Cluster of Excellence 'MicroPlanet'

Experience the FUN(gi) Lab • Pilzfestspiele 06.–12.10.2025

Dive into the hidden world of fungi at "Experience the FUN(gi) Lab" – today 16:00–18:00 at the University of Vienna Biology Building (UBB), hosted by the Fungal Ecology Lab @ter-cemess.bsky.social.

Free & open to all – just drop by!
www.pilzfestspiele.at/event/experi...

#Pilzfestspiele

Organizer Thilo Hofmann @cemess.bsky.social, contributions from 30+ @univie.ac.at scientists, incl @michiwagner4.bsky.social, @christinakaiser.bsky.social, Stephan Krämer, @jillianmpetersen.bsky.social, @ppjevac.bsky.social, @andreasrichter.bsky.social, and @loutsi.bsky.social from our cluster.

Free online course “Environmental Emergencies: Navigating Climate Change, Biodiversity Loss, and Environmental Pollution” starts Oct 1. Interdisciplinary course on triple crisis: climate change, biodiversity loss, and environmental pollution. imoox.at/course/envem, www.youtube.com/watch?v=22Wp...

New @fwf-at.bsky.social CoE Microplanet study from @davidberry1.bsky.social lab @cemess.bsky.social @univie.ac.at shows how arabinogalactan, a potential plant prebiotic, gets metabolized by B. longum, supporting other beneficial gut microbes. www.oaepublish.com/articles/mrr...

New @fwf-at.bsky.social CoE Microplanet study led by @barbarabayer.bsky.social, CoE Researchers @michiwagner4.bsky.social and @kathikitzinger.bsky.social @cemess.bsky.social @univie.ac.at challenges the role of ammonia-oxidizing microbes in deep-ocean carbon fixation. www.nature.com/articles/s41...

Our CoE Board member Angela Sessitsch is nominated for "Austrian of the Year 2025" by @diepressecom.bsky.social in the ‘Research’ category. As a top researcher at AIT Tulln, she's an expert on plant microbiomes. Show your support and vote here: www.diepresse.com/20065228/aus...
@fwf-at.bsky.social

Organized by CoE Microplanet Director of Research @michiwagner4.bsky.social, and CoE Key Researchers Holger Daims, @kathikitzinger.bsky.social, @ppjevac.bsky.social. See you next year!
@fwf-at.bsky.social
#microsky

The 28th European Nitrogen Cycle meeting (ENC28) brought together over 70 participants from 13 countries at @cemess.bsky.social @univie.ac.at! Inspiring CoE Microplanet closing lecture by Jan Willem Erisman. Thanks to all the speakers and participants for making it such a stimulating event.

New @fwf-at.bsky.social CoE Microplanet Publication from the lab of Thilo Hofmann with first author Anya Sherman
@cemess.bsky.social @univie.ac.at finds tire-derived compounds in edible plants. www.sciencedirect.com/science/arti...

New @fwf-at.bsky.social CoE Microplanet Publication @nature.com! A study from the lab of CoE Researcher Alexander Loy @loyteam.bsky.social @cemess.bsky.social @univie.ac.at uncovers bacteria that “breathe” rocks using toxic sulfide in oxygen-free environments. Link: www.nature.com/articles/s41...

enviromicro-journals.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/...

New @fwf-at.bsky.social CoE Microplanet Publication from the labs of @michiwagner4.bsky.social and Holger Daims with @ppjevac.bsky.social @cemess.bsky.social @univie.ac.at identifies novel plastoquinone forms (m-PQs) in nitrogen-cycling microbes, revealing their essential role in electron transport.

New @fwf-at.bsky.social CoE Microplanet Publication in Cell! An international study, including CoE Researcher Martin Polz @cemess.bsky.social @univie.ac.at, uncovers the significant and underestimated contribution of fungi to ocean biomass and the global carbon cycle. www.cell.com/cell/fulltex...

New @fwf-at.bsky.social CoE Microplanet Publication in Microbiome! CoE Researcher @loyteam.bsky.social @cemess.bsky.social @univie.ac.at reveals that sulfoquinovose from leafy greens acts as promising prebiotic by boosting beneficial gut bacteria. microbiomejournal.biomedcentral.com/articles/10....

CoE Deputy Director of Research, @chmoei.bsky.social @medunigraz.at, was on @derstandard.at podcast! She discusses whether the microbiome is a savior or just empty hype, incl some nutritional tips.
Tune in! www.derstandard.at/story/300000...
@fwf-at.bsky.social

New @wienerzeitung.at interview with Thilo Hofmann (CeMESS|@edge-vienna.bsky.social) on heatwaves in the city now up on Instagram:

🔗 www.instagram.com/p/DMpYRHvpIwH/

Mikroplastik – Vom Wunderwuzzi zum Problemfall Plastik hat die Welt in den vergangenen Jahrzehnten nachhaltig und in vielfältiger Weise verändert. Der multitalentierte Werkstoff bietet zahlreiche Vorteile, hat aber auch eine Schattenseite: In sein...

UN negotiations on a global plastic treaty are underway in Geneva after the previous round in Busan ended without a deal. In #APA’s special on plastics, our researcher Thilo Hofmann shares insights on microplastics.

Read more🔗 science.apa.at/thema/mikrop...

🚨 2 funded #PhD positions (ERC Adv Grant) in the Moissl-Eichinger Lab, Graz! Study Methanobrevibacter as a keystone in the gut microbiome.
💡 Omics, modeling, synthetic consortia
📅 Deadline: Sept 10, 2025
🌍 Int’l applicants welcome!
Application link below.
#microbiomesky #archaeasky #microsky

New @fwf-at.bsky.social CoE Microplanet Publication @currentbiology.bsky.social! The lab of CoE Researcher Matthias Horn @cemess.bsky.social @univie.ac.at introduces novel chlamydial species infecting social amoebae, transmitted solely through cell-to-cell contact. www.cell.com/current-biol...

We are hiring: Full Professor of Soil Ecosystems and Global Change Soil ecosystems form the foundation of planetary health and play a critical role in climate feedback mechanisms. However, they are also vulnerable to the impacts of global change.

CeMESS is hiring!

Join us at the Division of Terrestrial Ecosystem Research (@ter-cemess.bsky.social) as Full Professor of SOIL ECOSYSTEMS AND GLOBAL CHANGE. Collaborate across a leading institution in microbiome science and environmental research.

🔗 Learn more: cemess.univie.ac.at/news/detail-...

Our PI Gregor Gorkiewicz presented our work at bageco.org 2025 in Graz. Showing the complexity of Fecal Microbiota Transplantation for IBD patients and how we are hunting for mechanisms behind remission. Thanks for the invitation, @gabrieleberg.bsky.social #humanmicrobiome #ibd #fmt

Celebrating excellent Austrian microbiome research on World Microbiome Day!
#microsky

➡️Best MSc Thesis: Cornelia Rottensteiner for her work on microbial activity in permafrost soils.
➡️Best PhD Thesis: Charlotte Neumann for her innovative research on the woman-microbiome-child interplay.
➡️Best Paper: Daniela Wöber for her paper on microbial communities in sugar beet storability.

Today, June 27, marks World Microbiome Day! We're celebrating with the inaugural Austrian Microbiome Research Awards. Congrats to Cornelia Rottensteiner @cornelia-cr.bsky.social @cemess.bsky.social @univie.ac.at, Charlotte Neumann @medunigraz.at, and Daniela Wöber @AIT. @fwf-at.bsky.social Details👇

New @fwf-at.bsky.social CoE Microplanet Publication in Microvascular Research! CoE Researchers @tuwien.at introduce the Nylon Vessel-on-a-Chip (NVoC): a cost-effective, versatile microfluidic platform advancing vascular disease study (PAH). 📃 www.sciencedirect.com/science/arti...

Exciting news #2! CoE Key Researcher Dagmar Woebken (@cemess.bsky.social, @univie.ac.at) receives an ERC Advanced Grant to explore how desert microbes thrive on non-rainwater (dew, water vapor).
#Microsky #ERCAdG @erc.europa.eu @fwf-at.bsky.social

Exciting news #1! Our CoE Deputy Director @chmoei.bsky.social @medunigraz.at received an ERC Advanced Grant to study Methanobrevibacter – a tiny archaeon with a huge impact on gut health and methane emissions. #Archaeasky #Microsky #ERCAdG @erc.europa.eu @fwf-at.bsky.social

📃Link: www.nature.com/articles/s41...
#archaeasky #microsky

New @fwf-at.bsky.social CoE Microplanet Publication in NatureComms! @theviktoriaeffect.bsky.social from the lab of @chmoei.bsky.social @medunigraz.at profiled the proteome & metabolome of extracellular vesicles from key gut archaea, revealed immune-stimulating capacities and unique molecular cargo.

Congratulations to CoE Key Researcher Katharina Kitzinger (
@kathikitzinger.bsky.social) on her appointment as Assistant Professor at @cemess.bsky.social @univie.ac.at!
Her research links the activity of single microbial cells to large-scale ecosystem processes. 🎉🧫🌍
@fwf-at.bsky.social