Department Environmental Microbiology

Current Projects

We are developing the CyanoSensor: a novel biosensor panel based on aptamer and CRISPR technology for fast, sensitive, and high-throughput monitoring of cyanotoxins in lake water.

CyanoSensor
This project aims to characterize, model and predict enzyme families driving pollutant biotransformations in periphyton.

Pollutant biotransformations in periphyton
Risk Factors for Pathogenic and Antimicrobial Resistant Escherichia coli in Drinking Water based on nationally representative Household-Level Survey.

Pathogenic and Antimicrobial Resistant E. coli in Drinking Water
Characterization of candidate hydrolytic enzymes involved in pollutant biodegradation in stream biofilms

Pollutant biotransformation by metagenomic hydrolases
Why do toxic cyanobacteria bloom? A gene to ecosystem approach...

Cyano Bloom
Application of Wastewater-based Epidemiology to SARS-CoV-2 Detection

SARS-CoV2 in Wastewater
The plasmid-mediated spread of antibiotic resistance (AR) within and between microbial communities is one of the most pressing problems facing our society, yet the causes and potential mitigation measures remain unclear.

Antibiotic resistance during range expansion
We combine computational, experimental and clinical approaches to develop a clearer view of microbiomes.

NCCR Microbiomes
Inhalation of legionella bacteria – which thrive in warm water – can cause illness: in a new project, an Eawag-led multidisciplinary research team is investigating how the risks associated with these bacteria can best be managed.

Legionella control efforts intensified in Switzerland – “LeCo” project
Microbial interactions determine the production of nitrous oxide

Causes of nitrous oxide production
In order to better understand natural processes and also to be able to better control the activities of microbial communities in technical systems such as wastewater treatment plants, we need to understand how microbial communities work.

PriME - Principles of microbial ecosystems
Differences between individual cells can be important for biological processes.

Biological diversity at the level of individual bacterial cells
Virus Transfer at the Skin-Liquid Interface

Virus Transfer at the skin/liquid interface
Growth Kinetics and Gene Transfer of Enteric and Environmental E. coli in Domestic Settings

Growth Kinetics of E. coli in soil
Microbial stability in reclaimed and treated grey water

Microbial stability of greywater

Completed projects

A general barcoding approach to monitor invasive populations

Microbial invasion demographics
Consequences of environmental fluctuations on the spatial self-organization of microbial assemblages

Microbial assemblages
Exploration of the impact of water chlorination on fecal carriage of antimicrobial resistant bacteria amongst a cohort of Bangladeshi children

Impact of water chlorination
Biofilms on materials in contact with potable water can be manipulated due to their dependencies on material composition.

Predicting and Managing Biofilms
Unexpected changes in source water microbial quality can profoundly influence the efficacy of drinking water treatment resulting in potential risk to consumers.

Microbial dynamics in drinking water
Improvement of methods for testing the influences of polymeric materials on drinking water quality and preventative measures for commissioning of new domestic pipe systems.

Materials in contact with drinking water
Microbial communities provide important services to ecosystems and human society.

Biodiversity-Ecosystem Functioning
Even without genetic resistance bacteria can be tolerant to antibiotics.

Bacterial tolerance to antibiotics – individual and collective effects
Individual variation and cellular memory help bacteria deal with environmental fluctuations.

Bacterial strategies in fluctuating environments
Even with effective drinking water treatment, microbial growth in the household is inevitable and can lead to problems for consumers

Premise Plumbing Microbiology
Individual microbial cells rarely exist alone in the natural environment. Instead, they typically arrange themselves in space relative to other cells.

Project MicroscapesX
Plastic materials are of major environmental concern.

Microbial degradation of synthetic polyesters
Hexachlorocyclohexanes were extensively used during the last century as insecticides for the control of agricultural pests.

Tracking biotransformation of hexachlorocyclohexanes by CSIA