Dr. Hanna Zehnle
Dr. Hanna Zehnle
Staff of Professorship for Environmental Microbiology
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Research area
Methane-metabolizing archaea and acetogenic bacteria use an ancient anaerobic metabolic pathway to transform one-carbon (C1) compounds like carbon dioxide and methane. Thereby, they are critically involved in the global carbon cycle. In my research, I am using computational tools to identify and investigate new extrachromosomal DNA (ecDNA) elements associated with these microorganisms. Such ecDNA elements are still largely unknown, yet they may modulate the metabolism of their hosts in important ways. I am interested in the protein inventory and therefore implied functions of these elements, as well as the range of microbial hosts they associate with, and how they potentially co-evolved with their hosts.
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Publications
Benito Merino D, Zehnle H, Teske A, Wegener G (2022). Deep-branching ANME 1c archaea grow at the upper temperature limit of anaerobic oxidation of methane. Frontiers in Microbiology 13. DOI: 10.3389/fmicb.2022.988871
Zehnle H, Laso-Pérez R, Lipp J, Riedel D, Benito Merino D, Teske A, Wegener G (2023). Candidatus Alkanophaga archaea from Guaymas Basin hydrothermal vent sediment oxidize petroleum alkanes. Nature Microbiology 8:1199–1212. DOI: 10.1038/s41564-023-01400-3
Zehnle H, Otersen C, Benito Merino D, Wegener G (2023). Potential for the anaerobic oxidation of benzene and naphthalene in thermophilic microorganisms from the Guaymas Basin. Frontiers in Microbiology 14. DOI: 10.3389/fmicb.2023.1279865
Zehnle H (2023). Exploring the upper temperature limit and biosignatures of archaea and bacteria involved in anaerobic hydrocarbon degradation. University of Bremen (PhD thesis). DOI: 10.26092/elib/2696