The General and Molecular Microbiology group was established at the ICBM in 2006 and investigates the molecular physiology of (marine) environmental bacteria. Research focuses on the elucidation of new metabolic pathways and molecular mechanisms for adaptation to changing environmental conditions (e.g. metabolic gradients and substrate metabolism). The WG pursues an innovative integrative approach by combining classical physiology (e.g. anaerobic cultivation and chemostats) with organic-chemical analysis of metabolites and modern methods of proteogenomic research (e.g. 2D DIGE for the quantitative determination of context-specific protein signatures).