Dr Özge Eyice

Dr Özge Eyice

Associate Professor in Microbial Ecology
125th Anniversary Fellow

Contact details

Email
o.eyice@bham.ac.uk
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Dr Eyice’s research centres on understanding of microbial diversity and its role in biogeochemical cycles. Her recent work focuses on methane production through the degradation of one-carbon compounds in coastal sediments. She also studies energy and resource recovery from industrial wastewater.

Qualifications

  • PhD in Plant and Environmental Sciences, University of Warwick, 2012
  • MSc in Environmental Biotechnology, Istanbul Technical University, 2003
  • BEng (Hons) in Environmental Engineering, Istanbul Technical University, 2001

Biography

Dr Eyice completed a BEng (Hons) in Environmental Engineering (2001) and an MSc in Environmental Biotechnology (2003) at Istanbul Technical University (ITU), where she developed an interest in the microbial ecology of biological wastewater treatment plants. She worked as Research and Teaching Assistant in the Molecular Biology and Genetics Department at ITU from 2002 to 2008, and as a visiting researcher at Newcastle University (UK) between 2004-2005 and 2006-2007. During these appointments, she focused on the microbial ecology of the nitrogen cycle in aerobic wastewater treatment reactors.

Dr Eyice subsequently broaden her research focus to natural environments, obtaining her PhD from the University of Warwick in 2012 for her work on the microbial degradation of dimethylsulfide in terrestrial ecosystems. Following her PhD, she conducted postdoctoral research on microbial community structure in anaerobic sediments at the University of Warwick. In 2015, she began her independent academic career as a Lecturer at the Queen Mary University of London, where she was promoted to Senior Lecturer in 2021. Her primary research now centres on microbial diversity and activity of methane production within coastal sediments, peatlands and anaerobic digesters treating industrial wastewater. She also works on the impact of microplastic and bioplastic pollution on microbial diversity and function in natural ecosystems. In 2025, she joined the School of Biosciences at the University of Birmingham as an Associate Professor, supported by a 125th Anniversary Fellowship.

Postgraduate supervision

Dr Eyice supervised PhD students working on the microbial degradation of organosulfur compounds in anaerobic sediments, methane production via one-carbon compound degradation in coastal sediments and peatlands as well as the impact of plastic pollution on microbial diversity in natural ecosystems. She welcomes applications for and inquiries about PhD study in her group.

Research

Dr Eyice’s research focuses on two main themes orientating around the microbial ecology of natural environments and engineered ecosystems:

  • Microbial ecology of organosulfur cycling (mainly dimethylsulfide -DMS and dimethylsulfoniopropionate -DMSP) and methane production in anaerobic coastal sediments and peatlands using traditional microbiology tools and advanced molecular techniques.
  • Characterisation and manipulation of microbial populations for methane and resource recovery in the form of volatile fatty acids from wastewaters. 

More recently her research interests have included:

  • Impact of microplastic and bioplastic pollution on the microbial populations in natural ecosystems.
  • Microbial ecology and pathways of nitrous oxide production and emissions in wastewater treatment reactors to reach net-zero.

Publications

Recent publications

Article

Hawthorne, SEG, Tsola, SL, Carrión, O, Todd, JD & Eyice, O 2025, 'Active microorganisms and potential metabolic pathways mediating anaerobic degradation of DMSP in anoxic saltmarsh sediment', ISME Communications. https://doi.org/10.1093/ismeco/ycaf180

STREAMS Consortium, Kelliher, JM, Mirzayi, C, Bordenstein, SR, Oliver, A, Kellogg, CA, Hatcher, EL, Berg, M, Baldrian, P, Aljumaah, M, Miller, CML, Mungall, C, Novak, V, Palucki, A, Smith, E, Tabassum, N, Bonito, G, Brister, JR, Chain, PSG, Chen, M, Degregori, S, Dundore-Arias, JP, Emerson, JB, Fernandes, VMC, Flores, R, Gonzalez, A, Hansen, ZA, Jackson, SA, Moustafa, AM, Northen, TR, Pariente, N, Pett-Ridge, J, Record, S, Reji, L, Reysenbach, A-L, Rich, VI, Richardson, L, Roux, S, Schriml, LM, Shabman, RS, Sierra, MA, Sullivan, MB, Sundaramurthy, P, Thibault, KM, Thompson, LR, Tighe, S, Vereen, E & Eloe-Fadrosh, EA 2025, 'STREAMS guidelines: standards for technical reporting in environmental and host-associated microbiome studies', Nature Microbiology, vol. 10, pp. 3059–3068. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41564-025-02186-2

Tsola, SL, Zhu, Y, Chen, Y, Sanders, IA, Economou, CK, Brüchert, V & Eyice, Ö 2024, 'Methanolobus use unspecific methyltransferases to produce methane from dimethylsulphide in Baltic Sea sediments', Microbiome, vol. 12, no. 1, 3. https://doi.org/10.1186/s40168-023-01720-w

Tsola, SL, Prevodnik, AA, Sinclair, LF, Sanders, IA, Economou, CK & Eyice, Ö 2024, 'Methanomethylovorans are the dominant dimethylsulfide-degrading methanogens in gravel and sandy river sediment microcosms', Environmental Microbiome, vol. 19, no. 1, 51. https://doi.org/10.1186/s40793-024-00591-4

Marchant, DJ, Iwan Jones, J, Zemelka, G, Eyice, O & Kratina, P 2022, 'Do microplastics mediate the effects of chemicals on aquatic organisms?', Aquatic Toxicology, vol. 242, 106037. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.aquatox.2021.106037

Burian, A, Pinn, D, Peralta-Maraver, I, Sweet, M, Mauvisseau, Q, Eyice, O, Bulling, M, Röthig, T & Kratina, P 2022, 'Predation increases multiple components of microbial diversity in activated sludge communities', ISME Journal, vol. 16, no. 4, pp. 1086-1094. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41396-021-01145-z

Khatami, K, Atasoy, M, Ludtke, M, Baresel, C, Eyice, Ö & Cetecioglu, Z 2021, 'Bioconversion of food waste to volatile fatty acids: Impact of microbial community, pH and retention time', Chemosphere, vol. 275, 129981. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.chemosphere.2021.129981

Tsola, SL, Zhu, Y, Ghurnee, O, Economou, CK, Trimmer, M & Eyice, Ö 2021, 'Diversity of dimethylsulfide-degrading methanogens and sulfate-reducing bacteria in anoxic sediments along the Medway Estuary, UK', Environmental Microbiology, vol. 23, no. 8, pp. 4434-4449. https://doi.org/10.1111/1462-2920.15637

Wilson, B, Eyice, Ö, Koumoutsos, I, Lomer, MC, Irving, PM, Lindsay, JO & Whelan, K 2021, 'Prebiotic galactooligosaccharide supplementation in adults with ulcerative colitis: Exploring the impact on peripheral blood gene expression, gut microbiota, and clinical symptoms', Nutrients, vol. 13, no. 10, 3598. https://doi.org/10.3390/nu13103598

Atasoy, M, Eyice, O & Cetecioglu, Z 2020, 'A comprehensive study of volatile fatty acids production from batch reactor to anaerobic sequencing batch reactor by using cheese processing wastewater', Bioresource Technology, vol. 311, 123529. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.biortech.2020.123529

Zhu, Y, Purdy, KJ, Eyice, Ö, Shen, L, Harpenslager, SF, Yvon-Durocher, G, Dumbrell, AJ & Trimmer, M 2020, 'Disproportionate increase in freshwater methane emissions induced by experimental warming', Nature Climate Change, vol. 10, no. 7, pp. 685-690. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41558-020-0824-y

Atasoy, M, Eyice, Ö & Cetecioglu, Z 2020, 'Volatile fatty acid production from semi-synthetic milk processing wastewater under alkali pH: The pearls and pitfalls of microbial culture', Bioresource Technology, vol. 297, 122415. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.biortech.2019.122415

Chapter

Jameson, E, Taubert, M, Angel, R, Coyotzi, S, Chen, Y, Eyice, Ö, Schäfer, H, Murrell, JC, Neufeld, JD & Dumont, MG 2023, DNA-, RNA-, and Protein-Based Stable-Isotope Probing for High-Throughput Biomarker Analysis of Active Microorganisms. in WR Streit & R Daniel (eds), Methods in Molecular Biology: Methods and Protocols. 3 edn, Methods in Molecular Biology, vol. 2555, Humana Press, pp. 261-282. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-0716-2795-2_17

Comment/debate

Wilson, B, Rossi, M, Eyice, O, Lomer, MC, Irving, PM, Lindsay, JO & Whelan, K 2020, 'Prebiotic β-galacto-oligosaccharide impact on clinical, inflammatory and microbiota outcomes in active ulcerative colitis: An open-label study', Proceedings of the Nutrition Society, vol. 79, no. OCE1, E10. https://doi.org/10.1017/S0029665119001319

Review article

Stollerwerk, A, Kratina, P, Sentis, A, Chaparro-Pedraza, C, Decaestecker, E, De Meester, L, Eyice, O, Govaert, L, Jones, JI, Laforsch, C, Madeira, C, Narwani, A, Oostra, V, Raeymaekers, JAM, Rossberg, AG, Schott, M, Stoks, R, van Velzen, E & Boukal, D 2025, 'Plasticity in climate change responses', Biological Reviews. https://doi.org/10.1111/brv.70056

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