Environmental Biotechnology focuses on how microbes sustain ecosystems and can be used for environmental recovery. Professors involved: Mads Albertsen, Per H. Nielsen, Jeppe L. Nielsen, Morten Dueholm, and others from Aalborg University + collaborators from Vienna, Delft, and Queensland.
You’ll learn how microbial communities drive water treatment, waste recovery, and sustainability.
Microbes = green engineers! 💧 Used in:
The aim: Transform waste into valuable resources (“circular economy”).
1️⃣ Introduction – microbial diversity, nutrient cycles 2️⃣ Biofilms, One Health, ARGs 3️⃣–4️⃣ Imaging methods (like FISH) 5️⃣–6️⃣ Community analysis (16S rRNA sequencing) 7️⃣–11️⃣ Applications – nutrient removal, pollutants, gut ecology, bioplastics, bioreactors
Over 5–100 million bacterial species exist — but <10,000 are cultivated! 😱
To study uncultured communities:
Life depends on redox reactions — microbes use different electron acceptors as energy sources. Example chain (“electron tower” 🧱): O₂ → NO₃⁻ → Mn⁴⁺ → Fe³⁺ → SO₄²⁻ → CO₂ As we move down, energy yield decreases → explains vertical structure in sediments and biofilms (oxygen at top, methanogens at bottom).
Organic matter (CH₂O) → decomposed by microbes → CO₂, N₂, CH₄, etc. Depends on available acceptor:
Depth gradients determine which processes dominate 🌊
Examples:
We study:
Key theories:
Microbes coexist by occupying different niches — based on temperature, salinity, electron acceptors, or substrate preferences. Even tiny changes in substrate or oxygen allow many species to live together.
Diversity ensures stable functions — e.g., stable nitrification in wastewater systems requires multiple ammonia-oxidizers.
Communities form networks of cooperation and competition:
Network analysis helps visualize these complex relationships 🕸️