Lecture: Acetogenic Bacteria: From Ancient Metabolism to 3rd Generation Biofuels 

Lecturer: Prof. Volker Müller, Head of the Department of Molecular Microbiology and Bioenergetics at Goethe University Frankfurt (Johann Wolfgang Goethe University Frankfurt am Main), Germany 

Time: 10:00 am, Aug 31, 2015 

Location: Meeting Room 214 of Administration Building 

Introduction of Lecturer 

EDUCATION:  

？Diplom (Biology), Georg-August-University G？ttingen, 1985 

？Dr. rer. nat. (Microbiology), Georg-August-University G？ttingen, 1987 

CAREER:  

？Postdoc, Microbiology, Georg-August-University G？ttingen, 1987-1988  

？Postdoc, Molecular Biophysics and Biochemistry, Yale University, 1989-1990  

？Group leader (Habilitand), Microbiology, Georg-August-University G？ttingen, 1991-1995  

？Habilitation (Microbiology), Georg-August-University G？ttingen, 1995 

？Heisenberg Fellow of the German Science Foundation (DFG), 1995-1997  

？Associate Professor (Microbial Biochemistry), Ludwig-Maximilians University Munich, 1997-2002  

？Professor of Microbiology & Bioenergetics, Johann Wolfgang Goethe University Frankfurt am Main, 2003 

PROFESSIONAL ACTIVITIES:  

？Minireview-Editor, Applied and Environmental Microbiology  

？Editorial Board: Applied and Environmental Microbiology, Environmental Microbiology, Aquatic Systems, Archaea, Frontiers in Microbiology, Extremophiles 

？Director, Institute of Molecular Biosciences (2005-2007) 

？Director, Center of Membrane Proteomics (2007-2009) 

？Dean, Faculty of Biosciences (2007-2009) 

？Vice Dean, Faculty of Biosciences (2006-2007, 2009-2010) 

？Board of Trustees (Chair), Max Planck Institute for Terrestrial Microbiology (2007-) 

？Board of Trustees, Frankfurt Bio Tech Alliance (2007-) 

？Advisory Board, German Society for General and Applied Microbiology (VAAM) (2013-) 

？Member, Faculty of 1000 (Chemical Biology) (2013-) 

？Director, Research Unit 2251: Adaptation and Persistance of the emerging pathogen Acinetobacterbaumannii (2013-) 

HONORS AND AWARDS:  

？Ph. D. thesis award, German Society for General and Applied Microbiology (VAAM), 1988  

？Postdoctoral fellowship, German Science Foundation (DFG), 1989  

？Young Investigator Award (F？rderpreis), German Society for Hygiene and Microbiology (DGHM), 1995  

？Heisenberg Fellowship, German Science Foundation, 1996  

MEMBERSHIPS:  

？Member of the Society for General and Applied Microbiology (Germany)  

？Member of the Society for Microbiology and Hygiene (Germany)  

？Member of the Society for Biochemistry and Molecular Biology (Germany)  

？Member of the Society for Applied Microbiology (UK)  

？Member of the American Society for Microbiology (USA)  

？Member of the International Society for Extremophiles (Germany)  

RESEARCH INTERESTS:  

Metabolism and biochemistry of anaerobic microorganisms: Physiology of anaerobic acetogenic bacteria and methanogenicarchaea; Bioenergetics of acetogenesis  and methanogenesis; Structure, function and evolution of ATP synthases; ion-motive membrane proteins linked to acetogenesis or methanogenesis; Structure and function of the ion-motive Rnf complex (ferredoxin:NAD+oxidoreductase); Electron bifurcation: a new paradigm in microbial energy conservation; Hydrogenase; Caffeyl-CoA-Reduktase; Biochemistry of acetogenesis and caffeate respiration; Regulation of carbon and electron flow in acetogenic bacteria  

Biotechnology/Metabolic engineering: Anaerobic microbes in biotechnological applications: Synthesis of biocommodities via synthesis gas fermentation; genetic engineering and rationale metabolic design; synthetic microbiology; Synthesis and application of organic osmolytes, carotenoids and exoenzymes 

Molecular basis of salt adaptation in halotolerant and halophilic microorganisms: Transport and biosynthesis of compatible solutes; Ion homoeostasis; Signalperception and signal transduction chains; Gene activation; Functional genome analyses  

Role of chloride in microorganisms: Chloride, a new signal molecule for microbes; Identification of chloride induced genes and proteins; Analyses of the chloride regulon; gene expression; enzyme activation 

Müller's homepage: http://www.mikrobiologie-frankfurt.de/