Microbial Communities and Habitats in Aquatic Environments Laboratory (MiCHAEL)
Department of Ichthyology & Aquatic Environment University of Thessaly, Volos, Greece
NEWS
Excited and honoured to participate at "The New Microbiology" FEBS/EMBO course in Spetses, Greece, between 03 and 11 Sept. 2025.
NEW RESEARCH PROJECT about to begin on circular economy-based novel aquafeeds and microbiomes in aquaculture, funded by the Sustainable Blue Economy Partnership!
We can't wait to welcome Anna, Lea, David and Florent from the University of Poitiers, France, for their summer internship!
Most recent papers
Liu Y, Li X, Kormas KA, Li Y, Li H, Li J (2025) Variable phylosymbiosis and cophylogeny patterns in wild fish gut microbiome of a large subtropical river. mSphere IN PRESS
Stilo G, Beltramo C, Christoforou E, Partipilo T, Kormas K, Spatharis S, Peletto S (2025) Blue mussel (Mytilus edulis L.) exposure to nylon microfibers leads to a shift in digestive gland microbiota. Environ. Pollut. 372,125914
Apostolou K, Radea C, Meziti A, Kormas K (2025) Bacterial diversity associated with terrestrial and aquatic snails. Microorganisms 13,8
Varela JL, Nikouli E, Medina A, Papaspyrou S, Kormas K (2025) The gills and skin microbiota of five pelagic fish species from the Atlantic Ocean. Int. Micrbiol. 28:95-105
Katsoulis-Dimitriou S, Nikouli E, Gkalogianni EZ, Karapanagiotidis I, Kormas KA (2024) The effect of dietary fish oil replacement by microalgae on the gilthead sea bream midgut bacterial microbiota. Peer Comm. J. 4,e113
Charalampous G, Kormas KA, Antoniou E, Kalogerakis N, Gontikaki E (2024) Distinct communities of Bacteria and unicellular eukaryotes in the different water masses of Cretan Passage water column (Eastern Mediterranean Sea). Curr. Microbiol. 81,381
Boukheloua R, Mukherjee I, Park H, Šimek K, Kasalický V, Ngochera M, Grossart H-P, Picazo-Mozo A, Camacho A, Cabello-Yeves PJ, Rodriguez-Valera F, Callieri C, Andrei A-S, Pernthaler J, Posch T, Alfreider A, Sommaruga R, Hahn MW, Sonntag B, Lopez-Garcia P, Moreira D, Jardillier L, Lepère C, Biderre-Petit C, Bednarska A, Ślusarczyk M, Tóth VR, Banciu HL, Kormas K, Orlic S, Šantić D, Muyzer G, Herlemann DPR Tammert H, Bertilsson S, Langenheder S, Zechmeister T, Salmaso N, Storelli N, Capelli C, Lepori F, Lanta V, Henriques Vieira H, Kostanjšek F, Kabeláčová K, Chiriac M-C, Haber M, Shabarova T, Fernandes C, Rychtecký P, Znachor P, Szőke-Nagy T, Layoun P, Wong HL, Silva Kavagutti V, Bulzu P-A, Salcher MM, Piwosz K, Ghai R (2024) Global freshwater distribution of Telonemia protists. ISME J. 18,wrae177
Moschos S, Kormas KA, Karayanni H (2024) Ciliate diversity and growth rates in experimental recirculating aquaculture and aquaponics systems using microscopy. Eur. J. Protistol. 95,126113
Maire Y, Schmitt F, Kormas K, Vasileiadis S, Caruana A, Skouroliakou D-I, Bampouris V, Courcot L, Hervé F, Courvoisier M, Christaki U (2024) Effects of turbulence on diatoms of the genus Pseudo-nitzschia spp. and associated bacteria. FEMS Microbiol. Ecol. 100,fiae094
Smeti E, Tsirtsis G, Meziti A, Kormas KA, Danielidis DB, Roelke DL, Spatharis S (2024) Resilience of coastal marine metacommunities to increasing hydraulic connectivity. Mar. Ecol. Prog. Ser. 738:89-101
Meziti A, Nikouli E, Papaharisis L, Kormas KA, Mente E (2024) The response of gut and fecal bacterial communities of the European sea bass (Dicentrachus labrax) fed a low fish-plant meal and yeast protein supplementation diet. Sustain. Microbiol. 1,qvae005
Dosi A, Meziti A, Tounta E, Koemtzopoulos K, Komnenou A, Dendrinos P, Kormas K (2024) Fecal and skin microbiota of two rescued Mediterranean monk seal pups during rehabilitation. Microbiol. Spectrum 12,e02805-23
Most recent preprints
Rusanova P, Nikouli E, Casini M, Bono G, Mente E, Meziti A, Kormas K (2025) Sex-related gut microbiota in three geographically separated Norway lobster (Nephrops norvegicus) populations. bioRxiv
Most recent undergoing research project
If you are interested in improving your skills on scientific writing, check out our mini-collection on "Readings on scientific writing, publishing and reviewing"
Don't forget to check for updates on the Greek "Blooming lakes" where youou may find time series data for a Chlorophyll and a Cyanobacterial Index, derived from Sentinel-3 satellite images (European Space Agency Copernicus Programme), for several lakes of Greece (7 currently, more to come... maybe...), starting from January 2017 to date. Data are updated in a whenever basis and may serve as a tool for monitoring lake blooming events.
Research interests
The research interests of MiCHAEL are … small. We focus on aquatic ecology by investigating patterns and processes that underpin the distribution, abundance and diversity of microorganisms in diverse aquatic habitats. Some of our quests deal with the following:
How do aquatic microbial communities assemble?
Which members of the microbial trophic web are the key players in defining and maintaining community structure?
How do these trophic links change over time?
What is the role of spatial structure in regulating the community’s stability?
How do abiotic parameters regulate ecosystem functioning of microbial processes?
What types of association exist between prokaryotes and aquatic animals?
* Microbiology (3rd semester)
* Aquatic microbial ecology (7th semester)
* Applications of aquatic microorganisms (7th semester; elective course)
Last update: Apr. 2025