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We investigate the interactions between microorganisms and carbohydrates.
Microbial Carbohydrate Interactions Group (MiCarb) - AG Reintjes
Emmy Noether Research Group (DFG)
What is the MiCarb group investigating?
How bacteria degrade sugars
Bacteria love to feed on sugars. They break down complex sugars into their constituent parts, thereby influencing ecosystems. We are researching how they do this and what impact it has—from the oceans to our own digestive systems.
With the help of fluorescent substrates and innovative methods, we aim to uncover the secrets of microbial sugar degradation. We combine approaches from molecular ecology, microbiology, and glycobiology to understand the capabilities of these tiny superheroes.
Contact
Dr. Greta Reintjes
Office 3975, BIOM, James-Watt-Str. 1, 28359 Bremen
E-Mail: reintjesprotect me ?!uni-bremenprotect me ?!.de
Telephone: 0421-218-56655
All publications of the research group
- Cackovic A, Pjevac P, Orlic S, *Reintjes G. 2025. Selective heterotopic bacteria can selfishly process polysaccharides in freshwater lakes. Cell Rep 44:115415. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/40215971
- *Reintjes G, Giljan G, Fuchs BM, Arnosti C and Amann R. 2025. Using phenotyping to visualize and identify selfish bacteria: a methods guide. Microbiol Spectr 0:e01602-2 https://doi.org/10.1128/spectrum.01602-24
- Crawford CJ, Reintjes G, Solanki V, Ricardo MG, Harder J, Amann R, Hehemann J-H, Seeberger PH. 2025. Activity-Based Tracking of Glycan Turnover in Microbiomes.J Am Chem Soc147:25799-25805. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/40628650
- Tingley JP, Andersen TO, Mihalynuk LG, Xing X, Low KE, Whiteside DP, Altshuler I, Jujihara N, Shearer AY, Klassen L, Serin S, Smith E, Reintjes G, Patel TR, Boraston AB, Hagen LH, Pope PB, Wade Abbott D. 2025. Global distribution of microbial carrageenan foraging pathways reveals widespread latent traits within the genetic “dark matter” of ruminant intestinal microbiomes. Accepted Nature Microbiolgy http://biorxiv.org/content/early/2025/03/04/2025.03.04.641501.abstract
- King ML, Xing X, Reintjes G, Klassen L, Low KE, Alexander TW, Waldner M, Patel TR, Wade Abbott D. 2024. In vitro and ex vivo metabolism of chemically diverse fructans by bovine rumen Bifidobacterium and Lactobacillus species. Animal Microbiome 6:50. https://doi.org/10.1186/s42523-024-00328-1
- Kalenborn S, Zuhlke D, Reintjes G, Riedel K, Amann RI, Harder J. 2024. Genes for laminarin degradation are dispersed in the genomes of particle-associated Maribacter species. Front Microbiol 15:1393588. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/39188312
- Fraser ASC, Low KE, Tingley JP, Reintjes G, Thomas D, Brumer H, Abbott DW. 2024. SACCHARIS v2: Streamlining Prediction of Carbohydrate-Active Enzyme Specificities Within Large Datasets, p 299-330. In Lisacek F (ed), Protein Bioinformatics. Springer US, New York, NY. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-0716-4007-4_16b
- *Reintjes G, Klassen L, Abbott DW. 2023. Visualization of Carbohydrate Uptake Using Fluorescent Polysaccharides, p 241-249. In Abbott DW, Zandberg WF (ed), Carbohydrate-Protein Interactions: Methods and Protocols. Springer US, New York, NY.https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-0716-3151-5_18
- *Reintjes G, Heins A, Wang C, Amann R. 2023. Abundance and composition of particles and their attached microbiomes along an Atlantic Meridional Transect. Frontiers in Marine Science 10.https://doi.org:10.3389/fmars.2023.1051510
- Robb CS, Hobbs JK, Pluvinage B, Reintjes G, Klassen L, Monteith S, Giljan G, Amundsen C, Vickers C, Hettle AG, Hills R, Nitin, Xing X, Montina T, Zandberg WF, Abbott DW, Boraston AB. 2022. Metabolism of a hybrid algal galactan by members of the human gut microbiome. Nature Chemical Biology 18:501-510. https://doi.org:10.1038/s41589-022-00983-y
- Klassen L, Reintjes G, Li M, Jin L, Amundsen C, Xing X, Dridi L, Castagner B, Alexander TW, Abbott DW. 2022. Fluorescence activated cell sorting and fermentation analysis to study rumen microbiome responses to administered live microbials and yeast cell wall derived prebiotics. Front Microbiol 13:1020250.https://doi.org:10.3389/fmicb.2022.1020250
- °Klassen L, °Reintjes G, Tingley JP, Jones DR, Hehemann JH, Smith AD, Schwinghamer TD, Arnosti C, Jin L, Alexander TW, Amundsen C, Thomas D, Amann R, McAllister TA, Abbott DW. 2021. Quantifying fluorescent glycan uptake to elucidate strain-level variability in foraging behaviors of rumen bacteria. Microbiome 9:23. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/33482928 (°contributed equally).
- Klassen L, Xing X, Tingley JP, Low KE, King ML, Reintjes G, Abbott DW. 2021. Approaches to Investigate Selective Dietary Polysaccharide Utilization by Human Gut Microbiota at a Functional Level. Frontiers in Microbiology 12. https://www.frontiersin.org/article/10.3389/fmicb.2021.632684
- Heins A, Reintjes G, Amann RI, Harder J. 2021. Particle Collection in Imhoff Sedimentation Cones Enriches Both Motile Chemotactic and Particle-Attached Bacteria. Front Microbiol 12:643730. www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/33868201
- *Reintjes G, Fuchs BM, Scharfe M, Wiltshire KH, Amann R, Arnosti C. 2020. Short-term changes in polysaccharide utilization mechanisms of marine bacterioplankton during a spring phytoplankton bloom. Environmental Microbiology 22:1884-1900. https://sfamjournals.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/abs/10.1111/1462-2920.14971
- Reintjes G, Fuchs BM, Amann R, Arnosti C.2020. Extensive Microbial Processing of Polysaccharides in the South Pacific Gyre via Selfish Uptake and Extracellular Hydrolysis. Front Microbiol 11:583158. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/33391202
- °Hehemann JH, °Reintjes G, Klassen L, Smith AD, Ndeh D, Arnosti C, Amann R, Abbott DW. 2019. Single cell fluorescence imaging of glycan uptake by intestinal bacteria. ISME J 13:1883-1889. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/30936421 (°contributed equally).
- *Reintjes G, Tegetmeyer HE, Bürgisser M, Orli? S, Tews I, Zubkov M, Vo? D, Zielinski O, Quast C, Gl?ckner FO, Amann R, Ferdelman TG, Fuchs BM. 2019. On-Site Analysis of Bacterial Communities of the Ultraoligotrophic South Pacific Gyre. Applied and Environmental Microbiology 85:e00184-19. https://aem.asm.org/content/aem/85/14/e00184-19.full.pdf
- *Reintjes G, Arnosti C, Fuchs B, Amann R. 2019. Selfish, sharing and scavenging bacteria in the Atlantic Ocean: a biogeographical study of bacterial substrate utilisation. ISME J 13:1119-1132. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/30531893
- Fischer T, Schorb M, Reintjes G, Kolovou A, Santarella-Mellwig R, Markert S, Rhiel E, Littmann S, Becher D, Schweder T, Harder J. 2019. Biopearling of Interconnected Outer Membrane Vesicle Chains by a Marine Flavobacterium. Applied and Environmental Microbiology 85:e00829-19. http://aem.asm.org/content/85/19/e00829-19.abstract
- Arnosti C, Reintjes G, Amann R. 2018. A mechanistic microbial underpinning for the size-reactivity continuum of dissolved organic carbon degradation. Marine Chemistry 206:93-99. http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0304420318301324
- Unfried F, Becker S, Robb CS, Hehemann JH, Markert S, Heiden SE, Hinzke T, Becher D, Reintjes G, Kruger K, Avci B, Kappelmann L, Hahnke RL, Fischer T, Harder J, Teeling H, Fuchs B, Barbeyron T, Amann RI, Schweder T. 2018. Adaptive mechanisms that provide competitive advantages to marine bacteroidetes during microalgal blooms. ISME J 12:2894-2906. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/30061707
- Reintjes G, Arnosti C, Fuchs BM, Amann R. 2017. An alternative polysaccharide uptake mechanism of marine bacteria. ISME J 11:1640-1650. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/28323277
- Boedeker C, Schüler M, Reintjes G, Jeske O, van Teeseling MCF, Jogler M, Rast P, Borchert D, Devos DP, Kucklick M, Schaffer M, Kolter R, van Niftrik L, Engelmann S, Amann R, Rohde M, Engelhardt H, Jogler C. 2017. Determining the bacterial cell biology of Planctomycetes. Nature Communications 8:14853.
- Teeling H, Fuchs BM, Bennke CM, Kruger K, Chafee M, Kappelmann L, Reintjes G, Waldmann J, Quast C, Glockner FO, Lucas J, Wichels A, Gerdts G, Wiltshire KH, Amann RI. 2016. Recurring patterns in bacterioplankton dynamics during coastal spring algae blooms. Elife 5:e11888. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/27054497
- °Bennke CM, °Reintjes G, Schattenhofer M, Ellrott A, Wulf J, Zeder M, Fuchs BM. 2016. Modification of a High-Throughput Automatic Microbial Cell Enumeration System for Shipboard Analyses. Appl Environ Microbiol 82:3289-3296. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/27016562 (°contributed equally).
- Ferrillo A, Tingley JP, King ML, Kidane A, Bajwa B, Xing X, Johannessen T, Lysberg A, Mydland LT, ?verland M, Reintjes G, Shearer AY, Klassen L, Low KE, Patel TR, Terry SA, Pope PB, Abbott DW, Hagen LH. 2024. Microbial alginate foraging is conserved in geographically and taxonomically distinct ruminant microbiomes. bioRxiv – tentative accepted Second review Nature
- http://biorxiv.org/content/early/2024/12/18/2024.12.17.628917.abstract
- Xu Y, Schultz-Johansen M, Yao H, Wilkie I, Klau LJ, Chen Y, Orellana LH, Aachmann FL, Farhan M, Gu B, Reintjes G, Vidal-Melgosa S, Qiao D, Cao Y, Hehemann J-H. 2024. Phosphate starvation stops bacteria digesting algal fucan that sequesters carbon. bioRxiv - Under review Nature Microbiology
- http://biorxiv.org/content/early/2024/04/08/2024.04.07.588495.abstract
- Lloyd CC, Pareigis L, Balmonte JP, Glud RN, Reintjes G, Arnosti C. 2025. Selfish bacteria take up polysaccharides under deep ocean pressure: in-situ and ex-situ measurements. Under Review ISME Journal
Dr. Greta Reintjes is a faculty member of the MarMic program and teaches several modules in Marine Microbiology at the University of Bremen and the Max Planck Institute for Marine Microbiology. She also lectures in the Bachelor program at the University of Bremen.
Courses include: Microbiology, Frontiers in Marine Microbiology.
If you have any questions about teaching, please contact Dr. Greta Reintjes.
- B. Sc. Paula Schoppmeier - Fucoidan Degradation Potential in Marine Flavobacteriia Cultures
- M. Sc. Laura Pareigis - Selfish polysaccharide uptake by bacteria - global turnover and experimental induction
- M. Sc. Nahja Busse - Investigating The Triggers Of Selfish Polysaccharide Uptake in Marine Bacteria
