PriME - Principles of Microbial Ecosystems

We gladly introduce PriME, an international and interdisciplinary collaboration which aims to derive fundamental principles of how microbial ecosystems assemble and function, with a primary focus on #marinemicrobes and #carboncycling 🦠🌊 Stay tuned!👀

❓Can we predict ocean carbon cycling by looking at what microbes do rather than who they are?🌊 During his PhD in PriME, Ryan Reynolds explored this question by combining global metagenomic with metabolic modeling 😀 Check out his last publication 👇 science.org/doi/10.1126/sc…

🌊 Are bacterial attachments to phytoplankton just microscopic travel companions — or a key driver of marine ecosystem functioning? 🦠 PriME alumnus Mathieu Forget explores this question in a new review 👏👇 nature.com/articles/s4156…

We're hiring a new postdoc! Are you experienced in genetically modifying non-model microbes? Do you have experience in leading a molecular level project, possibly dealing with metabolism? Then this is perfect for you! jobs.vib.be/j/134563/postd…

Congratulations to Astrid Stubbusch for receiving the Prix Schläfli 2026 in Biology for her outstanding PhD work made in PriME 😉 👏😃🦠 Amazing achievement, Astrid — so well deserved! scnat.ch/en/awards/schl…

Welcome to PriME, Dieter! 🎉 Dieter joins the Orphan Lab @OrphanANME as a Postdoc, working at the interface of microbiology, biophysics & fluid dynamics to study microbial interactions and processes like marine snow formation 🦠🌊 Great to have you on board 🤗!

It's time to say goodbye to @JonaszSlomka — a PriME member since the early days 👏 He will start his own #bioencounters lab at the University of Warsaw, exploring microbial interactions at the physics–biology interface 🦠. All the best for this exciting new chapter! 🚀

PriME members in Zurich gathered last week for the PriME Mini-Symposium! Interactive poster sessions, review paper discussions, and plenty of networking made for a lively afternoon of science and collaboration 🤗 Thanks to everyone who joined! 🌊🦠

Most marine bacteria never find a food particle. Some do—and that’s enough 😉 A PriME team uncovers stochastic resilience: rare, high-reward encounters sustain bacterial populations in nutrient-poor oceans.🌊🦠 Out now in @PNASNews ! pnas.org/doi/10.1073/pn…

🔥Hot off the press! ❓ How do bacteria get iron when nutrients are scarce and constantly washed away❓ A PriME collective effort reveals—using a new continuous culture device—how bacteria acquire iron under rapid nutrient renewal, beyond #siderophores. pnas.org/doi/10.1073/pn…

❓Does low phosphate help keep carbon locked in fucoidan rather than recycled by bacteria❓ A PriME fellow from the @HehemannJan lab explored this question in a study just published on @NatureMicrobiol 🤗⬇️ nature.com/articles/s4156…

We say goodbye to Jeremy, who joined PriME as a PhD student and leaves as a Postdoc — he has been an active and valued part of our community. He now continues his journey @umces, studying viral removal rates in marine ecosystems 🦠🌊 Thank you - and all the best, Jeremy 🤗!

A warm PriME welcome to Richard!🎉 Richard joined the Hwa Lab @UCSanDiego as a new Postdoc, exploring how physiological variation within bacterial species shapes their evolution 🧫🔬. We’re excited to have you with us! primecollaboration.org/profiles/richa…

Welcome to the PriME team, Eliane! 🎉 Eliane has just joined @theStockerLab @ETH_en as a new PhD student, exploring how microbial processes shape the ocean’s carbon cycle 🌊🦠. We’re thrilled to have you on board! 🔗 primecollaboration.org/profiles/elian…

We gathered this week for our Annual Meeting in NYC - three days of inspiring exchange!✨ This year, we introduced group work sessions for review papers🗒️to reflect and synthesize our interdisciplinary work😀 Thank you to all participants and @SimonsFdn for the support!

And finally, I am proud to be able to share the work of my dear student Gabriel Vercelli and a collaboration with my (also dear) MIT colleague Ariel Furst @afurst1. This technology can open new avenues for microbiome engineering. biorxiv.org/content/10.110…

Congratulations to all authors, including our PriME fellows 🤗

❓How do microbes that can’t make their own vitamins survive in the ocean? 🌊🦠 In this new paper, @RachelGregorPhD and fellow PriME members uncover the role of B vitamin auxotrophies in microbial communities. 👇Check it out 😀 academic.oup.com/ismej/advance-…

The degradation of complex macromolecules in the ocean is only possible when microbes work together. An emergent division of labor controls a key process in the carbon cycle. Latest preprint with the Andi Sichert and the Sauer lab. 🔗 tinyurl.com/n49kv89w

❓What if microbes share not just small metabolites, but also complex molecules that shape community assembly? 🦠 @sammy_pontrelli and co-authors explored this question in a new collaborative PriME study 😃 Learn more about it 👇 journals.plos.org/plosbiology/ar…

PriME Dr. #5 in 2025 is Gabriel from the @oxcordero lab! He successfully defended his thesis "Shaping Function Through Space: The Role of Spatial Organization in Microbial Communities" 🧑‍🎓🥳 Thank you Gabriel for your collaborative spirit and contribution to our community 🦠🌊🤗