Research

Rudolf K. Thauer, Professor emeritus for Microbiology, is distinguished for many important contributions to the biochemistry, physiology and ecology of anaerobic microorganism. Most of the work he performed at the Philipps-University Marburg (since 1976) and the Max Planck Institute for Terrestrial Microbiology in Marburg (since 1991). His group helped unravel the metabolic pathway in methanogenic archaea leading from CO₂ and H₂ to methane, in the characterization of the involved enzymes and coenzymes and the identification of the sites of energy conservation. The work lead to the discovery of three novel nickel enzymes, a novel hydrogenase, two novel cofactors and a novel mechanism of energy conservation. For his work published in more than 400 papers he received numerous awards.