168-024-01977-9
Bosviel J, Kitzinger K, Pester M. Stabilization of nitrite in the presence of the nitrification inhibitor allylthiourea (ATU) in freshwater nitrification rate measurements. Limnology and Oceanography: Methods. 2024 Oct 1;22(10):752-758. doi: 10.1002/lom3.10643
Palatinszky M, Herbold CW, Sedlacek CJ, Pühringer D, Kitzinger K, Giguere AT et al. Growth of complete ammonia oxidizers on guanidine. Nature. 2024 Sept 19;633(8030):646-653. Epub 2024 Aug 14. doi: 10.1038/s41586-024-07832-z
Microbiomes Drive Planetary Health
Katharina Kitzinger is part of the FWF-funded Cluster of Excellence (CoE)

