DOME

Division of Microbial Ecology (DOME)

Centre for Microbiology and Environmental Systems Science

About DOME

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.

More about CeMESS

News

Congratulations Dr. Zauner!

07.08.2025 DOME

Sarah Zauner successfully defended her PhD thesis entitled "From bivalves to microbes to birds: ecological interactions in a marine symbiosis" on July…

Congratulations, Dr. Alcaraz!

30.07.2025 DOME

Cristina Alcaraz successfully defended her PhD thesis entitled "Host-microbe interactions in marine lucinid clams" on February 27, 2025.

DOC Fellowship for Alejandro Llanos-Lizcano

24.07.2025 DOME

CeMESS PhD student Alejandro Llanos-Lizcano has been awarded a prestigious DOC Fellowship from the Austrian Academy of Sciences (ÖAW). The fellowship…

STEM Outreach with Nachbarinnen

23.07.2025 DOME

In July, CeMESS had the pleasure of hosting another STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics) outreach event. Organized by DOMEie Yusuf…

DOC Fellowship for Joana Góis Valério

22.07.2025 DOME

Joana Góis Valério, PhD student at CeMESS, has been awarded a DOC Fellowship by the Austrian Academy of Sciences (ÖAW). With this competitive grant,…

New Paper: Chlamydiae give up extracellular stage to thrive in social amoebae

08.07.2025 DOME

Many intracellular bacteria rely on an extracellular stage to move between hosts – but what happens when that’s no longer needed? A new study, now…

Events

DOME Lecture: Considering Alternative Routes to Cooperation: The Role of Early Development and Individual Variation"

10.03.2022 DOME Lecture Series

Jessica Cusick

DOME Lecture: Ecological and evolutionary studies of exploitative bacterial interactions

25.01.2022 DOME Lecture Series

Shaul Pollak

DOME Lecture: Microbial iron cycling in biogeochemical cycles past and present

20.01.2022 DOME Lecture Series

Casey Bryce

Latest Publications at DOME

Lücking D , Manzano-Marín A , Willemsen A. Multilayered network analysis reveals the centrality of newly discovered Nucleocytoviricota in wastewater treatment plant communities. The ISME Journal. 2026 Oct 21;wrag267. doi: 10.64898/2026.05.21.726523, 10.1093/ismejo/wrag267

Eigenschink M, Davogg E, Pristner M, Seki FD, Arzmüller M, Kiss H et al. Maturation-Dependent Constraints in the Ability of Human Monocytes to Initiate Trained Immunity. MedComm. 2026 Oct;7(10):e70939. doi: 10.1002/mco2.70939

www.scopus.com/pages/publications/105052391820

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

Crudo F, Partsch V, Eder C, Brites A , Del Favero G , Berry D et al. Hidden threats in the food chain: immunotoxic, antiestrogenic, and microbiota-modulating activities of neglected Alternaria mycotoxins. Toxicology Letters. 2026 Sept;423(Supplement:S Special Issue: SI):112000. doi: 10.1016/j.toxlet.2026.112000

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

All publications

Centre for Microbiology and Environmental Systems Science

University of Vienna

More about CeMESS

CeMESS/Maximilian Prag