Dr. Julius Lipp

Name:		Dr. Julius Lipp
Department:		Org. Geochemistry group
Job:		PostDoc
Room:		MARUM / 2700
Phone:		+49 421 218 - 65703
Fax:		+49 421 218 - 65715
E-Mail:

Curriculum vitae

since July 1st, 2010	DFG 'own position' at MARUM and Department of Geosciences, University of Bremen
July 28th, 2008	Receipt of PhD certificate
since July 1st, 2008	PostDoc in the Organic Geochemistry group, MARUM and Department of Geosciences, University of Bremen
June 2nd, 2008	PhD defense at the Department of Geosciences, University of Bremen Title: "The role of Archaea in the deep marine subsurface"
December 2003 - June 2008	PhD student at the Research Center for Ocean Margins, University of Bremen Thesis title: "Intact membrane lipids as tracers for microbial life in the marine deep biosphere"
April, 3rd 2003	Receipt of the diploma certificate
June 2002-February 2003	Diploma (M. Sc.) thesis at the Institute of Biochemistry, University of Cologne Thesis title: "Derivatization of Iridals for MS/MS analysis"
October 1996	Student at the University of Cologne, department of chemistry

Member of the Organic Geochemistry Group

Research interests

Organic geochemistry
Biomarker research
Microbial ecology
Molecular ecology
Geochemical modeling
Development of new analytical methods
Chemoinformatics

Diploma thesis

The goal of the study was the optimization of the chromatography and mass spectrometry of iridals, a class of triterpenoids present in sword lilies. Different derivatization reactions were tested to improve the sensitivity of mass spectrometry and thus to achieve higher order MSn examinations. New methods for HPLC separation were developed and several unknown compounds detected. These were chromatographically separated and collected for further characterization by NMR-spectroscopy.

Link: WorkGroup Marner, Institute for Biochemistry, University of Cologne

PhD thesis

Only recently discovered, the biosphere in deeply buried marine sediments harbors an enormous ecosystem of previously hidden prokaryotic life forms. Although this deep biosphere contains 10 to 30% of the total surface biosphere biomass still little is known about the key processes and their linkage to the overlying ocean. In IODP, the exploration of the Deep Biosphere is now one of the major research themes. Major questions of the deep biosphere research initiative include:

What types of microbes thrive in deeply buried sediments and what are the processes they are mediating?
What impact does this biosphere have on the Earth's surface and on global element cycling?

To adress these important questions I analyzed membrane lipids with

HPLC/MSn for structure elucidation
GC/MS for identification of additional properties like headgroups/ether alkyl chains/fatty acids and for quantification
GC/IRMS to determine the carbon stable isotope ratio

The thesis can be downloaded here as PDF.

Publications (* first author contribution)

2010
	Lin, Y.-S., Biddle J.F., Lipp, J.S., Orcutt, B., Holler, T., Teske, A., Hinrichs, K.-U. Effect of storage conditions on archaeal and bacterial communities in subsurface marine sediments. Geomicrob. J.27, 261-272.
2009	Lipp, J.S.*, Hinrichs, K.-U. Structural diversity and fate of intact polar lipids in marine sediments. Geochim. Cosmochim. Acta.
	Schubotz, F., Wakeham, S.G., Fredricks, H.F., Lipp, J.S., Hinrichs, K.-U. Detection of microbial biomass by intact membrane lipid analysis in the water column and surface sediments of the Black Sea. Environm. Microbiol.
	Bühring, S.I., Smittenberg R.H., Sachse D., Lipp J.S., Golubic S., Sachs, J.P., Hinrichs, K.-U., Summons, R.E. (2009). A hypersaline microbial mat from the Pacific Atoll Kiritimati: insights into biomarker composition and carbon fixation using biomarker analyses and a 13C-labeling approach. Geobiology 7, 1-16.
2008	Ertefai, T.F., Fisher, M.C., Fredricks, H.F., Lipp, J.S., Birgel, D., Udert, K.M., Cavanaugh, C.M., Pearson, A., Gschwend, P.M., Hinrichs, K.-U. (2008). Vertical distribution of microbial lipids and functional genes in chemically distinct layers of a highly polluted meromictic lake. Org. Geochem. 39, 1572-1588.
	Lipp, J.S., Morono, Y., Inagaki, F., Hinrichs, K.-U. (2008). Significant contribution of Archaea to extant biomass in marine subsurface sediments. Nature* 454, 991-994.
	Rossel, P.E., Lipp, J.S., Fredricks, H.F., Arnds, J., Boetius, A., Elvert, M., Hinrichs, K.-U. (2008). Intact polar lipids of anaerobic methanotrophic archaea and associated bacteria.Org. Geochem. 39, 992-999.
	Strapoc, D., Picardal, F., Turich, C., Schaperdoth, I., Macalady, J., Lipp, J.S., Lin, Y., Ertefai, T.F., Schubotz, F., Hinrichs, K.-U., Mastalerz, M., Schimmelmann, A. (2008). Methane-Producing Microbial Community in a Coal Bed of the Illinois Basin. Appl. Environ. Microbiol. 74, 2424-2432.
2006	Biddle, J.F., Lipp, J.S., Lever, M., Lloyd, K., Soerensen, K., Anderson, R., Fredricks, H.F., Elvert, M., Kelly, T.J., Schrag, D.P., Sogin, M.L., Brenchley J.E., Teske, A., House, C.H., Hinrichs, K.-U., 2006. Heterotrophic Archaea dominate sedimentary subsurface ecosystems off Peru. Proc. Natl. Sci. USA* 103, 3846-3851.

In press

Submitted	Bühring, S.I., Schubotz, F., Harms, C., Lipp, J.S., Amils, R. & Hinrichs, K.-U.: "Lipid signatures of acidophilic microbial communities in an extreme, acidic environment: Río Tinto, Spain". Submitted.
	McKay, L.J., MacGregor, B.J., Biddle, J.F., Mendlowitz, H.P., Lipp, J.S., Teske, A.P.: "Spatial heterogeneity of orange and white Beggiatoa mats in Guaymas Basin hydrothermal sediments". Submitted.
	Schubotz, F., Lipp, J.S., Elvert, M., Kasten, S., Prieto Mollar, X., Zabel, M., Bohrmann, G., Hinrichs, K.-U.: "An organic-geochemical view of asphalt alteration and associated microbial signatures at the Chapopote asphalt volcano". Submitted.

Awards

Jan 2009

MARUM award for best PhD thesis: Intact membrane lipids as tracers for microbial life in the marine deep biosphere.

Ship expeditions

Nov 2009 - Jan 2010	IODP Expedition 317: Canterbury Basin Sea Level
Dec 2008	Cruise AT15-40 with R/V Atlantis to Guaymas Basin, Mexico. Exploration of hydrothermal vents and their impact on carbon cycling in sediments with the submersible Alvin.
Oct-Nov 2005	Cruise NT05-8 with the japanese vessel NATSUSHIMA of the Japan Agency for Marine-Earth Science and Technology (JAMSTEC). Exploration of hydrothermal venting sites in the mariana arc with ROV HyperDolphin 3000.

(Co-)Supervised theses

Sep 2009 - current	PhD thesis of Rong Zhu ( "Analysis of cell wall components, membrane lipids, and microbial communities in deeply buried marine sediments")
Oct 2008 - current	PhD thesis of Sitan Xie
Apr - Sep 2008	M. Sc. thesis of Nadine Buchs (Title: "Biogeochemical analysis of microbial biomass using HPLC/ESI-IT-MSn"
July - Dec 2007	M. Sc. thesis of Matthias Kellermann (Title: “Lipid Biomarkers of Thiotrophic and Methanotrophic Symbionts in different Bathymodiolus mussel species: Chemical and Isotopic Analysis”), received MARUM award for best master thesis 2008.
Jan - Sep 2005	M.Sc. thesis of Florence Schubotz (Title: "Investigation of Intact Polar Lipids of Bacteria Isolated from the Deep Marine Subsurface"), received RCOM award for best master thesis 2006.
May – June 2005	B.Sc. thesis of Henning Meyer (Title: “Methodenentwicklung und Anwendung: Quantifizierung von aktiver mikrobieller Biomasse in marinen Sedimenten auf der Basis von Lipiden”)