Author: Amelia Rotaru

We’re excited to announce the arrival of several talented individuals who are joining our team this year:

• Lorena Selak (AU/SDU) – As a postdoc, Lorena will be exploring the dynamics of methane cycling within marine sediments, bringing valuable insights into this crucial environmental process. She is on a joint postdoc between Aarhus University and the University of Southern Denmark.
• Adrienn Groza (Radboud Uni) – Joining us as an Erasmus MSc student, Adrienn will delve into the microbial key players within MEC-AD reactors that treat digestate, aiming to enhance our understanding of microbial contributions to renewable energy processes.
• Sebastian Rotenberg (SDU) – As a Bachelor’s student, Sebastian is set to investigate how Methanosarcina acetivorans respond to various stressors through changes on its cell surface, a study that promises to deepen our grasp of the adaptability and resilience of methanogens.

We are thrilled to have Lorena, Adrienn, and Sebastian on board and can’t wait to see the exciting scientific discoveries they’ll be making.

Welcome to the team! 🎉

We are delighted to celebrate the successful completion of Sebastian B’s, Sarah’s, and Anne’s bachelor theses in 2023. Their dedication and hard work have brought them to this significant milestone, and we couldn’t be prouder.

Sebastian B continues his journey with us, embarking on Master of Science studies focused on genetics in Geobacter metallireducens. He will delve into gene deletions and insertions to understand more deeply the metabolism and mechanisms of extracellular electron transfer in Geobacter.

Sarah, too, is continuing her journey with us for her MSc research, where she will study methanogens’ survival and possibly growth under oxygen. This follows her remarkable work during her BSc studies, where she isolated a methanogen from aerobic Rømø tidal sediments, marking a significant step towards understanding these organisms’ adaptability.

We are excited about what the future holds and the discoveries Sebastian and Sarah will make in their master’s research. Here’s to their next chapter of exploration and discovery!

Our latest research breaks new ground by scrutinizing the effects of cathodic currents on syntrophic consortia, specifically those involved in direct interspecies electron transfer (DIET). While previous theories posited that cathodic currents could enhance DIET interactions and methanogenesis at the cathode, our findings reveal a different story.

Contrary to expectations, we demonstrate that cathodic current does not promote methanogenesis by the consortia. Instead, it proves harmful, disrupting the interspecies interactions. This pivotal study challenges existing assumptions and opens new avenues for understanding the dynamics of microbial interactions on electrodes within bioelectrochemical systems for MEC-AD.

Dive into our findings and read our paper here.