Kreft Lab

The Kreft Lab, led by Dr Jan-Ulrich Kreft, focuses on the dynamics of microbial interactions and spatial structure in microbial communities, particularly in biofilms and the gut microbiota, using a combination of experimental and computational approaches.

Questions we like to ask in Kraft Lab are:

How are resistance plasmids maintained in the environment?
How does prey size affect the bacterial predator Bdellovibrio bacteriovorus?
Why is metabolic labour divided in nitrification?
How can cooperation as restraint from competition or the economical use of resources evolve (tragedy of the commons)?
What is the fitness advantage of the division of labour between motile and immotile subpopulations of Pseudomonas aeruginosa?
Is quorum sensing really just measuring cell density under more complex natural conditions, e.g. when cells are clustered?
What are the advantages and disadvantages of broad and narrow host range plasmids (generalists versus specialists)?
What is the optimal gut layout and gut microbiota community composition for the energy intake of the host?
How important is spatial heterogeneity of microbes and patchiness of resource distribution for the degradation of pollutants in groundwater ecosystems?