Water droplets in oil are microhabitats for microbial life

Rainer U. Meckenstock; Frederick von Netzer; Christine Stumpp; Tillmann Lueders; Anne M. Himmelberg; Norbert Hertkorn; Philipp Schmitt-Kopplin; Mourad Harir; Riad Hosein; Shirin Haque; Dirk Schulze-Makuch

doi:10.1126/science.1252215

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Water droplets in oil are microhabitats for microbial life

Rainer U. Meckenstock¹,*,†,
Frederick von Netzer¹,
Christine Stumpp¹,
Tillmann Lueders¹,
Anne M. Himmelberg¹,
Norbert Hertkorn²,
Philipp Schmitt-Kopplin²,
Mourad Harir²,
Riad Hosein³,
Shirin Haque⁴,
Dirk Schulze-Makuch⁵,⁶

¹Institute of Groundwater Ecology, Helmholtz Zentrum München, 85764 Neuherberg, Germany.
²Research Unit Biogeochemistry, Helmholtz Zentrum München, 85764 Neuherberg, Germany.
³Department of Chemistry, Faculty of Science and Agriculture, University of the West Indies, St. Augustine Campus, Trinidad and Tobago.
⁴Department of Physics, Faculty of Science and Agriculture, University of the West Indies, St. Augustine Campus, Trinidad and Tobago.
⁵School of the Environment, Washington State University, Pullman, WA 99164, USA.
⁶Center for Astronomy and Astrophysics, Technical University Berlin, 10623 Berlin, Germany.

↵†Corresponding author. E-mail: rainer.meckenstock{at}uni-due.de

↵* Present address: Biofilm Center, University Duisburg-Essen, 45141 Essen, Germany.

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Science 08 Aug 2014:
Vol. 345, Issue 6197, pp. 673-676
DOI: 10.1126/science.1252215

Rainer U. Meckenstock

Institute of Groundwater Ecology, Helmholtz Zentrum München, 85764 Neuherberg, Germany.

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For correspondence: rainer.meckenstock@uni-due.de

Frederick von Netzer

Institute of Groundwater Ecology, Helmholtz Zentrum München, 85764 Neuherberg, Germany.

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Christine Stumpp

Institute of Groundwater Ecology, Helmholtz Zentrum München, 85764 Neuherberg, Germany.

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Tillmann Lueders

Institute of Groundwater Ecology, Helmholtz Zentrum München, 85764 Neuherberg, Germany.

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Anne M. Himmelberg

Institute of Groundwater Ecology, Helmholtz Zentrum München, 85764 Neuherberg, Germany.

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Norbert Hertkorn

Research Unit Biogeochemistry, Helmholtz Zentrum München, 85764 Neuherberg, Germany.

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Philipp Schmitt-Kopplin

Research Unit Biogeochemistry, Helmholtz Zentrum München, 85764 Neuherberg, Germany.

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Mourad Harir

Research Unit Biogeochemistry, Helmholtz Zentrum München, 85764 Neuherberg, Germany.

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Riad Hosein

Department of Chemistry, Faculty of Science and Agriculture, University of the West Indies, St. Augustine Campus, Trinidad and Tobago.

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Shirin Haque

Department of Physics, Faculty of Science and Agriculture, University of the West Indies, St. Augustine Campus, Trinidad and Tobago.

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Dirk Schulze-Makuch

School of the Environment, Washington State University, Pullman, WA 99164, USA.

Center for Astronomy and Astrophysics, Technical University Berlin, 10623 Berlin, Germany.

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