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In our latest episode, Gabriele Berg, a renowned microbiome researcher, discusses her work on microbial communities and their impact on health and planetary ecosystems. She emphasizes the interconnectedness of microbiomes in plants, soil, and humans, and aims to enhance ecological and human health. The project An Apple a Day revealed the microbiome's role in apple health, highlighting microbial diversity within the fruit. Gabriele also talks about Tiny Biome Tales, an educational microbiome-focused game integrating science and public outreach. She advocates soil health restoration, stressing its importance for sustainable food systems. Also, collaboration, innovation, and science communication being key to impactful research.

More:

• https://www.tugraz.at/en/institutes/ubt/home
• https://www.atb-potsdam.de/de/ueber-uns/team/mitarbeiter/person/gabriele-berg
• Gabriele Berg: What is a microbiome? https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3K7FavVORLo
• Tiny Biome Tales: https://enviromicro-journals.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/1751-7915.14544
• Tiny Biome Tales - the game: https://microbiome.gamelabgraz.at/
• An Apple A Day: https://www.frontiersin.org/journals/microbiology/articles/10.3389/fmicb.2019.01629/full
• ISME: https://isme-microbes.org/

 

Gabriele Berg is the head of the Department of Microbiome Biotechnology at the Institute of Environmental Biotechnology at Graz University of Technology (TU Graz) in Austria. She is also head of the Department of Microbiome Biotechnology at Leibniz Institute for Agricultural Engineering and Bioeconomy (ATB), & University of Potsdam in Germany. The Berg lab focuses on microbiomes and translation of results into new biotechnological concepts for our environment as well as for plant and human health. The vision is to combine microbiome research and management to prevent biodiversity loss, outbreaks and the spread of multi-resistant pathogens.