The Institute of Microbiology is divided into four departments: Microbial Physiology & Molecular Biology, headed by Susanne Sievers (acting for Katharina Riedel); Microbial Proteomics, headed by Dörte Becher; Bacterial Physiology, headed by Tim Urich; and Aquatic Microbiology, headed by André Scheffel. In addition, there are the junior research groups Coastal Microbiomes (Mia Bengtsson) and Microbial Interactions (Tjorven Hinzke) as well as the research group of Emeritus Michael Hecker.