Research & Initiatives

In the MRB lab, we conduct basic research on aquatic molecular ecology.

We also implement microbial indices in the National Monitoring Program of Israel's Mediterranean waters.

Chemosynthetic ecosystems

-Gas seep ecology

-Chemosynthetic symbioses

-Functionality and the sphere of influence of hydrocarbon seepage

in the Eastern Mediterranean Sea

Microbial biomonitoring

-Establishing a baseline of microbial diversity in water column and sediments.

-Monitoring microbial populations using molecular tools

-4D assessment of microbial indices

-Identifying indicator species in a rapidly-changing region

Carbon fixation

-Ecophysiology of microbes that fix carbon via more than one pathway.

-Identifying novel pathways of carbon fixation in extreme environemts.

Marine pollution

-Microbial response to petroleum pollution: crude oil, tar and gas condensate.

-Metabolism of petroleum-degrading organisms.

-Other projects include the occurrence of antibiotic-resistant bacteria in marine environment.

Oceanographic sampling

Marine robotics

Microsensors

Molecular biology

Bioinformatics