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Environmental Microbiology
We live in a world entirely covered by Microbes which have 5.0×1030 cells on our planet, and it is 108 greater than the number of stars in the observable universe. The microbes make up an unseen world, unseen at least by the naked eye. We explore this world, the creatures that inhabit it, and the things they do. So, we discover that processes carried out by microbes in the unseen world affect our visible world. These processes include virtually every chemical reaction in the biosphere that makes up the elemental cycles of carbon, nitrogen, and other elements necessary for life. The processes also involve interactions between organisms, both among microbes and between microbes and large organisms. And also, it interacts with climate changes.
We are studying Microbial Ecology because microbes mediate many processes essential to the operation of the biosphere. But there are other reasons for studying microbial ecology.
• Microbes cause diseases of macroscopic organisms, including humans
• Microbes help to make our food and other useful products
• Microbes degrade and detoxify pollutants
• Microbes are models for exploring principles in ecology and evolution
• Microbes living today are models for early life on Earth and perhaps life on other planets
• Microbes mediate biogeochemical processes that affect global climate
• Microbes are everywhere, doing nearly everything
Our Research
Our primary research interest lies in global biogeochemical cycles, with a particular focus on the nitrogen cycle, especially nitrification and denitrification.
Nitrogen is indispensable for life as a fundamental component of nucleic acids and proteins, and it constitutes nearly 80% of Earth’s atmosphere. Nitrification is a crucial process in the nitrogen cycle: while it is essential for efficient wastewater treatment, it also contributes to fertilizer loss in agriculture, eutrophication, and the emission of the potent greenhouse gas N₂O.
Recent discoveries of new nitrifiers—including ammonia-oxidizing bacteria (AOB), ammonia-oxidizing archaea (AOA), and complete ammonia oxidizers (comammox)—have reshaped our understanding of the global nitrogen budget, making the study of the nitrogen cycle more complex and critical than ever. Although these microorganisms play central roles in environmental systems, their ecological abundance and physiological mechanisms remain unresolved.
Our research, therefore, focuses on elucidating the physiological and genomic traits of AOA, AOB, comammox, and nitrite-oxidizing bacteria, particularly their role in N₂O production and kinetics. We employ a multi-omics approach that integrates microbial ecology, biogeochemistry, molecular biology, and bioinformatics. Beyond the nitrogen cycle, our work also extends to other elemental cycles, including carbon, sulfur, and various metals, as well as interdomain microbial interactions.
In addition, we explore microorganisms beneficial to human life, such as lactic acid bacteria (LAB) and diverse fermentation microbes isolated from environmental sources. We also investigate the microbiome—the community of microorganisms, including bacteria, fungi, and viruses—and their communication with host organisms, particularly within the gut, to better understand microbial functions and their potential applications.
Ongoing Projects
Microbiomic Carbon-negative Environmental Nitrogen Management Laboratory. [Basic Research Laboratory] - National research foundation of Korea (NRF)
Research on the kinetics response of nitrifiers to ecological and environmental change. National research foundation of Korea (NRF).
Research of environmental microbiology for control and purification of groundwater in Jeju. Research Institute for Basic Sciences (RIBS) of Jeju National University through the National Research Foundation of Korea (NRF).
Development of industrialization using microbes isolated in Jeju island. The Commercializations Promotion Agency for R&D Outcomes (COMPA).
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