Projects:

We are interested in analyzing the diversity of nitrifying bacteria originating from moderate and extreme environments. Physiological characterics are investigated with regard to stress adaptation and activity in waste water treatment. One of our main research fields is the selective enrichment of novel representatives of the genus Nitrospira from hot springs and permafrost soils.

Recent publications:

Bartosch, S., Hartwig, C., Spieck, E., Bock, E. (2002) Immunological detection of Nitrospira-like bacteria in various soils. Microb. Ecol. 43: 26-33.

Lebedeva, E., Alawi, M., Fiencke, C., Namsaraev, B., Bock, E., Spieck, E. (2005). Moderately thermophilic nitrifying bacteria from a hot spring of the Baikal rift zone. FEMS Microbiol. Ecol. 54: 297-306.

Spieck, E., Hartwig, C., McCormack, I., Maixner, F., Wagner, M., Lipski, A., Daims, H. (2006). Selective enrichment and molecular characterisation of a previously uncultured Nitrospira-like bacterium from activated sludge. Environ. Microbiol. 8:405-415.

Alawi, M., Lipski, A., Sanders, T., Pfeiffer, E.-M., Spieck, E. (2007). Cultivation of a novel cold-adapted nitrite oxidizing betaproteobacterium from the Siberian Arctic. ISME J 1: 256-264.

Vanparys B, Spieck E, Heylen K, Wittebolle L, Geets J, Boon N, De Vos P. (2007) The phylogeny of the genus Nitrobacter based on comparative rep-PCR, 16S rRNA and nitrite oxidoreductase gene sequence analysis. System. Appl. Microbiol. 30: 297-308.

Lebedeva, E.V., Alawi, M., Maixner, F., Jozsa, P.-G., Daims, H., Spieck, E. (2008) Physiological and phylogenetical characterization of a new lithoautotrophic nitrite-oxidizing bacterium “Candidatus Nitrospira bockiana”sp. nov.. Int. J. Syst. Evol. Microbiol. 58: 242-250.

Hatzenpichler, R., Lebedeva, E.V., Spieck, E., Stoecker, K., Richter, A., Daims, H., Wagner, M. A (2008) Moderately Thermophilic Ammonia-Oxidizing Crenarchaeote from a Hot Spring. PNAS 105: 2135-2139.