Marine viruses
Viruses are important components in marine ecosystems and play key roles in microbial evolution and biogeochemical cycling. Further, viruses are used in disease control. We investigate these aspects of viral activity from field studies and by experimental studies of virus-host interactions under controlled conditions in the laboratory.
Marine viruses are intracellular parasites of mainly heterotrophic bacteria, and the most abundant biological components in the marine environment. At Marine Biological Section we study the ecology of marine viruses and their bacterial hosts and explore the potential of using viruses to control pathogenic bacteria.
Group photo, Bridgewalking at the Lillebælt Bridge, May 2024
A new project video for the AQUAPHAGE project was recently released. The video explains the ideas and ambitions of the project, which is funded by the Innovartion Fund Denmark and a number of private investors (read more about AQUAPHAGE on the project website):
AQUAPHAGE - Towards a sustainable aquaculture: Phage-based solutions for disease prevention in rainbow trout aquaculture (2023-2026). Grand Solutions project from Innovation Fund Denmark.
AQUAPHAGE is a 21 mill DKK project for 3 years that will focus on developing a new sustainable alternative to antibiotics to fight diseases in trout farming by using bacteria's natural enemies, bacteriophages. The goal of AQUAPHAGE is to contribute to phasing out the use of antibiotics in the aquaculture industry and contribute to a sustainable development by preparing new products to the market.
The project AQUAPHAGE will develop sustainable strategies to prevent and control bacterial pathogens in trout aquaculture, using bacteriophages.
AQUAPHAGE will contribute to increase production efficiency and reducing the environmental burden of aquaculture. The project will produce and test prototype products targeting the bacterial pathogen Flavobacterium psychrophilum (F. p.) in eggs, larvae and juveniles, and bring them to a technological readiness level that allows commercialization post project.
AQUAPHAGE is led by Mathias Middelboe
HADAL - the Danish Center for Hadal Research (2020-2025) (Danish National Research Foundation)
Hadal trenches are located at 6-11 km ocean depth and are currently less accessible to humans than the Moon. Representing the most extreme and remote of marine environments, they remain virtually unexplored and continue to challenge - and drive - technological advances towards deep sea exploration and the search for new marine resources.
Our vision at HADAL is to pioneer this development through innovation, collaborations and multidisciplinary research. Using hadal mooring systems, autonomous in situ instrumentation and experimental high-pressure chambers, our research at the greatest ocean depths aims to define the biogeochemical and biological function and diversity of the “mare incognitum” of hadal trenches, adding these unique environments to our understanding of the global ocean.
Our key research goals are:
- To investigate how material is transported to and deposited in hadal trenches
- To uncover new life forms adapted to this extreme environment and quantify the phylogenetic diversity, composition and function of hadal benthic microbial and viral communities
- To unravel how hadal conditions and extreme pressure shape basic biological functions, biological interactions, deep-sea biogeography and elemental cycling
For more about HADAL, dive into these news features
- Ready to explore the hadal zones - inauguration of basic research center for deep-sea research
- In search of the deepest secrets of the sea
HADAL is led by Ronnie Glud and Mathias Middelboe is Co-PI
Cure4Aqua: Enhancing the resilience of EU aquaculture by improving aquatic animal health and welfare (2022-2026) (Horizon Europe)
In this new Horizon Europe project, researchers from 16 countries are uniting to transform aquatic animal health and welfare within the European aquaculture industry, while also supporting the environmentally friendly, inclusive, safe and healthy production of seafood. Funded by the EU Horizon Europe programme, Cure4Aqua is a €4.8 million, 4.5-year project that will develop new approaches to prevent aquatic fish diseases through innovative prophylaxis and technologies for early disease detection, while also supporting the advancement of alternative treatments to replace pharmaceuticals in disease control.
Farmed seafood is an important source of protein for food and animal feed, with a low-carbon footprint, essential to help build a sustainable food system. However, the control of pathogens continues to be a major challenge for the sector. This is particularly relevant for Europe, where there is a great variety of species and production systems, which hinders the implementation of good husbandry practices tailored to each aquatic species.
Cure4Aqua has brought together leading experts to take several key actions:
- Develop cost-effective vaccines to prevent diseases in farmed fish
- Implement selective breeding programmes to improve stress and disease management
- Develop innovative, bio-based and sustainable alternatives to antibiotics for controlling fish diseases at various life stages
- Develop new tools and artificial-intelligence-based technology to improve fish health and welfare
- Improve diagnostics of fish pathogens
- Integrate farmer and fish welfare as a priority of aquaculture production by developing high welfare standards that consider different life-stages, production systems, and knowledge of welfare needs.
Cure4Aqua is led by Ivona Mladineo and Mathias Middelboe is Co-PI.
Understanding bacteriophage behavior through the lens of the bacterial host population (2023-2026) (Novo Nordic Foundation)
All known forms of cellular life can be infected by viruses. This is also true for bacteria, who become infected by tiny viruses known as bacteriophages. Bacteriophages are potent killers of bacteria, but many of them can also establish long-term infections, where they provide the bacterial hosts with useful properties, such as resistance to antibiotics or production of toxins. We now know that bacteriophages also profoundly impact the composition and function of the human microbiota, which in turn is essential for human development, health and nutrition. However, we know very little about the factors that determine how a bacteriophage infection spreads and persists in a bacterial population. In this project, we will contribute to understanding the complicated interplay between bacteriophage and bacteria. In particular, we will find out the molecular basis for how some bacteria seem to be capable of controlling the spread of bacteriophages by means of bacterial cell-to-cell signaling. The project is led by Sine Lo Svenningsen and Mathias Middelboe is Co-PI.
AquaNet - Network for a green transition in the Danish aquaculture sector (2021-2023) (University of Copenhagen)
Aquaculture is the fastest growing food production sector but it suffers from societal, environmental, and technical challenges that require interdisciplinary collaboration. With the support from the University of Copenhagen's specific initiatives within green transition, we will establish a new network with collaborators from the Danish aquaculture sector that can address these challenges.
The combined expertise of the network’s participants will be an important starting point for outlining long-term goals towards green transition in Danish aquaculture production. The focus will be on identifying specific research needs, challenges and opportunities, and target national and international funding in order to advance the aquaculture sector towards sustainability and green transition.
The overarching aim of the network is to promote the growth of Danish aquaculture by developing and launching new initiatives in the green transition of the industry in a way that contributes to European Green Deal initiative.
Our objectives over the following year are to:
- Describe the long-term goals for a green transition of the Danish aquaculture production.
- Identify societal, environmental and technical challenges associated with a sustainable growth in the aquaculture sector.
- Identify and prepare specific research projects and collaborative efforts that can target national and international funding calls and move the field forward.
- Put aquaculture on the agenda as a strategic solution in the green transition of national (and global) food production.
Mathias Middelboe is PI and coordinator of this project
Elucidating bacteria-phage infection networks (BPINs) in Antarctic marine environments (2022-2024) (Instituto Antarctico Chileno (INACH))
Project idea: Antarctic marine environments host a unique community of bacteria and bacteriophages that form complex bacteria-phage infection networks (BPINs) with nested-modular structure.
General goals are to
o describe the bacteria-phage infection networks occurring in Antarctic marine environments through two complementary approaches: a culture-based and a metagenomics culture-free.
Specific Goals
1.To identify phage and bacteria present in Antarctic marine environments based on a culture-based approach.
2.To determine the infection patterns between bacteria and phages isolated from Antarctic marine environments.
3.To identify and characterize microbial community, focusing on by phage and bacteria present in Antarctic marine environments, based on phylogenetic and metagenomics approaches.
4.To determine infection patterns between bacteria and phages based on the metagenomics data obtained from Antarctic marine environments.
5.To describe bacteria-phage infection networks present in Antarctic marine environments using network analysis
The project is led by Roberto Bastias. Mathias Middelboe is Co-Pi.
Curriculum vitae - Mathias Middelboe
PERSONAL DATA
Born: October 24 1964
EDUCATION
12.94. Ph.D. in aquatic microbial ecology, Freshwater Biological Laboratory, University of Copenhagen.
05.91 Ms. in aquatic ecology, Freshwater Biological Laboratory, University of Copenhagen.
POSITIONS HELD
01.21-pres. Professor at Department of Biology, University of Southern Denmark (20 % position)
04.19-01.21: Adjunct professor at Department of Biology, University of Southern Denmark
06.15-09.15 Visiting professor at Coastal Pathogens Group, University of Exeter
02.15-pres. Professor at MBS, University of Copenhagen
04.09-02.12 Section Head, MBS, University of Copenhagen
09.10-02.15 Associate professor MSK at MBS, University of Copenhagen
07.08-02.09 Visiting associate professor at University of British Columbia, Canada
12.00-09.10 Associate professor at MBS, Univ. of Copenhagen.
02.97-12.00 Assistant professor at Marine Biological Section (MBS), Univ. of Copenhagen.
10.94-02.97 Assistant research professor at Section for Microbiology, Institute for Ecology, KVL, Copenhagen.
01.92-10.94 Ph.D. student at Freshwater Biological Laboratory, University of Copenhagen.
RESEARCH INTERESTS AND COLLABORATION
My research focuses on marine viral ecology, virus-host interactions and the role of viruses on prokaryotic diversity and evolution. My work includes experimental studies in the lab with model systems of specific viruses and hosts under controlled conditions, testing specific hypoptheses on e.g. virus –driven diversification, evolution and cycling of nutrients. This type of studies is combined with field studies of the activity, distribution and role of viruses (and prokaryotes) for carbon and nutrient cycling in environmental settings, with particular emphasis on benthic environments (shallow to deep hadal trenches) and pelagic Arctic environments. More recently, part of my activities have been directed towards exploring the potential of using viruses in disease control in aquaculture, including isolation and characterization of specific viruses, development and impact of phage-resistance as well application of phages in aquaculture settings. My research is strongly integrated in the international scientific community and done in collaboration with many Danish and international partners, as also evident from my participation in numerous (>20) international cruises and field campaigns, research stays at foreign universities, participation in international working groups etc.
PUBLICATIONS, PRESENTATIONS AND CITATIONS
- Published >120 scientific papers in international journals and books with peer review and 5 Genome Announcements.
- >70 invited presentations at national and international conferences and seminars.
- Citation record: Total citations: >7200, H-factor: 50, (ResearchGate: Jan 2023).
FUNDING TRACK RECORD (LAST 5 YEARS):
2013-2017: Danish Strategic Research Council: “ProAqua - Reducing antibiotic use in marine larviculture by a novel combinatory probiotic strategy” (Co-PI: 3.9 Mill DKK (Total grant: 15 Mill DKK)
2014-2017: EU-BONUS: “BLUEPRINT”. Co-PI: 2.410.000 DKK (Total grant: 30 mill DKK)
2014-2015: Carlsberg Foundation: "Prophages: Ticking time-bombs or essential resources for their bacterial hosts?" Travel grant to a 4 months visit to Uni. Of Exeter (82.000 DKK).
2015-2016 Carlsberg Foundation: "Changes in Arctic Marine Production due to melting ice in Greenland (CAMPING)" (Co-PI: 300.000 DKK)
2016-2020: ERC grant: “HADES-Benthic diagenesis and microbiology of hadal trenches”. Co-PI. (total grant: 24 mill DKK).
2016 The Danish Agency for Science, Technology and Innovation: Influence of prophages on virulence and antibiotic resistance in pathogenic Vibrios. International Network Programme (300.000 DKK)
2017-2020 EU-BONUS: FLAVOPHAGE: Bacteriophage based technology to control Flavobacterium pathogens in aquaculture” PI and coordinator. (total grant 16.5 mill DKK).
2017-2020 Danish Council for Independent Research (FNU): “Lysogenic conversion in marine Vibrio bacteria: Bacteriophage-driven dissemination of virulence factors in environmental bacterial communities”. PI and coordinator: 2.6 mill DKK)
2018 Carlsberg Foundation: “Exploring microscale virus-bacteria interactions at the cellular level” (PI: 164.000 DKK).
2018 EUopSTART: Start up grant for preparation of H2020 proposal. 75.000 DKK. 2018-2019.
2020-2025 Danish National Research Foundation: HADAL: Danish Center for Hadal Research (Co-PI: 54 mill DKK).
2021-2024: China Scholarship Council: PhD project: Phage-host co-evolution marine Vibrio pathogens. (Supervisor for Ling Chen)
2021-2023 University of Copenhagen: Network grant for establishing a research network on aquaculture research in Denmark (PI: 400.000 DKK).
2022-2024 Instituto Antarctico Chileno (INACH): Elucidating bacteria-phage infection networks (BPINs) in Antarctic marine environments (Co-PI).
2022-2026 Horizon Europe: Cure4Aqua: Enhancing the resilience of EU aquaculture by improving aquatic animal health and welfare. (Co-PI; Total grant 36 mill DKK).
2023-2026 Novo Nordic Foundation: Understanding bacteriophage behavior through the lens of the bacterial host population. (Co-PI, 3 mill DKK).
2023-2026 Innovation Fund Denmark: AQUAPHAGE. Towards a sustainable aquaculture: Novel solutions for disease prevention supporting the green
DEPARTMENTAL AND ADMINISTRATIVE TRACK RECORD:
Experience as coordinator of several large strategic projects involving national and international universities and industrial partners. From 2009-2012 I served 3 years as head of Marine Biological Section (>50 employees and >50 students), partly responsible for the section’s economy, staff and facilities, and responsible for directing the Section’s strategy on research, infrastructure, education and outreach. Currently I lead a research group on marine viruses
Recently completed the project manager education ”Make Innovation Happen” at INSEAD Business School i Fontainbleau, Frankrig (September 2018 – February 2019).
PEER REVIEW AND INTERNATIONAL SCHOLARLY ACTIVITY:
- Subject Editor for “Marine Biology Research” from 2005-2018, and have extensive peer review activity throughout my career (contributions to >30 international journals and >10 science foundations.
- Guest editor on a special issue on Marine viruses in the journal “Viruses”, 2016-17
- Editorial board of “Phages” (new Journal established in 2019)
SUPERVISION OF PHD STUDENTS AND POST DOCS
Supervised 7 post docs and 15 PhD students and hosted another 9 PhD students and for shorter stays (3-6 months).
TEACHING CREDENTIALS AND QUALIFICATIONS
Teaching the following courses (currently offered courses only):
Bachelor courses: Almen Økologi (General Ecology). A 200+ student course. Feltbiologi I (marine). Field course for groups of 16 students. Applied Marine Biology (30+ students, Course responsible). Generel Mikrobiologi (General Microbiology) (a 200+ student course).
Master courses: Marine Biology (~30 students), Marine Microbiology and Virology (~20 students). Advanced Bacteriology (~20 students).
2021-2023: KU Green Solution center: Network for a green transition in the Danish aquaculture sector (AquaNet)
PI. 400.000 DKK
2023-2025. Novo Nordic Foundation: Understanding bacteriophage behavior through the lens of the bacterial host population.
Co-PI. 3 mill DKK
2022-2026. Horizon Europe: Cure4Aqua
EU project for health and welfare innovations in European aquaculture
Co-PI. 5.5 Mill Euro
2020-2025, Danish National Research Foundation: HADAL
Danish Center for Hadal Research
Co-PI. 54 mill DKK
2017-2020, Danish Council for Independent Research (FNU)
Lysogenic conversion in marine Vibrio bacteria: Bacteriophage-driven dissemination of virulence factors in environmental bacterial communities.
PI and coordinator. 2.6 mill DKK
2017-2020, EU-BONUS: FLAVOPHAGE
Bacteriophage based technology to control Flavobacterium pathogens in aquaculture”
PI and coordinator. Total grant 16.5 mill DKK
Marine viruses at hadal depths in deep sea trenches
The deep hadal trenches are the most remote parts of the global ocean, representing some of the most extreme and scantly explored habitats on Earth. Hadal trenches are also likely hotspots of organic matter deposition fueling biogeochemical cycling in largely unexplored marine ecosystems. Abundances of viruses exceed those of microbes by up to an order of magnitude, representing a diverse and dynamic component of benthic marine ecosystems with important implications for food web structures and biogeochemical cycling. We recently documented 5‐10 times higher virus densities and extensive spatial variation in hadal sediments as compared to adjacent abyssal sites, suggesting that viruses play a prominent role for microbial mortality and biogeochemical cycling in hadal environments. In a new research project we quantifiy the phylogenetic diversity and composition of hadal benthic microbial and viral communities, identify active microbial players, and quantify the role of viruses in microbial mortality and element cycling.
Student projects involving the the role of prophages for deep sea bacteria and the effects of hydrostatic pressure for virus-bacteria interactions are available.
Contact person/supervisor:
Mathias Middelboe, Professor, Marine Biological Section, e-mail: mmiddelboe@bio.ku.dk
Sachia Jo Traving, Post doc, Marine Biological Section, e-mail: sjtraving@bio.ku.dk
Bacteriophage therapy - a new method for controlling pathogenic bacteria in aquaculture
Virus der inficerer bakterier, de såkaldte bakteriofager, kan potentielt udnyttes til at bekæmpe sygdomsfremkaldende bakterier, som et alternativ eller supplement til antibiotika. I samarbejde med en række danske og udenlandske forskningsinstitutioner og virksomheder gennemfører vi i øjeblikket to store forskningsprojekter, der undersøger potentialet i denne nye behandlingsform kaldet bakteriofag-terapi i behandlingen af fiskesygdomme. Projekternes formål er at udvikle en ny metode til behandling af infektioner med henholdsvis Vibrio anguillarum og Flavobacterium psychrophilum, der forårsager milliontab i akvakultur verden over. Bakterierne er resistente overfor de mest anvendte kemiske antibiotika. Projekterne vil belyse potentialet i dette behandlingsprincip, og skabe grundlaget for en egentlig kommerciel udnyttelse af metoden. Rent praktisk betyder det bla. arbejde med isolering og karakterisering af bakteriofager, samt test af effekter af bakteriofagtilsætning på overlevelse af de pathogene bakterier og af inficerede fisk.
Contact person / supervisor:
Mathias Middelboe, Professor, Marine Biological Section, e-mail: mmiddelboe@bio.ku.dk
Prophages: Ticking time bombs or key genetic elements in bacterial hosts?
In the marine environment, 30-40 % of the bacteria are infected and killed by bacteriophages, and the interactions between phages and bacteria are central to the ecology and evolution of marine microbial communities with significant effects on biogeochemical cycles. Following infection, lytic phages hijack the cellular machinery of the bacteria to produce new phages and kill the host, whereas temperate phages integrate their genome into the host chromosome, where it remains dormant (prophage) until conditions favor its reactivation and lysis of the host cell. The prophage genome represents a potential metabolic burden and molecular time bomb in the host genome which at any time can induce and kill its host. Temperate phages also have direct influence on the genetic composition and architecture of the host since the incorporated phage genome is replicated along with the host genome. Consequently, prophages can potentially enrich the host cell with new beneficial genes, for example by encoding virulence factors in pathogenic bacteria. The capacity of phages to encode virulence properties and disseminate these among marine Vibrio communities needs to be explored for improving understanding of the role of phages as drivers of virulence in this bacterial group. The overall objective of the project is to decipher the genetic mechanisms and environmental controls of phage-driven virulence by quantifying phage-mediated transformation of harmless Vibrio bacteria into pathogens of humans, fish, shellfish and corals. Such research will provide new insight on phage influence on dynamics and dispersal of virulence in the marine environment.
Contact person / supervisor
Mathias Middelboe, Professor, Marine Biological Section, e-mail: mmiddelboe@bio.ku.dk
Sachia Jo Traving, Post doc, Marine Biological Section, e-mail: sjtraving@bio.ku.dk
Deep sea viruses: Hadal virus-host system specialized in chitin degradation
The deep hadal trenches (Water depths >6.000 m) are the most remote parts of the global ocean, representing some of the most extreme and scantly explored habitats on Earth. Hadal trenches are also likely hotspots of organic matter deposition fueling biogeochemical cycling in largely unexplored marine ecosystems. Viruses are a key mortality agent in microbes and their predation on microbes impact food web structures and biogeochemical cycling.
Recently, we documented 5-10 times higher virus densities and extensive spatial variation in hadal sediments as compared to adjacent abyssal sites, suggesting that viruses play a prominent role for microbial mortality and biogeochemical cycling in hadal environments. In a new research project we quantify the phylogenetic diversity and composition of hadal benthic microbial and viral communities, identify active microbial players, and quantify the role of viruses in microbial mortality and element cycling.
We have successfully isolated a virus-host system from Kermadec Trench sediment, which we now have in culture in the lab. Of particular interest is two different functional genes, one is found on the host genome and the other sits on the phage genome, both genes encode for a chitinase. Chitinases are hydrolytic enzymes which facilitate the breakdown of chitin and its derivatives. Preliminary experiments indicate some interesting interactions between the presence of chitin and the prophage and that a small fraction of the host population does not carry the prophage, which suggests a trade-off between the pro-phage and chitin degradation.
This project will carry out experiments to characterize growth dynamics of the host with and without prophage and with and without chitin in order to quantify the trade-off of carrying the prophage. We also want to further characterize the activity of the two different chitinases under different conditions (high pressure and low temperature) which will give important insights to microbial activity and turnover rates of organic material in hadal systems.
Student projects involving the role of prophages for deep sea bacteria and the effects of hydrostatic pressure for virus-bacteria interactions will be available.
Contact person / supervisor:
Mathias Middelboe, Professor, Marine Biological Section, e-mail: mmiddelboe@bio.ku.dk
Sachia Jo Traving, Post doc, Marine Biological Section, e-mail: sjtraving@bio.ku.dk
Deep sea viruses: Isolation of novel virus-host systems from hadal environments
The deep hadal trenches (water depths > 6.000 m) are the most remote parts of the global ocean, representing some of the most extreme and scantly explored habitats on Earth. Hadal trenches are also likely hotspots of organic matter deposition fueling biogeochemical cycling in largely unexplored marine ecosystems. Viruses are a key mortality agent in microbes and their predation on microbes impact food web structures and biogeochemical cycling.
Recently, we documented 5]10 times higher virus densities and extensive spatial variation in hadal sediments as compared to adjacent abyssal sites, suggesting that viruses play a prominent role for microbial mortality and biogeochemical cycling in hadal environments. In a new research project we quantify the phylogenetic diversity and composition of hadal benthic microbial and viral communities, identify active microbial players, and quantify the role of viruses in microbial mortality and element cycling.
For an in depth understanding of how life is shaped by hadal conditions, we need good model systems of organisms that can live and perhaps even thrive under such extreme conditions. Furthermore, cultured representatives provide valuable validation and reference material for sequence-based data and for quantifying biologically driven processes. As hadal ecosystems harbor a vast and unknown diversity of microbial and viral life, we are interested in isolating new bacteria and viruses specifically from hadal environments.
This project will be undertaking a large isolation and culturing effort from hadal sediment samples, and for comparison isolation will be done in parallel on sediment samples collected from a marine, coastal ecosystem.
Contact person / supervisor:
Mathias Middelboe, Professor, Marine Biological Section, e-mail: mmiddelboe@bio.ku.dk
Sachia Jo Traving, Post doc, Marine Biological Section, e-mail: sjtraving@bio.ku.dk
Bacteriophage control of microbial biofilms - Pseudomonas aeruginosa from CF patients
I et nyt samarbejdsprojekt med Prof. Oana Ciofu, Institut for International sundhed, Immunologi og Mikrobiologi, undersøger vi hvordan bakteriofager påvirker evolution og egenskaber af Pseudomonas aeruginosa under infektion af luftvejene hos cystisk fibrose (CF) patienter. Hos disse patienter udvikler P. aeruginosa høj grad af resistens overfor antibiotika, og et af formålene med projektet er at vurdere om bakteriofager kan anvendes som alternativ til antibiotika i bekæmpelsen af bakteriefinfektioner i CF patienter.
Contact person / supervisor:
Mathias Middelboe, Professor, Marine Biological Section, e-mail: mmiddelboe@bio.ku.dk
Franja Juel Henrichsen (MSc 2024)
Nicolai Højdahl Christensen (BSc 2024)
Frederikke Gewecke (BSc 2024)
Ling Chen (PhD (2024)
Kiano Gorissen (MSc 2024)
Lara Laubscher (MSc 2024)
Yanviere Jau (BSc 2023)
Sara Donnadieu (MSc 2023)
Larissa Bahn (MSc 2023)
Thor Amdi Bastiansen (MSc 2023)
Søren Holm Risum (BSc 2023)
Jaka Lazar (Visiting MSc student 2023)
Elise Marie Dinesen (BSc 2023)
Anniinna Runtuvuori-Salmela (PhD, 2022)
Anna Dragos (Visiting scientist, University of Ljubljana, Slovenia, 2022)
Caroline Wolters Petersen (MSc 2022)
Jesper Juel Mauritzen (PhD 2022)
Huan Wang (MSc. 2022)
Ania Steenberg Mortensen (BSc 2022)
Barbara Ran Nieto Dragsted (BSc 2022)
Aysha Aldamem (BSc 2022)
Lotta-Riina Sundberg (Visiting scientist, University of Jyväskylä, Finland (2021)
Panos Kalatzis (Post doc 2017-2021)
Evita Nordkute (BSc 2021)
Sandi Saric (BSc 2021)
Maja Ek Jensen (BSc 2021)
Marie Golan (BSc 2021)
Stine Sørensen (BSc 2021)
Mathias Bech Nygaard Sørensen (MSc 2021)
Weronika Kolodziejczyk (MSc 2021)
Mads Nordam (BSc 2021)
Valentina Donati (PhD 2021)
Daniel Castillo (Post doc/Assistant professor 2012-2020)
Kristina Kirkegaard Pedersen (BSc 2020)
Magnus Mulbjerg Rothgardt (BSc 2020)
Caroline Sophie Wolters Petersen (BSc 2020)
Aidas Marius Vysniauskas (Project student 2020)
Nina Frøidt Rasmussen (BSc 2019)
Andrea Roosvall (BSc 2019)
Mark Grevsen Martinet (MSc 2019)
Mathias Bech Nygaard Sørensen (BSc 2019)
Maria Marjunardóttir Dahl (MSc 2019)
Sebastian Hougaard Kristiansen (BSc 2019)
Hugo Bonnefous (BSc 2018)
Pernille Marloth (BSc 2018)
Alexander Ravndal Højsting (MSc 2018)
Liv Dramshøj (MSc 2018)
Natasja Bøgeløv Jørgensen (MSc 2018)
Amaru Marenda Djurhuus (MSc 2018)
Susie Barchley Madsen (MSc 2018)
Jesper Juel Mauritzen (MSc 2018)
Sachia Jo Traving (Post doc, 2017-18).
Trine Marenda Markussen (Post doc, 2014-18)
Søren René Nielsen (M.Sc 2018)
Panos Kalatzis (PhD 2017)
Karoline Henriksen (M.Sc. 2017)
Sofie Boesgaard Hansen (B.Sc. 2017)
Christina Egeø Poulsen (B.Sc. 2017)
Alexander Skodsborg (B.Sc. 2017)
Mads Guldbæk (B. Sc 2017)
Jóhanna Jørgensen (M. Sc. 2017)
Regitze Renee Pedersen (B.Sc. 2017)
Stephanie Thea Hansen (B.Sc. 2017)
Lise Fredslund (M.Sc 2016)
Nana Andersen (M.Sc 2016)
Jesper Juel Mauritzen (B.Sc. 2016)
Marc Severin (B.Sc. 2016)
Mads Frederik Hansen (B.Sc 2016)
Casper Aggerholm Pedersen (B.Sc. 2015)
Amaru Djurhuus (B.Sc. 2015)
Sophia E. Bardram Nielsen (M.Sc. 2015)
Cátia Carreira (PhD 2015)
Demeng Tan (PhD 2015)
Linda Stausholm Pedersen (Lab technician 2015)
Rói Hammershaimb Christiansen (PhD 2014)
Oscar Chiang (PhD student)
Camille Johnston (M.Sc.2014)
Linda Jørgensen (PhD June 2014)
Oliver Lykke Honore (B.Sc. June 2014)
Gastón Higuera (Visting PhD student, University of Chile, 2014 and 2019)
Johan Claes Sidney Schönbeck (M.Sc. Feb 2014)
Lau Lyck Nielsen (B.Sc Febr. 2014)
Andreas Ruth (B.Sc. Jan 2014)
Amalie Dahl (M.Sc. Jan 2014)
Natela Toklikishvili (Visiting PhD student, Georgia, 2013)
Elene Didebulidze (Visting PhD student, Georgia, 2013)
Tamara Qoqashvili (Visting PhD student, Georgia, 2013)
Nanna Rørbo (M. Sc. Oct. 2013)
Helle Kjær Laigaard (M.Sc. Sept 2013)
Sophia E. Bardram Nielsen (B.Sc. June 2013)
Caroline Amalie Brunbjerg Hey (B.Sc. June 2013)
Andreas Heinrich (B.Sc. June 2013)
Isak Rasmussen (M.Sc. June 2013)
Camille Johnston (B.Sc. June 2012)
Daniel Castillo (Visiting PhD-student 2011)
Christian Lønborg (Post Doc 2010-2012)
Sachia Jo Traving M.Sc. 2011
Jon Fabricius-Dyg. M.Sc student 2011
Panos Kalatzis. Erasmus Student 2011
Thomas Bech-Thomassen. B.Sc 2011
Ann-Charlotta Flensborg. M.Sc. 2011
Susan Rasmussen. M.Sc. 2010
Emma Shelford. PhD student, visiting scholar 2010
Linda Jørgensen. M.Sc. 2010
Amalie Dahl. B.Sc. 2010
Jeanne Olsen. Lab tech 2010
Ditte Carlsen. PhD student 2009
Sachia Jo Traving. B.Sc. 2009
Torben Grotkjær. B.Sc. 2009
Sif Bertelsen. Research Assistant 2008-09
Peter C. Risager M.Sc. 2009
Rói Christiansen M.Sc. 2009
Sif Bertelsen. M.Sc. 2008
Linda Jørgensen. B.Sc. 2008
Anne Rønnest Stenholm Research assistant 2005-2007
Manuela Filippini. PhD 2007
Rasmus Torbensen. B.Sc. 2007
Jette Mundus Nikolajsen. Techn. 2007
Rasmus Aagaard Jensen. B.Sc. 2006
Peter Christian Risager. B.Sc. 2006
Milou Theut. MSc. 2006.
Maria Siem-Jørgensen. M.Sc. 2005
Lilian Carlsson. M.Sc. 2005
Anna Nørgaard. M.Sc. 2004
Jakob Haaber. M.Sc. 2004
Vinni Hansen. M.Sc. 2002
Lasse Riemann. PhD 2002.
Peter Lyck. M.Sc. 2000.
Research group
| Name | Title |
|---|
| Name | Title | |
|---|---|---|
| Devangi Sathe | PhD student |  |
| Ruo Chen | MSc student |  |
| Jasmin Tesani | MSc student |  |
| Frederik Sivertsen | MSc student | |
| Anne Østergaard Steffensen | MSc student |  |
| Joep Jansen | MSc student |  |
| Freia Hosbond | BSc student |
Contact
Professor Mathias Middelboe
Marine Biological Section
Strandpromenaden 5
DK-3000 Helsingør
mmiddelboe@bio.ku.dk
Phone: +45 35 32 19 91
Mob: +45 41 17 87 98
News
July 3 2024: PhD student Ling Chen defends her PhD thesis on phage-host interactions in Vibrio anguillarum.
May 2024: Mathias Middelboe particpated in a World Health Organization webinar on Antimicrobial Resistance and the use of phages as alternatives to antibiotics in food production (Link to recorded webinar).
May 2024: PhD student Devangi Sathe, MSc student Ruo Chen and lab technician Cecilie Appeldorff join a 3-week research expedition to the western part of the North Atlantic funded by the US National Research Foundation and supported by Danish Center for Marine Science.
April 2024: Three new MSc students begin their thesis projects in the group: Joep Jansen, Ruo Chen and Anne Østergaard Steffensen.
January 2024: Three new MSc students (Lara Laubscher, Kiano Gorissen and Jasmin Tesani) and 2 bachelor student (Nicolai Højdal and Frederikke Gewecke) begin their projects in the lab.
January-February 2024: Mathias Middelboe participates in an expedition to Antarctica, doing field work at the Chilean research station Base Prat on Greenwich Island. 
November 23, 2023: "Dyhavets ukendte verden". Lecture by Mathias Middelboe at Øresundsakvariet at 7 PM as part of Elsinore Evenings.
November 2023: Lotta Landor is starting in a 3-year post doc position on the AQUAPHAGE project
October 2023: A team from HADAL including Mathias Middelboe and Sachia Jo Traving are participating i a research cruise from Tokyo to the Japan Trench from 10-16 October with the research vessel Umitaka.
September 2023: The new AQUAPHAGE website has been published. Follow the site for updates and news on the project progress.
August 2023: Larissa Bahn, Thor Amdi Bastiansen, Sarah Donnadieu and Jaka Lazar have successfully defended thier MSc theses. Congratulations to all of them.
August 2023: A team from HADAL with Mathias Middelboe, Devangi Sathe and JP Balmonte are participating in a research cruise from Iceland to the Azores (27/7-15/8) with the Dutch research vessel Pelagia, focusing on the microbial decomposition of marine particles in the water column and the effect of hydrostatic pressure on microbial processes (Press release).
June 2023: The new AQUAPHAGE project is now officially launched with a kick-off meeting with all 8 partners represented. At the moment ~30 people are involved in the project and the project web site will be published soon.
May 2023: A new post doc position in the group funded by the AQUAPHAGE project is available. Application deadline 11. June 2023. See full job description here.
May 2023: The 3-year research project "AQUAPHAGE" has been funded by Innovation Fund Denmark. The project focuses on phage-based control of the fish pathogen Flavobacterium psychrophilum. Read more at the IFD website.
April 2023: A new paper on quorum sensing regulation of virulence properties in the fish pathogen Vibrio anguillarum was published in Environmental Microbiology: "Strain-specific quorum-sensing responses determine virulence properties in Vibrio anguillarum"
March 2023: Interview with Mathias Middelboe in connection with winning 2nd prize in DNRF's photo competition.
March 25, 2023: "Dybhavets hemmeligheder" - an event at Folkeuniversitetet in Ålborg on the Galathea II expedition and current deep sea research (in Danish).
February 18, 2023: Happy to share our new paper describing a new family of non-tailed temperate phages with a global distribution as prophages in vibrio bacteria: "Staying below the Radar: Unraveling a New Family of Ubiquitous “Cryptic” Non-Tailed Temperate Vibriophages and Implications for Their Bacterial Hosts"
January 2023: A new PhD position on Phage-pathogen interactions is open in the group as part of the Cure4Aqua project.
December 2022: Based on financial support from the Green Solution Center, we have established AquaNet, a network that supports a green transition in the aquaculture industry.
December 2022: A new master student, Larissa Baan, is joining the group and will work on isolation and characterization of phages and bacteria from deep sea sediments off the Japanese coast.
November 2022: A new research project, Cure4Aqua, was funded by the EU under the Horizon Europe program. This is 5.5 mill Euro project involving several European partners. Our lab is partner in the project and will contribute with research on phage control of Vibrio and Flavobacteria pathogens in aquaculture.
October 2022: Thor Amdi Bastiansen and Mathias Middelboe are joining a research cruise with M/S Umitaka from Tokyo to collect deep sea sediment samples off the Japanese coast.
September 2022: New master student, Thor Amdi Bastiansen, is joining the group and will work on virus-bacteria interactions in deep sea sediments.
February 2022: Four new students, Barbara Nieto Dragsted, Aysha Alamem, Ania Stenberg Mortensen, and Huan Wang are starting up in the group on various research projects focusing on phage-host interactions.
January 2022: A new paper is out on Flavobacterium columnare phages in rainbow trout aquaculture: Link to paper
September 2021: Three new PhD positions are now announced in the HADAL project: 1) PhD Position in Microbial Metabolisms in Deep Sea and Hadal Systems, 2) PhD Position in Deep-sea Microbial Degradation of Organic Matter, 3) PhD Position in Benthic Carbon and Nutrient Cycling Following Sediment Resuspension.
June 2021: Five bachelor students and one master student successfully defended their theses and finished excting projects on phage-bacteria interactions.
June 2021: New paper on bacteriophage diversity and dynamics in the Baltic Sea: Link to paper
May 2021: New paper on bacteriophages infecting the fish pathogen Flavobacterium psychrophilum: Link to paper
May 2021: New paper on the fish pathogen Pasteurella atlantica which infects salmon: Link to paper
April 2021: A new PhD student, Ling Chen, started in the Virus group on a project focusing on phage-host co-evolution
April 2021: New paper on the use of phages to control of pathogens in Rainbow trout: Link to paper
Jan. 2021: New website published for the HADAL project: HADAL site
Nov. 2020: New article on the new HADAL Center of Excellence at SDU (in Danish)
Nov. 2020: New paper on phage-biofilm interactions in the fish pathogen Flavobaterium psychrophilum demonstrate strong biocontrolling effect of bacteriophages: Link to paper.
Sept. 2020: New equipment in the Virus Lab: A MinION nanopore sequencer from Oxford Nanopore will allow us to sequence viral and bacterial genomes in the lab.
Sept. 2020: We are part of the new Center of Excellence on Deep Sea research:Sachia Jo Traving is an new post doc in the center who will exlore the ecology and diversity of viruses in deep oceanic trenches
August 2020: Dybhavet og det ydre rum - symposium på Bloom festival
Søndermarken d. 15 August
July 2020: New paper by PhD student Jesper Juel Mauritzen on a prophage containing the zot-toxin
Link to the article in "Viruses"
April 2020: New paper by PhD student Mads Frederik Hansen and post doc Demeng Tan on quorum sensing regulation of prophages
Link to article in ISME Journal
Ny forskning: Marin bakterie bruger signalstoffer til at kontrollere latent virus