My lab is interested in the basic ecological processes which determine the diversity, functionality and variability in natural microbial communities and in model laboratory systems, and in applying this basic knowledge to improving the performance of microbial bioreactors as well as in the mammalian intestine. We study such communities using modern genomic, metataxonomic and metagenomic techniques based on next-generation DNA sequencing, proteomics, fingerprinting techniques and subsequent pure-culture isolation. Our interests extend to the unusual microbiology of extreme environments and the application of such organisms for bioremediation.