The Probst Lab
Group for Environmental Metagenomics, led by @alexjprobst.bsky.social
Microbial, viral, & geochemical interactions by linking meta'omics & microscopy
Managed by @geomicrosoares.bsky.social
- Near-zero temperatures, but field sampling is still a-go for the Probst lab 😎 @geomicrosoares.bsky.social @feriel.bsky.social @pengyaoz.bsky.social are out in Regensburg! @unidue.bsky.social @uniregensburg.bsky.social
- We are excited to share @probstlab.bsky.social's latest publication on the diversity of CRISPR-Cas spacers, led by @katharinasures.bsky.social !! 🧬 Have a read!! ➡️ doi.org/10.1093/gbe/... @emilruff.bsky.social @alexjaffe.bsky.social @geomicrosoares.bsky.social & others not in Bluesky!
- We analysed more than 1 TB of sequencing data and discovered that CRISPR-Cas systems in two subsurface environments acquire spacers matching multiple prokaryotes in the same environment. This provides an explanation for some of the many unmatched spacers in public databases. @unidue.bsky.social
- Our own @alexjprobst.bsky.social @geomicrosoares.bsky.social and Cristina Moraru have recently authored a @natmicrobiol.nature.com Consensus Statement where they discuss new mechanisms for sequencing data reuse! 🧬💻 Check out their manuscript here: www.nature.com/articles/s41...
- They made up the Data Reuse Core Team along with @lhug.bsky.social @environmicrobio.bsky.social @folker.bsky.social and had the support of the Data Reuse Consortium, composed of 167 scientists globally who were pivotal in driving this effort forward! Thank you all! 🧬 @unidue.bsky.social
- Fresh out of the oven! 🍞 We're happy to see this preprint out, fruit of a recent collaboration with @wei-biogeochem.bsky.social! 🧬💻 Small 🧵 below going through the main points 👇 www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1...
- We leveraged #metagenomics & #metatranscriptomics data to estimate microdiversity in groundwater at different stages of U mining. We show that U in-situ leaching drives significant alterations in 🦠 community composition, oxidative stress, biogeochemical cycling, and overexpression of 🧬 repair genes
- We tracked nucleotide diversity in MAGs across different mining stages, which suggested widespread mutational pressure under long-term environmental stress!
- @alexjprobst.bsky.social @geomicrosoares.bsky.social & Till Bornemann from our group were part of this effort! Shoutout to the remainder collaborators at the China University of Geosciences, and Jon Lloyd at the University of Manchester (@manchesterup.bsky.social). @unidue.bsky.social & others RT!
- Please RT this awesome opportunity to do a PhD at @unidue.bsky.social in collaboration with @jgi.doe.gov!! 🔥 Thanks!
- The Central Collection of Algal Cultures (CCAC) at @unidue.bsky.social is advertising a 3-year PhD position supervised by the current Curator, Dr. Olga Matantseva! This PhD will take place in close collaboration with the @jgi.doe.gov. 🦠🧬💻 Apply here: www.uni-due.de/karriere/ste...
- We’re happy to announce Dr. Lennard Stach!! 🥳🥳 Well done Lennard for a brilliant defense and thesis!! We will miss you! Finally, thank you @leeselab.bsky.social for sitting in the thesis committee! 🫶
- Our @umweltstiftung.bsky.social fellow Linda Labecka presented her work at the most recent DBU conference! She works closely with the Institute for Artificial Intelligence in Medicine (@unidue.bsky.social & University Medicine Essen) and Universitätsklinikum Bonn (@unibonn.bsky.social)! 🧬💻
- Our latest work is out - here, our own Dr. Sarah Eßer compares transcriptomic patterns of Altiarchaeum in Crystal Geyser (US) and the Muehlbacher sufidic spring (Germany)! 🧬 Read more below: enviromicro-journals.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/...
- Excited to welcome @hsintunglai.bsky.social and @renaandraes.bsky.social as PhD students to our group!! They will be working within Phase 2 of @crc-resist.bsky.social @unidue.bsky.social under the supervision of @alexjprobst.bsky.social and @cristinamoraru.bsky.social.

- #TBT to @joernstarke.bsky.social and @katharinasures.bsky.social presenting their amazing work at the @vaam-microbes.bsky.social AC 2025 which took place at @ruhr-uni-bochum.de just last week! Well done you two! @crc-resist.bsky.social @unidue.bsky.social
- Here's our latest group photo! Our lovely team keeps growing, as does our enthusiasm for doing great science together! 🦠🧬
- We’re looking forward to meeting all our science friends at the @vaam-microbes.bsky.social Annual Conference 2025 at @ruhr-uni-bochum.de !! 🧬🦠 On our side, we’re exceptionally giving two talks about our latest work: ⬇️
- On Tuesday 12.30pm at Lecture Hall 7, our own Jörn Starke is presenting on “Flow Velocity and Anthropogenic Stressors Drive Microbial Community Dynamics in Riverine Ecosystems”, right out of @crc-resist.bsky.social and our role at @unidue.bsky.social in that project! 🏞️
- Here’s @joernstarke.bsky.social !! 🥳
- Super happy to be hosting Prof. Richard Allen White III AKA @raw937.bsky.social from the University of North Carolina at Charlotte at @unidue.bsky.social for 3 surprisingly sunny weeks!! Great to have you around Rick!! 🦠🧬
- Want to know who’s replicating and who’s just hanging out in your enrichment cultures? Our new study led by @soansi.bsky.social shows how @nanoporetech.com long-read sequencing can reveal replication states, shedding light on microbial growth. 🦠🧬 See our latest publication: doi.org/10.1093/isme...
- Our 🦸 team included: @alexjprobst.bsky.social @geomicrosoares.bsky.social @emilruff.bsky.social @cristinamoraru, Till Bornemann, Adrian Lange, @leagriesdorn.bsky.social , Adrián Fuentes, Marie Dieckmann, Beate Krok, Michael Hügler @unidue.bsky.social
- Is stress response in stream sediments uniform across catchments? 🌊🦠 With @TheWrightonLab at CSU, we built river MAG & gene DBs and used metaT data to explore this while uncovering active stream microbiome metabolic functions! Read our preprint here: doi.org/10.1101/2025... @unidue.bsky.social
- Quick PSA: we’ve officially deactivated our profile on Twitter/X and will henceforth only use Bluesky to communicate our science 😁
- We’re kicking off our Archean Park ERC project at @uni-muenster.de with @alexjprobst.bsky.social Jens Kallmeyer, Ivan Berg and Kai-Uwe Hinrichs & respective groups! Thanks very much to @donatogiovannelli.bsky.social and Prof. William Martin for giving invited talks to get us started!
- Reposted by The Probst Lab@probstlab.bsky.social @crc-resist.bsky.social #1 on virus-host stress response in rivers tinyurl.com/43cjd6es #2 on microbial & epigenetic stress response in rivers tinyurl.com/bdf8eu5a @alexjprobst.bsky.social @unidue.bsky.social Pls RT!
- Reposted by The Probst Lab[Not loaded yet]
- Reposted by The Probst LabInterested in multiple stressor research in rivers? Interested in a PhD under excellent supervision in one of Europe’s largest freshwater research centres? We seek 8 doctoral researchers for the CRC RESIST at the University of Duisburg-Essen! sfb-resist.de/people/open-... #rivers #PhDjobs
- We’re hiring!! Come do a PhD with us using -omics to better understand river microbiomes responses to drought processes! ⬇️

- #PhD #position #alert 2 bioinfo PhD positions @ProbstLab @RESIST_CRC #1 on microbial & epigenetic stress response in rivers tinyurl.com/bdf8eu5a #2 on virus-host stress response in rivers tinyurl.com/43cjd6es (supervision Moraru) Please share!
- Reposted by The Probst Lab#PhD #position #alert 2 bioinfo PhD positions @ProbstLab @RESIST_CRC #1 on microbial & epigenetic stress response in rivers tinyurl.com/bdf8eu5a #2 on virus-host stress response in rivers tinyurl.com/43cjd6es (supervision Moraru) Please share!