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Molecular Biology of ARCHAEA
The central theme in our research is the assembly of cell surface appendages in archaea and their role in adhesion and biofilm formation. The model organism we study is the hyperthermophilic archaeon Sulfolobus acidocaldarius which grows optimally at 76oC and a pH of 2-4. We are interested to elucidate the regulatory response the attachment to surfaces induces in this organism.
We use genetic approaches to identify systems in Sulfolobus that are involved in the assembly of cell surface appendages and biochemically characterize the subunits and their interplay in the assembly process.
Our group is located in the Max-Planck-Institute for terrestrial Microbiology in Marburg, Germany. Our website from the institute is linked here and this website provides information about the institute.
News:
21.11.2011
Our article on UV induced pili (Ajon et al., 2011) was featured in a commentary in Molecular Microbiology by Thorsten Allers.
16.05.2011
Our review on the archaeal cell envelope in Nature Reviews Microbiology is online.
02.03.2011
The biofilm article was covered in the ASM Journal "Microbes".
24.11.2010
Our first article on archaeal biofilm formation has just been published, have a look here.
