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
Publications
Daebeler A, Kitzinger K, Koch H, Herbold C, Steinfeder M, Schwarz J et al. Exploring the upper pH limits of nitrite oxidation: diversity, ecophysiology, and adaptive traits of haloalkalitolerant Nitrospira. ISME Journal. 2020 Dec;14(12):2967-2979. Epub 2020 Jul 24. doi: 10.1038/s41396-020-0724-1
Lukumbuzya M, Kristensen JM, Kitzinger K, Pommerening-Röser A, Nielsen PH, Wagner M et al. A refined set of rRNA-targeted oligonucleotide probes for in situ detection and quantification of ammonia-oxidizing bacteria. Water Research. 2020 Nov 1;186:116372. doi: 10.1016/j.watres.2020.116372
Kitzinger K, Marchant HK, Bristow LA, Herbold CW, Padilla CC, Kidane AT et al. Single cell analyses reveal contrasting life strategies of the two main nitrifiers in the ocean. Nature Communications. 2020 Feb 7;11(1):767. doi: 10.1038/s41467-020-14542-3
Kitzinger K, Padilla CC, Marchant HK, Hach PF, Herbold CW, Kidane AT et al. Cyanate and urea are substrates for nitrification by Thaumarchaeota in the marine environment. Nature Microbiology. 2019 Feb;4(2):234-243. Epub 2018 Dec 10. doi: 10.1038/s41564-018-0316-2
Kitzinger K, Koch H, Lücker S, Sedlacek CJ, Herbold C, Schwarz J et al. Characterization of the First “Candidatus Nitrotoga" Isolate Reveals Metabolic Versatility and Separate Evolution of Widespread Nitrite-Oxidizing Bacteria. mBio. 2018 Jul 10;9(4):e01186-18. doi: 10.1128/mBio.01186-18
Microbiomes Drive Planetary Health
Katharina Kitzinger is part of the FWF-funded Cluster of Excellence (CoE)
