Academic Career

1976-1981:          Studies of Biology, University of Tübingen

1981-1985:          PhD in Microbiology, University of Tübingen

1985-1987:          Postdoctoral fellow, Sclavo Research Centre, Siena, Italy

1987-1990:          Staff scientist, Sclavo Research Centre, Siena, Italy

1990-1991:          Visiting scientist, Pasteur Institute, Paris, France

1991-1996:          Assistant Professor, Chair of Microbiology, University of Würzburg

1993:                    Habilitation (Microbiology), University of Würzburg

since 1997:          Associate Professor, Chair of Microbiology, University of Würzburg

Selected publications (since 2002):

Stoll S, Feldhaar H, Gross R (2009) Promoter characterization in the AT-rich genome of the obligate endosymbiont “Candidatus Blochmannia floridanus”. J Bacteriol 191: doi: 10.1128/JB.00069-09

Feldhaar H, Gross R (2009) Genome degeneration affects both extracellular and intracellular bacterial endosymbionts. J Biology 8:38

Feldhaar H, Gross R (2009) Insect symbionts. In: Intracellular niches of pathogens – a microbe`s guide through the host cell. Eds. Haas, A., and U.E. Schaible. Wiley-VCH Publishers, Weinheim, Germany, pp 547-563

Stoll S, Feldhaar H, Gross R (2009) Transcriptional profiling of the endosymbiont Blochmannia during developmental stages of its ant host. Environ Microbiol 11:877-888

Feldhaar H, Gross R (2009) Insects as hosts for mutualistic bacteria. Int J Med Microbiol 299:1-8

Feldhaar H, Gross R (2008) Immune reactions of insects on bacterial pathogens and mutualists. Microbes Infect 10:1082-1088

Gross R, Guzman CA, Sebaihia M, Martins dos Santos VA, Pieper DH, Koebnik R, Lechner M, Bartels D,  Buhrmester J, Choudhuri JV, Ebensen T, Gaigalat L, Herrmann S, Khachane AN, Larisch C, Link S, Linke B, Meyer F, Mormann S, Nakunst D, Rückert C, Schneiker-Bekel S, Schulze K, Vorhölter F, Yevsa T, Engle JT, Goldman WE, Pühler A, Göbel UB, Goesmann A, Blöcker H, Kaiser O, Martinez-Arias R (2008) The missing link: Bordetella petrii is endowed with both the metabolic versatility of environmental bacteria and virulence traits of pathogenic Bordetellae. BMC Genomics 9:449

Link S, Schmitt K, Beier D, Gross R (2007) Identification and regulation of expression of a gene encoding a filamentous hemagglutinin - related protein in Bordetella holmesii. BMC Microbiol 7:100

Feldhaar H, Straka J, Krischke M, Berthold T, Stoll S, Müller MJ, Gross R (2007) Nutritional upgrading for omnivorous carpenter ants by the endosymbiont Blochmannia. BMC Biol 5:8

Stoll S, Gadau J, Gross R, Feldhaar H (2007) Bacterial microbiota associated with ants of the genus Tetraponera. Biol J Lin Soc 90:399-412

Horvat A, Gross R (2007) Molecular characterisation of the BvgA response regulator of Bordetella holmesii. Microbiol Res DOI:10.1016/j.micres.2006.11.015

Armstrong SK, Gross R (2007) Metabolism and physiology of Bordetella species. In: Bordetella: Molecular Microbiology. Ed.: Locht, C. Horizon Scientific Press, Norfolk, U.K., pp. 165-190

Zientz,E, Beyaert I, Gross R, Feldhaar H (2006) Relevance of the endosymbiosis of Blochmannia floridanus and carpenter ants at different stages of the life cycle of the host. Appl Env Microbiol 72:6027-6033

Beier D, Gross R (2006) Regulation of bacterial virulence by two-component systems. Curr Opin Microbiol 9:1-10

Gaudermann P, Vogl I, Zientz E, Silva FJ, Moya A, Gross R, Dandekar T (2006) Function predictions for conserved hypothetical proteins and proteins with putative function in Blochmannia floridanus. BMC Microbiol 6:1

Zientz E, Feldhaar H, Stoll S, Gross R (2005) Insights into the microbial world associated with ants. Arch Microbiol 184:199-206

Middendorf B, Stübs D, Guiso N, Deppisch H, Gross R, Fuchs TM (2005) Phg, a novel member of the autotransporter family present in Bordetella species. Microbiol Res 160:329-336

Stübs D, Fuchs TM, Schneider B, Bosserhoff A, Gross R (2005) Identification and regulation of cold inducible factors of Bordetella bronchiseptica. Microbiology 151:1895-1909

Zientz E, Dandekar T, Gross R (2004) Metabolic interdependence of obligate intracellular bacteria and their insect hosts. Microbiol Mol Biol Rev 68:745-770

Gerlach G, Janzen S, Beier D, Gross R (2004) Functional characterization of the BvgAS two-component system of Bordetella holmesii. Microbiology 150:3715-3729

Wolschin F, Hölldobler B, Gross R, Zientz E (2004) Replication of the endosymbiotic bacterium Blochmannia floridanus is correlated with the developmental and reproductive stages of its ant host. Appl Environ Microbiol 70:4096-4102

Gil R, Silva FJ, Zientz E, Delmotte F, Gonzales-Candelas F, Latorre A, Raussell C, Kamerbeek J, Gadau J, Hölldobler B, van Ham R, Gross R, Moya A (2003) The genome sequence of Blochmannia floridanus: Comparative analysis of reduced genomes. Proc Natl Acad Sci USA 100:9388-9393

König J, Bock A, Perraud AL, Fuchs TM, Beier D, Gross R (2003) Virulence gene regulation in Bordetella pertussis. In: Regulatory Networks in Bacteria. Eds.: Dürre, P., and B. Friedrich. Horizon Scientific Press, Norfolk, U.K., pp. 27-33

Gross R, Hacker J, Goebel W (2003) The Leopoldina international symposium on parasitism, commensalism and symbiosis – common themes, different outcome. Mol Microbiol 47:1749-1758

Sauer C, Dudaczek D, Hölldobler B, Gross  R (2002) Tissue localization of the endosymbiotic bacterium Blochmannia floridanus in adults and during larval development of its ant host Camponotus floridanus. Appl Env Microbiol 68:4187-4193

Bock A, Gross R (2002) The unorthodox histidine kinases BvgS and EvgS of Bordetella pertussis and E. coli are responsive to the oxidation status of a quinone electron carrier. Eur J Biochem 269:3479-3484

Schneider B, Stübs D, Gross R (2002) Identification and genomic organization of gene loci negatively controlled by the virulence regulatory BvgAS two-component system in Bordetella bronchiseptica. Mol Genet Genomics 267:526-535

König J, Bock A, Perraud AL, Fuchs TM, Beier D, Gross R (2002) Regulatory factors of Bordetella pertussis affecting virulence gene expression. J Molec Microbiol Biotechnol 4:197-203

von Wintzingerode F, Gerlach G, Schneider B, Gross R (2002) Phylogenetic relationships and virulence evolution in the genus Bordetella. Curr Top Microbiol Immunol 264/2:177-200

Complete publication list