Below our feet or below the sea floor, the energy flux and the theoretical growth rate of bacteria are orders of magnitude below anything we can understand from research on cultivated microorganisms.

Studies of the carbon and energy turnover beneath the seafloor and in the terrestrial subsurface indicate that the prokaryotic cells living here subsist at an extremely low energy flux that barely allows cell growth. It remains unexplained whether the organisms have properties beyond our current understanding of microbial life and whether these organisms in fact represent the predominant mode of microbial life on our planet - or whether energy sources may be available that have not yet been identified. Also in many other environments on Earth are the activity and growth of organisms characterized by adaptations to strong energy limitation.

The energy controls on microbial life and the exploration of the biological demand for energy is the focus of the International Workshop on Microbial Life under Extreme Energy Limitation, held 5-9 September at Sandbjerg Manor near Sønderborg, Denmark.

We invite researchers and students from different disciplines to participate in the workshop in order to discuss microbial energy requirements and stimulate new thinking and new approaches.

On this website, you find more information on the scientific background for the workshop and the practical aspects of participating.