Balance of the Microverse

The VEO Group has a position open for a Scientific Coordinator Bioinformatics: 👇
jobs.uni-jena.de/jobposting/5...

Fungal-Worm Lab IMB Academia Sinica

Predator vs. Prey: A Fungal Tale 🍄🪱
How does a fungus turn into a hunter? Yen-Ping Hsueh (@maxplanckcampus.bsky.social)joined us at @leibniz-hki.de to explore how A. oligospora traps nematodes—a wild evolutionary trade-off!

📺 Watch the hunt: www.youtube.com/@fungal-worm...
#JEMS

First benches detected! 🔭
Rosalind Allen's lab is the first to set up in the new #MicroverseCenterJena.

Moving in this year:
✨ 10 Research Groups
✨ Microverse Imaging Center
✨ 5,000 m² of science space

Follow along as we fill this building with life! 🚛
#MicroverseOnTheMove @uni-jena.de

Everyone knows that space and spatial structure is super important in shaping the Microverse 🌎🌍🌏 Check out this amazing review where @marcelbaecker.bsky.social and @bramvandijk.bsky.social et al bring together a huge body of knowledge @microverse.bsky.social @binfutrecht.bsky.social

@hellmichgroup.bsky.social 🤝 @mlakemeyer.bsky.social

Microbial Tag-Team: Researchers Decode Joint Defense Strate… A team at the Cluster of Excellence "Balance of the Microverse" reveals how two bacterial species cooperat…

Microbial Tag-Team! 🦠🤝
Researchers at our #ClusterOfExcellence found that bacteria cooperate to survive: One makes the compound, the other uses "molecular scissors" to turn it into a weapon against predators. A breakthrough for #DrugDiscovery! 💊
➡️ www.microverse-cluster.de/en/news/micr...

Different Roles, One Shared Mission! 🔬✨
Success in the Microverse Ecosystem is about more than just research—it's about the perspectives and support systems that empower women to lead. 🚀

Happy #InternationalDayOfWomenAndGirlsInScience!
🤝@leibniz-hki.de & @uni-jena.de

Previously unknown viruses discovered in groundwater Researchers have created a comprehensive picture of viral diversity and function in a groundwater system. They identified over 257,000 viral operational taxonomic units, i.e. viruses at species level,...

Invisible Actors: Over 257,000 viruses found in groundwater—99% of them previously unknown! 🦠
Our team discovered that these viruses act as "metabolic hackers," shaping essential ecosystem cycles deep underground.

Read the feature via The Microbiologist ⤵️ www.the-microbiologist.com/news/previou...

Kirsten Küsel and Kyle Mason-Jones, speaker at the CMFI Microbiology Colooquium in Tübingen February 5, 2026. © CMFI / University of Tübingen

Great Microbiology Colloquium at CMFI today!
Kirsten Küsel (@kuesellab.bsky.social @microverse.bsky.social) shared insights on the groundwater microbiome, plus Kyle Mason-Jones (@unituebingen.bsky.social) on soil bacteriophages. Thanks to all for great talks and discussions!

@kuesellab.bsky.social

Water sampling point in Hainich. Photo: Akbar Adjie Pratama

Until now, the role of viruses in the groundwater ecosystem was largely unknown, but an international research team including scientists from our @microverse.bsky.social has now provided the first comprehensive analysis of viral diversity and function.

➡️ www.uni-jena.de/en/387310/in...

The invisible worlds beneath our feet Deep beneath the Earth’s surface, in the pores and crevices of rock, live huge communities of microorganisms. Th…

Rocks beneath us are teeming with life! 🪨 Microbes attached to rock are 1,000x more abundant than in water & vital for carbon storage. A true hidden majority. 🌍 👇 www.microverse-cluster.de/en/news/the-...
🤝@uni-jena.de & @kuesellab.bsky.social

Microbial dl-Peptidases Enable Predator Defense and Facilitate Structure Elucidation of Complex Natural Products Peptidases are indispensable tools in biotechnology and chemical biology. However, the enzyme repertoire for the selective hydrolysis of dl-amide bonds in peptides is small. Here, we describe novel dl...

🧪Bacterial DL-peptidases are key in coordindated predetor defenses AND powerful tools for natural product structure elucidation! 🦠✂️
New JACS paper with @pstallforth.bsky.social
@mlakemeyer.bsky.social @en-hxnu-enment.bsky.social & Hertweck labs
@microverse.bsky.social
pubs.acs.org/doi/10.1021/...

We have an open position for a bioinformatics/theoretical microbial ecology PhD student to study viral strategies in the global Microverse! Join us at the @microverse.bsky.social at @uni-jena.de, please apply through this link:
jobs.uni-jena.de/jobposting/9...

Don' t miss the LIFE Talent Award Call 2026!

Forschung zu resistenten Keimen macht Fortschritte | MDR.DE Seit 100 Jahren können Bakterien mit Antibiotika gut behandelt werden. Doch inzwischen sind auch multiresistente Keime im Umlauf, die immun gegen die Medikamente sind. An der Uni Jena forscht man an e...

TV feature alert! 📺 Great to see our PIs @hellmichgroup.bsky.social & Michael Bauer on MDR. They explain why understanding microbial balance is crucial for our future. 🦠

Catch the full clip here: www.mdr.de/video/mdr-vi...

🤝 @lifeprofile.bsky.social & @uni-jena.de

Infektionen, Antibiotika und unser Mikrobiom: Kampf um die Kontrolle der menschlichen Gesundheit Seniorenkolleg

🦠 Event Alert: The Battle for Health

Join Prof. Axel Brakhage this Wednesday for a deep dive into infections, antibiotics, and the microbiome. How do microbes shape our health?

📅 Jan 28, 16:00 📍 Uni Jena, Aula 🗣️ German | Free admission

🔗 www.uni-jena.de/124553/infek...

📚 Yesterday (Feb 24) was the International Day of Education. Microbes may be tiny, but their impact on health, ecosystems & our future is huge. At our #ClusterOfExcellence, we believe microbiology deserves a central place in education. #InternationalDayOfEducation #Microbiology #STEM

I cannot wait to see the result!

Spying on ABC multidrug transporters in action, gently nudged by our Victor! 😍

ZDF Mittagsmagazin visited us & co-LIFE speaker Michael Bauer to discuss antibiotic resistance: mechanisms, why basic research matters, & clinical challenges
@microverse.bsky.social @uni-jena.de @lifeprofile.bsky.social

🧪If you love lipids,cell biology & chemical bioloy and wonder about the fundamental mechanisms of life, you'll be in for a treat! 🤩🥳

Don't miss the next @gbmev.bsky.social Lunch Seminar by @nadlerlab.bsky.social & Kristin Böhlig!

#ChemBio #LipidLove

Preregister for free
@gfg-chembio.bsky.social

Researchers in our cluster (@hellmichgroup.bsky.social) have discovered a mechanism that bacteria use to defend themselves against antibiotics, making it the #GoodNewsOfTheDay at @kathakritzelt.bsky.social!

Frei nach dem Goethezitat
"Nicht vorbei - es muss erst frommen!"
ging der Austausch Light, Life & Liberty mit Sebastian Seiffert heute mit Studierenden im Goethe-Laboratorium Jena weiter!

Erster interdisziplinärer Austausch im botanischen Garten
Light, Life & Liberty mit unserem Gast Prof. Sebastian Seiffert aus Mainz
ist gestartet!

Wir freuen uns auf seinen Vortrag heute Abend 17:15 Uhr.

Institutskolloquium Das Institutskolloquium des Matthias-Schleiden-Instituts ist eine gemeinsame Veranstaltung aller Institutsteilbereiche (Molekulare Botanik, Genetik, Bioinformatik). Alle Interessenten sind herzlich ei...

🔬 Guest Lecture at Matthias Schleiden Institute
Alexej Kedrov (@hhu.de) will speak on
“At the roots of biofilm: structure & dynamics of the exopolysaccharide secretion machinery from Pseudomonas aeruginosa”
📅 27 Jan 2025 | 🕓 4:00 pm (c.t.)
📍 Planetarium 1, Jena
🔗 www.bio.uni-jena.de/11484/instit...

Specific activation instead of continuous operation: How bacteria save energy and what this means for antibiotic resistances Researchers in the Cluster of Excellence “Balance of the Microverse” at the University of Jena decipher a key mechanism of antibiotic resistance pumps

Researchers of @hellmichgroup.bsky.social at #UniJena Cluster of Excellence @microverse.bsky.social have deciphered a key mechanism of antibiotic resistance. They showed how the bacterium applies the energy required to transport the drug out of its cell.

➡️ www.uni-jena.de/en/381040/sp...

🤝 @uni-jena.de & @lifeprofile.bsky.social

Chemieprofessor und Klima-Akzeptist: Handeln statt Hoffen Öffentlicher Vortrag der LIGHT. LIFE. LIBERTY. Reihe

𝗦𝘁𝘂𝗱𝗲𝗻𝘁 𝗦𝗹𝗼𝘁: 𝗔𝗰𝘁𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗜𝗻𝘀𝘁𝗲𝗮𝗱 𝗼𝗳 𝗛𝗼𝗽𝗶𝗻𝗴
Join the Student Slot linked to the lecture “Chemistry Professor and Climate-Acceptist: Acting Instead of Hoping” on 15 Jan 2026. Students discuss climate action, science, and society.
🔗 More & registration: www.uni-jena.de/380666/lll-c...

Newsletter - Balance of the Microverse

Happy New Year from us!
We’re heading into an exciting year of new research, collaborations, and insights into the microbial world. Want to stay up to date? Subscribe to our newsletter and follow our journey through the Microverse: www.microverse-cluster.de/en/news-even...

YouTube video by University of California Television (UCTV) CARTA: Human Microbiome Evolution with Christina Warinner

New video of talk by @christinawarinner.bsky.social given at Center for Academic Research and Training in Anthropogeny posted by @ucsandiego.bsky.social explaining how advances in #aDNA and #proteomics can investigate the complex and diverse microbial communities from dental calculus