Publications by Martin Ackermann

Antagonism as a Foraging Strategy in Microbial Communities

In natural habitats, nutrient availability limits bacterial growth. We discovered that bacteria can overcome this limitation by acquiring nutrients by lysing neighboring cells through contact-dependent antagonism. Using single-cell live imaging and isotopi ...

AMER ASSOC ADVANCEMENT SCIENCE2025

Risk-reward Trade-off During Carbon Starvation Generates Dichotomy in Motility Endurance Among Marine Bacteria

Martin Ackermann

Copiotrophic marine bacteria contribute to the control of carbon storage in the ocean by remineralizing organic matter. Motility presents copiotrophs with a risk-reward trade-off: it is highly beneficial in seeking out sparse nutrient hotspots, but energet ...

NATURE PORTFOLIO2025

A framework for understanding collective microbiome metabolism

Martin Ackermann

Microbiome metabolism underlies numerous vital ecosystem functions. Individual microbiome members often perform partial catabolism of substrates or do not express all of the metabolic functions required for growth. Microbiome members can complement each ot ...

NATURE PORTFOLIO2024

Polysaccharide Breakdown Products Drive Degradation-dispersal Cycles of Foraging Bacteria Through Changes in Metabolism and Motility

Martin Ackermann

Most of Earth's biomass is composed of polysaccharides. During biomass decomposition, polysaccharides are degraded by heterotrophic bacteria as a nutrient and energy source and are thereby partly remineralized into CO2. As polysaccharides are heterogeneous ...

eLIFE SCIENCES PUBL LTD2024

Microfluidic approaches in microbial ecology

Martin Ackermann

Microbial life is at the heart of many diverse environments and regulates most natural processes, from the functioning of animal organs to the cycling of global carbon. Yet, the study of microbial ecology is often limited by challenges in visualizing micro ...

Royal Soc Chemistry2024

Interspecies interactions determine growth dynamics of biopolymer- degrading populations in microbial communities

Martin Ackermann

Microbial communities perform essential ecosystem functions such as the remineralization of organic carbon that exists as biopolymers. The first step in mineralization is performed by biopolymer degraders, which harbor enzymes that can break down polymers ...

National Academy of Sciences2023

Alma Dal Co (1989-2022)

Martin Ackermann

A visionary and interdisciplinary scientist who brought a fearless passion to everything she did, inspiring all those around her. ...

2023

Cell aggregation is associated with enzyme secretion strategies in marine polysaccharide-degrading bacteria

Martin Ackermann

Polysaccharide breakdown by bacteria requires the activity of enzymes that degrade polymers either intra- or extra-cellularly. The latter mechanism generates a localized pool of breakdown products that are accessible to the enzyme producers themselves as w ...

2023

Substrate and electron donor limitation induce phenotypic heterogeneity in different metabolic activities in a green sulphur bacterium

Anders Meibom, Stéphane Laurent Escrig, Martin Ackermann

2018

Phenotypic heterogeneity driven by nutrient limitation promotes growth in fluctuating environments

Anders Meibom, Stéphane Laurent Escrig, Martin Ackermann

Most microorganisms live in environments where nutrients are limited and fluctuate over time. Cells respond to nutrient fluctuations by sensing and adapting their physiological state. Recent studies suggest phenotypic heterogeneity(1) in isogenic populatio ...

Nature Publishing Group2016