Tilman Schmider
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Research interests
Atmospheric methane oxidizing bacteria are the only known biological sink for atmospheric methane, a potent greenhouse gas responsible for about 20% of global warming. Despite the discovery of atmospheric methane oxidation by bacteria in the early 90s, the first known atmospheric methane oxidizer in pure culture was described in 2019. Based on the unique availability of these microorganisms in pure culture at the UiT, it is finally possible to assess their physiology and investigate the traits that enable life on air. I focus on the physiological basis of these bacteria to live on trace amounts of methane, the related energy yield during methane oxidation, their enivronmental abundance, and their potential use in biotechnology.