We are developing and adapting molecular approaches to study the structure, composition and functions of hard-to-observe organisms. We seek answers to important questions in ecology, such as the effects of the Great Acceleration on taxonomically diverse communities.
Our main focus is on developing and testing methods to describe the structure and function of soil invertebrate communities, together with the Soil Zoology Division of Senckenberg Görlitz. The project “Metagenomic monitoring of soil communities (MetaInvert)” is part of the LOEWE Centre for Translational Biodiversity Genomics, and it is led by Miki Bálint, Ricarda Lehmitz and Peter Decker. The project is funded through the programme “LOEWE – Landes-Offensive zur Entwicklung Wissenschaftlich-ökonomischer Exzellenz” of Hesse’s Ministry of Higher Education, Research, and the Arts. We genome-sequenced over 250 species of soil invertebrates under the lead of Clem Schneider. The aim of this database is to improve species identifications through shotgun metagenomics.