The Cultivation Lab focusses on aerobic and anaerobic enrichment and isolation of bacteria and archaea (microbial cultivation) as well as morphological, physiological and phylogenetic characterization. It covers simulation experiments and investigates adaptation to extremes.

This lab is specialized on radioisotope tracer studies involving direct measurements of the turnover or incorporation of radioactively labelled compounds. The following radiotracer techniques are employed: measurement of sulfate reduction rate with ³⁵S radiotracer, methanogenesis rate with ¹⁴C radiotracer, and methane oxidation rate with ¹⁴C radiotracer. The laboratory equipment includes a distillation setup for reduced sulfur species, a high-pressure thermal gradient incubation system, a …