1/ Excited to share our preprint! 🥳

Degradation of aromatic compounds, including BTEX pollutants, requires highly endergonic aromatic ring reduction. Using #cryoEM and in situ #cryoET, we show how BCRII couples electron bifurcation modules in one giant redox machine

www.biorxiv.org/content/10.6...

How do “LEGO-like” electron-bifurcating modules combine to drive degradation in BTEX-contaminated ecosystems?

Check out our latest preprint, where we use cryo-EM and cryo-ET to reveal how the 1 MDa BCRII complex powers extremely endergonic aromatic ring reduction.
www.biorxiv.org/content/10.6...

Breathing both ways: simultaneous aerobic–anaerobic respiration in microbes Microorganisms have historically been classified as obligate aerobes or anaerobes, facultative anaerobes, or microaerophiles, reflecting differences in respiratory strategies dictated by the use of oxygen and alternative electron acceptors. Recent discoveries provide evidence that a deviant strategy, the concurrent reduction of oxygen and other electron acceptors, is more widespread than previously thought. Such co-respiring bacteria employ hybrid metabolic strategies that extend models of electron acceptor use. In this review, we investigate mechanisms of co-respiration, summarize the biochemical components enabling parallel electron flow, and discuss the regulation of aerobic and anaerobic pathways under changing redox conditions. We also examine the evolutionary context of these strategies during the rise of oxygen on early Earth and outline experimental approaches needed to resolve co-respiration in individual cells.

Breathing both ways: simultaneous aerobic–anaerobic respiration in microbes

Gating the nitrogenase cofactor Nature Catalysis, Published online: 26 March 2026; doi:10.1038/s41929-026-01498-8Biological nitrogen fixation is vital for sustainable agriculture, yet nitrogenase engineering is hindered by limited insight into their essential metallocluster cofactor assembly and transfer. Here, by capturing the nitrogenase biosynthetic component NifEN in multiple structural states, a tunnel-and-switch mechanism that coordinates receipt, maturation and delivery of the FeMo-cofactor precursor is revealed.

New online! Gating the nitrogenase cofactor

Excited to share our new paper in @natcomms.nature.com !
Here, we present the cryo-EM structure of the Cytc₆:PSI complex from Chlamydomonas reinhardtii👇
www.nature.com/articles/s41...

I am truly honoured and delighted to receive the GBM #PhDAward from @gbmev.bsky.social
Grateful to @schullerjm.bsky.social and Prof. Volker Müller for their continuous support and guidance!

www.uni-marburg.de/en/prfolder-...

Carbonic anhydrase catalyses the interconversion of CO2 and HCO3- and helps increasing the net-CO2 concentration inside cells. Why? CO2-reducing enzymes like RuBisCO are notoriously slow and ineffective. However, import of HCO3- is typically coupled to ATP consumption...

Genus-specific remodeling of carbon and energy metabolism facilitates acetoclastic methanogenesis in Methanosarcina spp. and Methanothrix spp.
#methanogens #methane #archaea #MicroSky #ArchaeaSky
@asm.org
journals.asm.org/doi/full/10....

🚨 New pre-print alert!
Jumbo circular extrachromosomal elements of methane-oxidizing archaea with variably extensive metabolic and defense gene repertoires

www.biorxiv.org/content/10.6...

Molecular evolution of the Wood-Ljungdahl pathway and the reductive glycine pathway in Desulfobacterota www.frontiersin.org/journals/mic... #jcampubs

Out of the lab, words cannot express the impact that @ekaterinajalomo.bsky.social, my (now growing) family and friends from Marburg and Mexico have had along the road! To everyone who was part of it, thanks!

Also grateful to each one of my thesis committee members @stripplab.bsky.social, @georghochberg.bsky.social, @olallalab.bsky.social, and @rebeleinlab.bsky.social for being a key part of this process.

Last Friday was the defense of my PhD thesis entitled "Structural basis of anaerobic enzymes mediated by noncanonical metalloclusters" after 4 yrs at the @synmikro.bsky.social 🎓🎓

Big thanks to my supervisor @schullerjm.bsky.social and the whole Schuller lab for their continuous and massive support!

Nice trip and looking forward to see you soon Sven! 🤘🏻

Nickel: Geochemistry, biochemistry and its role in chemical and biological evolutions Nickel is a versatile element that plays critical roles in Earth's geological and biological evolution, from the depths of the magmatic mantle to the …

Nickel: Geochemistry, biochemistry and its role in chemical and biological evolutions
www.sciencedirect.com/science/arti...

Carbon-monoxide-driven bioethanol production operates through a tungsten-dependent catalyst - Nature Chemical Biology Microbial alcohol production from waste gases could enable sustainable carbon cycling. Now, the tungsten-dependent aldehyde:ferredoxin oxidoreductase from the gas-converting bacterium Clostridium auto...

Carbon-monoxide-driven bioethanol production operates through a tungsten-dependent catalyst
#BioEthanol #CarbonMonoxide
www.nature.com/articles/s41...

Our latest work on the nitrogenase-like methylthio-alkane reductase, which specifically reduces reduces carbon-sulfide bonds is now out @natcatal.nature.com: doi.org/10.1038/s419.... We find for the first time large #nitrogenase metalloclusters (P- and L-cluster) outside nitrogenases.

Happy to share our latest review article, this time joining forces with 📌Seigo Shima, 📌James Birrell, 📌Giorgio Caserta, and 📌Oli Lenz. We wrote about hydrogenase catalysis because this is what we do best 😎
doi.org/10.1002/9783...

Methanosarcina acetivorans requires methanol:coenzyme M methyltransferases for ethane formation from ethanol - Antonie van Leeuwenhoek Corrinoid-dependent enzymes either catalyze methyltransfer reactions, or they generate substrate radicals using adenosylcobalamin for subsequent rearrangement reactions. The corrinoid-dependent methyl...

#Methanosarcina acetivorans requires methanol:coenzyme M methyltransferases for #ethane formation from ethanol #methane
link.springer.com/article/10.1...

New frontiers in short-chain alkyl-coenzyme M reductases
#methanogenesis #methane #microbiology
www.sciencedirect.com/science/arti...

Carbon monoxide metabolism in freshwater anaerobic methanotrophic archaea www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1101/2025.09....

Atomic resolution structures of the methane-activating enzyme in anaerobic methanotrophy reveal extensive post-translational modifications
#microbiology #methane #archaea
@natcomms.nature.com
www.nature.com/articles/s41...

Protein Structural Phylogenetics Abstract. Protein structural phylogenetics is an interdisciplinary branch of molecular evolution that (i) uses 3D structural data to trace evolutionary his

Fantastic review on methodological developments in protein structural phylogenetics
academic.oup.com/gbe/article/...

Stepwise and reversible assembly of [2Fe–2S] rhombs to [8Fe–8S] clusters and their topological interconversions - Nature Chemistry Elucidating the nature of the metallocofactors in nitrogenase enzymes, and preparing synthetic analogues of these clusters, is a classic target for bioinorganic chemists. Now the transformation of [Fe...

Stepwise and reversible assembly of [2Fe–2S] rhombs to [8Fe–8S] clusters (Mougel et al. via @natchem.nature.com)
www.nature.com/articles/s41...

Nanoengineered bioanode with oxygen-insensitive hydrogenase for sustainable energy harvesting from atmospheric hydrogen and waste gases Enzymatic biofuel cells (EBFCs) utilizing hydrogenases to oxidize hydrogen offer a sustainable approach to energy conservation. However, the oxygen se…

1/3 Electricity from air! In the top journal Nano Energy today, we report the first fuel cell that makes power from air alone. We achieved this by using the enzyme Huc to oxidize ambient hydrogen. This results in a continuous low-level power from air and higher outputs with industrial waste gases.

Microbial metal physiology: ions to ecosystems Nature Reviews Microbiology - Metal ions are required for all cells, and their homeostasis relies on ancient mechanisms that facilitate their import, distribution and storage. In this Review,...

Metal ions are universally required for life, and many of the foundational principles of metal homeostasis have emerged from studies of microbial systems. In this review, I provide a introductory overview targeted to those new to the field.
#MicroSky #Metals

rdcu.be/eycU2

Electron flow in hydrogenotrophic methanogens under nickel limitation - Nature Two distantly related methanogens shift the methanogenic pathway under nickel limitation, suggesting that methanogens adapt to changing bioavailability of nickel by rerouting electron flow between two...

Our new study shows how nickel limitation changes electron flow in methanogens.
@nature.com
#methanogens #methane #archaea
www.nature.com/articles/s41...

A general substitution matrix for structural phylogenetics. Abstract. Sequence-based maximum likelihood (ML) phylogenetics is a widely used method for inferring evolutionary relationships, which has illuminated the

New paper from the lab from Sriram Garg in my group. We introduce a general substitution matrix for structural phylogenetics. I think this is a big deal, so read on below if you think deep history is important. academic.oup.com/mbe/advance-...

Proud to present the lab's latest work. The full structure of the sodium translocating methyltransferase (Mtr) bound to a small oxygen-responsive small protein MtrI. Work by Tristan and together with @schmitzstreitslab.bsky.social .

www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1101/2025.06.02.657420v1

Clustering for methane - Nature Catalysis Nature Catalysis - Clustering for methane

CLUSTERING FOR METHANE
Nice write-up @natcatal.nature.com of our recent article on MCR activation 🙏🏻
www.nature.com/articles/s41...