Prof. Dr. rer. nat. habil. Anna A. Gorbushina
Anna A. Gorbushina is Full Professor at the Freie Universität Berlin & Head of Department 4 »Materials and the Environment« at the Federal Institute for Materials Research and Testing (BAM), Berlin.
Based on an initial training in biophysics and mycology, she worked in geomicrobiology and cultural heritage protection in Oldenburg and St. Petersburg (Russia) and habilitated in geomicrobiology at the Carl von Ossietzky University of Oldenburg, Germany. For almost a decade she has been teaching microbiology for restorers at the Cologne Institute of Conservation Sciences (CICS).
Supported by the research scholarships of the Swiss Research Foundation and the Alexander von Humboldt Foundation, she developed a laboratory model for the imitation of long-term interactions between microorganisms and materials at the University of Geneva.
Her research in Berlin focuses on understanding the geochemical and molecular mechanisms by which microorganisms, especially fungi, succeed in colonisation and alteration of air-exposed material surfaces.
Her lab concentrates on black fungi – organisms that are specialists in (i) material colonisation and weathering, (ii) biofilm formation, and (iii) stress tolerance. Since 2010 her research group has implemented forward and reverse genetics methods for an environmental black fungus. Elucidation of material changes that are induced by fungal biofilms can now proceed with the help of the genetically amenable fungus Knufia petricola!
Bundesanstalt für Materialforschung und -prüfung (BAM)
Unter den Eichen 87
12205 Berlin
Articles
Catanzaro, I., Gerrits, R., Feldmann, I., Gorbushina, A. A., Onofri, S., Schumacher, J. 2024. »Deletion of the polyketide synthase‐encoding gene pks1 prevents melanization in the extremophilic fungus Cryomyces antarcticus.« IUBMB Life, 76 (12): 1072-1090.
https://doi.org/10.1002/iub.2895
Catanzaro, I., Gorbushina, A. A., Onofri, S., Schumacher, J. 2024. »1,8‐Dihydroxynaphthalene (DHN) melanin provides unequal protection to black fungi Knufia petricola and Cryomyces antarcticus from UV‐B radiation.« Environmental Microbiology Reports, 16 (6)
https://doi.org/10.1111/1758-2229.70043
Erdmann, E. A., Brandhorst, A. K. M., Gorbushina, A. A., Schumacher, J. 2024. »The Tet-on system for controllable gene expression in the rock-inhabiting black fungus Knufia petricola.« Extremophiles, 28 (3)
https://doi.org/10.1007/s00792-024-01354-2
Wen, K., Gorbushina, A. A., Schwibbert, K., Bell, J. 2024. »Microfluidic Platform with Precisely Controlled Hydrodynamic Parameters and Integrated Features for Generation of Microvortices to Accurately Form and Monitor Biofilms in Flow.« ACS Biomaterials Science & Engineering, 10 (7): 4626-4634.
https://doi.org/10.1021/acsbiomaterials.4c00101
Dittrich, M., Paulo, C., Knabe, N., Sturm, H., Zaitsev, V., Gorbushina, A. A. 2023. »Microscopic Raman study of fungal pigment using the genetically amenable rock inhabitant Knufia petricola as a model organism.« Spectrochimica Acta Part A: Molecular and Biomolecular Spectroscopy, 303: 123250.
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.saa.2023.123250
Stohl, L., Manninger, T., von Werder, J., Dehn, F., Gorbushina, A., Meng, B. 2023. »Bioreceptivity of concrete: A review.« Journal of Building Engineering, 76: 107201.
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jobe.2023.107201
Breitenbach, R., Gerrits, R., Dementyeva, P., Knabe, N., Schumacher, J., Feldmann, I., Radnik, J., Ryo, M., Gorbushina, A. A. 2022. »The role of extracellular polymeric substances of fungal biofilms in mineral attachment and weathering.« npj Materials Degradation, 6 (1)
https://doi.org/10.1038/s41529-022-00253-1
Erdmann, E. A., Nitsche, S., Gorbushina, A. A., Schumacher, J. 2022. »Genetic Engineering of the Rock Inhabitant Knufia petricola Provides Insight Into the Biology of Extremotolerant Black Fungi.« Frontiers in Fungal Biology, 3
https://doi.org/10.3389/ffunb.2022.862429
Erdmann, E. A., Nitsche, S., Gorbushina, A. A., Schumacher, J. 2022. »Genetic Engineering of the Rock Inhabitant Knufia petricola Provides Insight Into the Biology of Extremotolerant Black Fungi.« Frontiers in Fungal Biology, 3
https://doi.org/10.3389/ffunb.2022.862429
Plarre, R., Zocca, A., Spitzer, A., Benemann, S., Gorbushina, A. A., Li, Y., Waske, A., Funk, A., Wilbig, J., Günster, J. 2021. »Searching for biological feedstock material: 3D printing of wood particles from house borer and drywood termite frass.« PLOS ONE, 16 (2): e0246511.
https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0246511
Schumacher, J., Gorbushina, A. A. 2021. »Schwarze Pilze — Wüstenbesiedler finden neue Lebensräume.« BIOspektrum, 27 (6): 665-666.
https://doi.org/10.1007/s12268-021-1646-9
Gerrits, R., Pokharel, R., Breitenbach, R., Radnik, J., Feldmann, I., Schuessler, J., von Blanckenburg, F., Gorbushina, A., Schott, J. 2020. »How the rock-inhabiting fungus K. petricola A95 enhances olivine dissolution through attachment.« Geochimica et Cosmochimica Acta, 282: 76-97.
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.gca.2020.05.010
Koester, M., Stock, S. C., Nájera, F., Abdallah, K., Gorbushina, A., Prietzel, J., Matus, F., Klysubun, W., Boy, J., Kuzyakov, Y., Dippold, M. A., Spielvogel, S. 2020. »From rock eating to vegetarian ecosystems — Disentangling processes of phosphorus acquisition across biomes.« Geoderma, 388: 114827.
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.geoderma.2020.114827
Voigt, O., Knabe, N., Nitsche, S., Erdmann, E. A., Schumacher, J., Gorbushina, A. A. 2020. »An advanced genetic toolkit for exploring the biology of the rock-inhabiting black fungus Knufia petricola.« Scientific Reports, 10 (1)
https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-020-79120-5
Teixeira, M., Moreno, L., Stielow, B., Muszewska, A., Hainaut, M., Gonzaga, L., Abouelleil, A., Patané, J., Priest, M., Souza, R., Young, S., Ferreira, K., Zeng, Q., da Cunha, M., Gladki, A., Barker, B., Vicente, V., de Souza, E., Almeida, S., Henrissat, B., Vasconcelos, A., Deng, S., Voglmayr, H., Moussa, T., Gorbushina, A., Felipe, M., Cuomo, C., de Hoog, G. S. 2017. »Exploring the genomic diversity of black yeasts and relatives (Chaetothyriales, Ascomycota).« Studies in Mycology, 86 (1): 1-28.
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.simyco.2017.01.001
Shirakawa, M. A., Zilles, R., Mocelin, A., Gaylarde, C. C., Gorbushina, A., Heidrich, G., Giudice, M. C., Del Negro, G. M., John, V. M. 2015. »Microbial colonization affects the efficiency of photovoltaic panels in a tropical environment.« Journal of Environmental Management, 157: 160-167.
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jenvman.2015.03.050
Gorbushina, A. A. 2007. »Life on the rocks.« Environmental Microbiology, 9 (7): 1613-1631.
https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1462-2920.2007.01301.x
Events & Workshops
Schäffner, W. Materials and Materialities: Critical Conversations Across the Humanities and Sciences. Part of the Princeton University–Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin partnership program. At the Cluster ››Matters of Activity‹‹. With contributions from Craig Arnold, Dan Cohen, José D. Cojal González, Angela Creager, Alwin J. Cubasch, Susan Dackerman, Brigid Doherty, Michaela Eder, Saskia F. Fischer, Peter Fratzl, Anna A. Gorbushina, Anke te Heesen, Christian Kassung, Anupama Kundoo, Forrest Meggers, Reza Moini, Susan Morrow, John Nyakatura, Christine von Oertzen, Spyros Papapetros, Léa Perraudin, Jürgen P. Rabe, Jennifer M. Rampling, Barry Rand, Wolfgang Schäffner, Viktoria Tkaczyk. Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin. 16 October 2025 - 18 October 2025.