Anders Andersson

Anders Andersson’s research focuses on the billions of microorganisms inhabiting our ecosystems. His work highlights how these microscopic life forms, outnumbering the stars in the universe and constituting a greater biomass than all animals on Earth, are crucial for ecosystem functioning, not least in marine environments. Andersson develops and utilizes DNA-based techniques and computational methods to study these organisms without the need for cultivating them in the lab, which circumvents the problem that most microorganisms are difficult to culture. By extracting and sequencing DNA from water samples, he and his research team can reconstruct and analyze the genomes of various plankton species, revealing their nutritional requirements, inter-dependencies and environmental adaptations.

Furthermore, Andersson’s group develops DNA-based methods as well as high-throughput imaging techniques to quantify microbial species in environmental samples, contributing to a deeper understanding of biodiversity and microorganisms ecological roles. His research has led to extensive mappings of microbial life in the Baltic Sea, including the discovery and documentation of hundreds of previously unknown plankton species. Through collaborations with other research groups and institutions, Andersson works to develop and improve DNA-based methods for environmental monitoring, essential for monitoring and protecting Sweden’s unique ecosystems.