The deep sea is a vast and seemingly uninhabitable place, except for some small oases of life. Sunken wood logs, so-called wood falls, can form such oases and provide for rich life for limited periods. A new study by researchers from the MPI Bremen takes a close look at the deep-sea organisms inh...
MPI-Direktor Friedrich Widdel erhält die Bergey-Medaille
Biologists discover a new octopus species at more than 4000 metres depth that guard their eggs, likely for years prior to hatching, and a community which may not survive without hard substrate such as manganese nodules
Bremerhaven, 19 December 2016. Manganese nodules on the seabed of the Pacific ...
Researchers from the Max Planck Institute for Marine Microbiology in Bremen and their colleagues from the Helmholtz-Zentrum für Umweltforschung (UFZ) in Leipzig discovered microbial communities thriving on the hydrocarbon butane without the help of molecular oxygen. The microbial consortia, obtai...
A study published in Nature Microbiology shows for the first time that a small nitrogen-fixing symbiosis contributes extensively to the total nitrogen fixation in the tropical North Atlantic. Nitrogen fixation is the largest source of nitrogen to the open ocean, and this symbiosis is thus a key p...
At the margins of oxygen minimum zones (OMZs) at ultralow oxygen concentrations, aerobic ammonium and nitrite oxidizers compete for nitrogen with anaerobic microorganisms. Thus they play an important but so far overlooked role in controlling nitrogen loss in OMZs.
Tropical Porites corals adjust their internal pH to enable themselves to form calcium carbonate and grow under elevated carbon dioxide concentrations – even for a longer period of time. New investigations reveal that the corals’ adaptability has its limits.
Hydrothermal vents in the deep sea are hundreds and thousands of kilometers apart and their inhabitants are isolated and not directly connected to each other. And yet there is clearly some sort of exchange between individual vents as similar species can be found at vents that are very far apart f...
Climate change has focused attention on burgeoning oxygen minimum zones. Newly discovered SAR11 bacteria deplete nitrogen, essential life nutrient.
1.000 Bürgerinnen und Bürger werden am heutigen myOSD Teil eines bundesweiten Bürgerwissenschaftsprojektes auf der Suche nach dem Leben im Wasser.
Bacteria may play a larger role in the melting of glaciers than previously suspected, according to a paper published in Nature Biofilms and Microbiomes. Scientists from Montana State University and MPI Bremen show how the spatial organisation of microbes leads to an efficient transfer of nutrient...
Day in, day out, in the smallest of spaces with your greatest enemy. Sounds unbearable? In the world of microbes, this has been everyday life for billions of years. This supposedly direful proximity can lead to unusual partnerships, as a study by researchers of the Max Planck Institute for Marine...
From June 1, 2016, our institute is excited to welcome a new research group: Headed by Boran Kartal, the new group is dedicated to the field of microbial physiology.
Invitation to the MPI Seminar
We cordially invite you to join an exciting talk of the american scientist Mitchell L. Sogin from Josephine Bay Paul Center, Marine Biological Laboratory (Woods Hole, USA) on Monday, May 30.
No two bacteria are identical – even when they are genetically the same. A new study reveals the conditions under which bacteria become individualists and how they help their group grow when times get tough.
An international research team around director Nicole Dubilier are on their way to investigate the life around hydrothermal vents on the Mid-Atlantic Ridge. A videoblog provides exciting details from board.
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Every spring, algae bloom in the North Sea. In these blooms, different algae can come out on top each year. Nevertheless, within the bacteria subsequently degrading the algae, the same specialised groups prevail year after year.
If your favourite pub moves – would you move too or look for another pub? For bacteria living in symbiosis with marine worms it all depends on whether they sit outside or inside the pub. Scientifically speaking: bacteria living on the body surface of their hosts are loyal to those, while bacteria...
Imagine you have a tenant living in your house. They’re keeping your fridge topped up. But in addition to this, they’re producing all kinds of toxic substances. More harm than good? Not necessarily; it all depends what you’re using the toxins for.
MPI researchers on board of research vessel Nautilus in the Gulf of Mexico
“Bio-concrete” set to revolutionise the building industry:
Dutch inventor of self-healing concrete named finalist for European Inventor Award
Dr. Nicole Dubilier, a scientist in the "Molecular Ecology" research group of Dr. Rudolf Amann at the Max Planck Institute of Marine Microbiology in Bremen, and her colleagues have discovered a unique symbiosis between bacteria and a marine worm.
Benedikt Geier, PhD student in the Department of Symbiosis at the Max Planck Institute for Marine Microbiology, was awarded this year's MSI Award for his innovative method for visualizing and investigating symbioses.
Am 14. Februar 2018 ist es soweit: An der Universität Bremen findet der erste Bremer Ocean Day statt.