B1: Interaction of filamentous cyanobacteria with their predators
Group Leader
Prof. Dr. Karl Forchhammer
Interfakultäres Institut für Mikrobiologie und Infektiosnmedizin (IMIT)
Abteilung Mikrobiologie/Organismische Interaktionen
Eberhard-Karls-Universität Tübingen
Auf der Morgenstelle 28
72076 Tübingen
Phone: +49-7071 29-72096
Fax: +49-7071 29-5843
Email: karl.forchhammer(at)uni-tuebingen.de
Summary
This project aims at elucidating, at the molecular level, novel defense mechanisms employed by filamentous cyanobacteria against unicellular prokaryotic and eukaryotic predators. As primary producers in the photic zones, cyanobacteria are at the starting point of the food chain and confronted with numerous grazers and predators. The ability of cyanobacteria to accumulate in large cellular densities, such as in cyanobacterial blooms, requires efficient defense strategies against their predators. However, these mechanisms at the molecular basis are poorly understood. This project will shed light into this largely unexplored chapter of cyanobacterial biology.