Centre for Microbiology and Environmental Systems Science
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 researchers explore 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.
We are committed to nurturing the next generation of scientists, including undergraduate and doctoral programs, as well as intensive methods-based courses.
Our Facilities and Ressources include Joint Microbiome Facility, NanoSIMS, probeBase, and daime.
Lukas Helmlinger successfully defended his PhD thesis on May 04, 2026.
A new study from the research group of Barbara Bayer at DOME | CeMESS discovered that the two Austrian lakes Mondsee and Attersee are a source of…
First study to identify the mutualistic relationship between E.coli and Bifidobacterium and highlights potential for future synbiotics
Joana Séneca, Petra Pjevac and David Berry from the Joint Microbiome Facility (JMF) and DOME | CeMESS (University of Vienna) contributed to a new…
This week, CeMESS hosted more than 20 PhD students and faculty members from the Department of Environmental Technology at Wageningen University &…
DOME | CeMESS Assistant Professor Barbara Bayer has been awarded the 2026 Raymond L. Lindeman Award by the Association for the Sciences of Limnology…
Omri Finkel
Samuel Marre
Anaïs Cario
Glasl B, Kitzinger K, Luter HM, Legin A, Schuster S, Salas E et al. Branched-chain amino acid assimilation enables mixotrophy of ammonia-oxidizing archaeal sponge symbionts. Science Advances. 2026 Sept 4;12(36):1-15. eaef9450. doi: 10.1126/sciadv.aef9450
Ren XY, Lin XY, Tanabe TS, Loy A, Hu L, Zhu YG et al. Evolutionary trajectory of microbial sulfur oxidation pathways recapitulates Earth's oxygenation history. Nature Communications. 2026 Jul 20. Epub 2026 Jul 20. doi: 10.1038/s41467-026-75310-3
Meier DV, Greve A, de Beer D, Abed RMM, Woebken D. Sulfide-oxidizing potential and hypersalinity tolerance strategies in salt-crust covered coastal microbial mats. ISME Journal. 2026 Jun 26;20(1):1-17. wrag166. doi: 10.1093/ismejo/wrag166
Kralova S, Spacek P, Gafriller J, Bezdicek M, Medvedcova V, Séneca J et al. Kineochelins-A New Group of Siderophores From an Antarctic Bacterium. Microbial Biotechnology. 2026 Jun;19(6):1-24. e70386. doi: 10.1111/1751-7915.70386
Abergel C, Abrahão JS, Coulibaly F, Fischer M, Jeudy S, Knorr RL et al. Infection cycles of viruses of the phylum Nucleocytoviricota. Nature Reviews. Microbiology. 2026 May 29. Epub 2026 May 29. doi: 10.1038/s41579-026-01319-6
University of Vienna
