The microbiology groups of Prof. Haike Antelmann and Prof. Mitja Remus-Emsermann focus their research on the molecular mechanisms of host-pathogen interactions, bacterial adaptation towards stress and antimicrobials, phage defense mechanisms (Antelmann) and the microbial communities on plant surfaces (Remus-Emsermann). The research of the Antelmann group involves important model bacterial pathogens, such as Staphylococcus aureus and enteropathogenic Escherichia coli. The research of the Remus-Emsermann group focusses on defined “synthetic” microbial communities, colonizing plant surfaces and tissues of model plants, such as Arabidopsis thaliana.