Katharina Kitzinger

This study examines how thermal stress affects microbial symbiosis and host activity in the sponge Ianthella basta, showing tissue regression, symbiont loss, and microbial shifts under elevated temperatures.

The paper identifies a novel Saccharimonadia genus associated with a polyphosphate-accumulating bacterium in wastewater treatment plants and explores their ecological and metabolic interactions.

This study shows that Nitrobacter can adjust its nitrite affinity based on nitrite concentration and pH, demonstrating adaptive plasticity in cNXR NOB.

This study shows that ammonia oxidizers contribute only a small fraction to dark ocean DIC fixation, challenging the assumption that nitrification primarily sustains carbon fixation in the deep ocean.

This study shows sponge-associated ammonia-oxidizing archaea use branched-chain amino acids as a carbon and nitrogen source, revealing a mixotrophic lifestyle and a new nutritional interaction in sponge holobionts.

The paper improves 16S rRNA gene primers to better detect Patescibacteria in wastewater treatment plants, revealing their global diversity and potential ecological roles.

This study identifies two novel nitrifying symbiont lineages in marine sponges, showing vertical transmission and suggesting their role in nitrogen cycling.