Alexander Kirschner habilitated

Congratulations to our ICC vice-head Assoc. Prof. Priv.-Doz. Mag. Dr. Alexander Kirschner on his habilitation in microbiology at the Medical University of Vienna!

[Translate to English:] Foto: Alexander Kirschner, rechts während des Joint Danube Survey 2019 bei der Beprobung eines Biofilms

In his habilitation lecture he dealt with his special research topic - occurrence, quantification and significance of non-toxic Vibrio cholerae (NTVC) in bathing waters. Over the past 16 years he has been able to make major scientific contributions to this increasingly important research area. Methodically, he is developing, among other things, a cultivation-dependent as well as cultivation-independent method for the detection of the bacteria. With the latter methods it is even possible to detect VBNC Vibrio cholerae cells (i) by solid phase cytometry and a specific fluorescent probe (CARD-FISH) and (ii) by a multiplex qPCR method, which allows a specific quantification of Vibrio cholerae and can even detect toxigenic strains.

These methods have already been tested on different environmental matrices of selected Austrian bathing waters, with the focus on Lake Neusiedl. The results of the studies show that Lake Neusiedl and the surrounding salt lakes are so-called NTVC hotspots. The distribution of Vibrio cholerae in water, zooplankton and sediment was shown and ecological factors responsible for the abundance were defined.

Further publications by Professor Kirschner have appeared on the subject of faecal indicators, legionella and water-own groundwater bacteria.