Department of Ecophysiology
Bacterial cells process vast amounts of information to generate and regulate sophisticated output responses such as adaptation, differentiation, growth and cell movement. Generally, output responses involve changes in gene expression or changes in motility behavior. In our research we pursue two overall aims: Firstly, we aim to understand how bacteria process information to generate appropriate output responses. Secondly, we aim to understand how molecular machines involved in motility and secretion function and how their activity is regulated.
Information processing is carried out by complex networks of signal transduction proteins. A challenging problem in biology is to understand how these protein networks are organized in space and time to allow the ordered execution of these tasks. We are probing this question by studying signal transduction pathways and networks governing development, biofilm formation, motility, cell polarity, and cell cycle in Myxococcus xanthus and in Shewanella oneidensis. To understand how molecular machines function and their activity is regulated we focus on molecular machines involved in cell motility in M. xanthus and S. oneidensis, in cell division in M. xanthus and protein secretion in Neisseria gonorrhoeae.
Research in the Department is presently organized in four research groups:
- Dr. Chris van der Does
- Type IV secretion system in Neisseria gonorrhoeae
- Dr. Penelope Higgs
- Signal transduction in Myxococcus xanthus
- Prof. Dr. Lotte Søgaard-Andersen (Director)
- Bacterial development & differentiation
- Dr. Kai Thormann
- Initiation and control of microbial community formation
The research areas covered in these four groups are illustrated in the figure
Research areas covered by the four research groups in the Department of Ecophysiology.
Experimentally, we take an interdisciplinary approach to address our questions and incorporate diverse techniques in our research including:
- Molecular genetics
- In vitro characterization of purified proteins
- Microscopy and live-cell imaging
- Whole genome sequencing and comparative genomics
- Functional genomics
- Theoretical modeling
The Department is equipped with state-of-the-art facilities for microscopy incl. live cell imaging, for proteomics and for the analysis of molecular interactions. Moreover, the Department includes a proteomics facility and a bioinformatic unit.
The members of the Department meet in weekly department seminars with progress reports presented mostly by PhD students and post-docs. The daily language in the Department is English.