The research group Environmental Microbiology is headed by Professor Åsa Frostegård and located at Department of Chemistry, Biotechnology and Food Science, UMB, Ås.
Our research group is working on different aspects of environmental microbiology and microbial ecology. We study microorganisms in complex environments, most of which are unculturable, but we also study bacteria and fungi growing in pure cultures.
Some of our ongoing activities are basic research projects (such as the gene regulation in denitrifying bacteria and investigations of the diversity of fungi and bacteria in arctic areas), while others are applied industrial microbiology (inhibition of pathogenic fungi on grass (golf greens) and strawberries; degradation of organic pollutants).
Our research thus covers several fields that are of strong political and environmental interest today, for example greenhouse gas emissions, bioremediation, oil degradation, use of microorganisms for plant growth promotion and biocontrol, and risks connected to the spread of genetically modified microorganisms.
