Education, Employments and Appointments
Bachelor in Chemistry, Biology and Geology, Uppsala University 1983; PhD in Limnology, Uppsala University 1991; Researcher at Dept. of Microbiology, SLU 1991-1997; Assistant Professor at Dept. of Microbiology, SLU 1997-2003; Associate Professor (Docent) in Microbiology, SLU 1997; Promoted to professor of Ecological Microbiology, SLU 2008.
Research Profile
Have worked within microbial ecology and biogeochemistry in many different ecosystems, e.g. peatlands, soil, lakes, the composting and anaerobic digestion processes and crop production systems. Particular emphasis has been on interrelationships between the size and composition of microbial communities, and the organic matter degradation and biogeochemical processes. In recent years most of my projects have focused on human and environmental safety assessment of microorganisms used in beneficial applications, e.g. biological pest and disease control and bioremediation of polluted soil. Lead the work on safety assessment and regulatory issues in the Competence Centre for Biological Control (CBC) at SLU, from 2012.
In the current projects on safety assessment and regulation of biological control agents, one topic is development of new, more efficient and relevant, methodology for ensuring that new microbial agents are indeed safe to humans. Special focus is on screening for toxin production by microorganisms, by determining effects of extracts or culture filtrates from the microbe in in vitro bioassays, e.g. growth of the unicellular ciliate Tetrahymena pyriformis.
We also develop and use strain specific SCAR markers and real-time PCR to look at the fate in the environment of added (applied to the seed) microbial biocontrol agents under field conditions. One example is a bacterium that can control snow mould in cereals. With the developed techniques we have followed the colonisation of the bacterium on the growing plant. Starting in 2012, we will study the ecology of the bacterial insecticide Bacillus thuringiensis subsp. israelensis (Bti), in the lower River Dalälven region of Sweden. In this area, Bti products have been used for ca 10 years to control massive populations of mosquito larvae.
Methane oxidising bacteria (MOB) use the greenhouse gas methane both as a source of carbon and for energy metabolism. Our studies of their their population size and distribution in the environment have contributed to a better understanding of how environmental variables control the distribution and activity of MOB in the environment, and what impact this bacterial group has on the biogeochemical cycling of methane. Currently we use analysis of unusual fatty acids from MOB to trace the transport of methane carbon between different compartments in aquatic food webs.
Supervision of PhD students and post-doctoral fellows/researchers
Assignments, external communication, teaching
Selected publications
Johnsson Holmberg A.-I., P. Melin, J.P. Levenfors and I. Sundh (2012) Fate and behaviour of a seed-applied Pseudomonas brassicacearum strain in a winter wheat field trial, as determined by analysis with SCAR markers. Biocontrol Science and Technology 22: 379-392.
Nyberg K.A., K. Enwall, A. Schnürer, I. Sundh and S. Hallin (2012) Response of induced perturbation on replicating beta-proteobacterial ammonia-oxidizing populations in soil. Microbial Ecology 63: 701-709.
Chief editor (with co-editors Dr Mark S. Goettel, Agriculture and AgriFood Canada and Dr Andrea Wilcks, CBR Institute, Denmark) for book: “Beneficial Microorganisms in Agriculture, Food and the Environment: Safety Assessment and Regulation”, CAB International Publishing, 2012.
Sundh I., A. Wilcks and M.S. Goettel (2012) Introductory chapter in the above book: Microbes and the law: Safety assessment and regulation of beneficial microorganisms. CAB International Publishing, 2012.
Sundh I., and P. Melin (2011) Safety and regulation of yeasts used for biocontrol or biopreservation in the food or feed chain. Antonie van Leeuwenhoek 99: 113-119.
Steger K., K. Premke, C. Gudasz, I. Sundh and L.J. Tranvik (2011) Microbial biomass and community composition in boreal lake sediments. Limnology and Oceanography 56: 725-733.
Feng, X.-M., A.-I. Johnsson Holmberg, I. Sundh, T. Ricard and P. Melin (2011) Specific SCAR markers and multiplex real-time PCR for quantification of two Trichoderma biocontrol strains in environmental samples. BioControl 56: 903-913.
Håkansson S. and I. Sundh (2011) Domesticering av Mikroorganismer. In: Formas Fokuserar: Genteknik som tar Skruv. Published by the Swedish Research Council for Environment, Agricultural Sciences and Spatial Planning (Formas). In Swedish.
Sundh I., M. Hökeberg, J.J. Levenfors and A.I. Nilsson (2011) Safety assessment of biocontrol and plant growth-promoting pseudomonads useful in crop production. Annals of Applied Biology 159: 291-301.
Sundh I., and M.S. Goettel (2011) A comparison of ecological elements of current safety assessments and regulation of microbial and invertebrate biocontrol agents. Bulletin IOBC/wprs 63, 61-64.
Johnsson Holmberg A-I, Melin P, Levenfors JP, Sundh I (2009) Development and evaluation of SCAR markers for a Pseudomonas brassicacearum strain used in biological control of snow mould. Biological Control 48: 181-187.
Jäderlund L., M. Hellman, I. Sundh, M.J. Bailey, and J.K. Jansson (2008) Use of a novel nonantibiotic marker gene cassette to monitor high survival of Pseudomonas fluorescens SBW25 on winter wheat in the field. FEMS Microbiology Ecology 63: 156-168.
Steger K., Å. Sjögren, Å. Jarvis, J.K. Jansson, and I. Sundh (2007) Development of compost maturity and Actinobacteria populations during full-scale composting of organic household waste. Journal of Applied Microbiology 103: 487-498.
Eklind Y., C. Sundberg, S. Smårs, K. Steger, I. Sundh, H. Kirchmann, and H. Jönsson (2007) Carbon turnover and ammonia emissions during composting of biowaste at different temperatures. Journal of Environmental Quality 36: 1512-1520.
Melin P., I. Sundh, S. Håkansson, and J. Schnürer (2007) Biological preservation of plant derived animal feed with antifungal microorganisms – Safety and formulation aspects. Biotechnology Letters 29: 1147-1154.
Widenfalk A., S. Bertilsson, I. Sundh, and W. Goedkoop (2007) Effects of pesticides on community composition and activity of sediment microbes - Responses at various levels of microbial organization. Environmental Pollution 152: 576-584.
Nyberg K., A. Schnürer, I. Sundh, Å. Jarvis, and S. Hallin (2006) Ammonia oxidizing communities in agricultural soil incubated with organic waste residues. Biology and Fertility of Soils 42: 315-323.
Sundh I., D. Bastviken, and L.J. Tranvik (2005) Abundance, activity, and community structure of pelagic methane-oxidizing bacteria in temperate lakes. Applied and Environmental Microbiology 71: 6746-6752.
Steger K., Y. Eklind, J. Olsson, and I. Sundh (2005) Microbial community growth and utlization of carbon constituents during thermophilic composting at different oxygen levels. Microbial Ecology 50: 163-171.
Nyberg, K., I. Sundh, M. Johansson, and A. Schnürer (2004) Effects of anaerobic digestion residues on substrate induced respiration (SIR) and potential ammonia oxidation (PAO) in an arable soil. Applied Soil Ecology 26: 107-112.
Börjesson G., I. Sundh, and B. Svensson (2004) Microbial oxidation of CH4 at different temperatures in landfill cover soils. FEMS Microbiology Ecology 48: 305-312.
Bastviken D., J. Ejlertsson, I. Sundh, and L. Tranvik (2003) Methane oxidation in lakes - implications for carbon and energy transfer to pelagic food webs. Ecology 84: 969-981.
Sundh I., H. Carlsson, Å. Nordberg, M. Hansson and B. Mathisen (2003) Effects of glucose overloading on biogas production and microbial community structure in a laboratory-scale mesophilic biogas reactor. Bioresource Technology 89: 237-243.
Silvola J., S. Saarnio, J. Foot, I. Sundh, A. Greenup, M. Heijmans, A. Joabsson, E. Mitchell, and N. Van Breemen (2003) Effects of elevated CO2 and N deposition on CH4 emissions from European mires. Global Biogeochemical Cycles 17, June issue.
Steger, K., Å. Jarvis, S. Smårs, and I. Sundh (2003) Comparison of PLFA-, EL- and MIDI-methods for determination og microbial community structure in compost. Journal of Microbiological Methods 55: 371-382.
Brandgård J., Å. Nordberg, I. Sundh, A. Schnürer, C.-F. Mandenius and B. Mathisen (2001) Monitoring growth of the methanogenic archaea Methanobacterium formicicum using an electronic nose. Biotechnology Letters 23: 241-248.
Granberg G., I. Sundh, B.H. Svensson and M. Nilsson (2001) Methane emission from a boreal mire: temperature, nitrogen and sulfur deposition effects. Ecology 82: 1982-1998.
Nilsson M., C. Mikkelä, I. Sundh, G. Granberg, B.H. Svensson, and B. Ranneby (2001) Methane emission from Swedish mires - national and regional budgets and dependence on mire vegetation. Journal of Geophysical Research 106(D18): 20,847-20,860.
Granberg G., M. Ottosson Löfvenius, H. Grip, I. Sundh and M. Nilsson (2001) Effect of climatic variability from 1980 to 1997 on methane emission from a boreal mixed mire in northern Sweden. Global Biogeochemical Cycles 15: 977-991.
Sundh I., M. Nilsson, C. Mikkelä, G. Granberg and B.H. Svensson (2000) Fluxes of methane and carbon dioxide on peat mining areas in Sweden. Ambio 29: 499-503.
Granberg G., H. Grip, M. Ottosson Löfvenius, I. Sundh, B.H. Svensson and M. Nilsson (1999) A simple model for simulation of water content, soil frost, and soil temperatures in boreal mixed mires. Water Resources Research 35: 3771-3782.
Börjesson G., I. Sundh, A. Tunlid and B.H. Svensson (1998) Methane oxidation in landfill cover soils as revealed by potential oxidation measurements and phospholipid fatty acid analyses. Soil Biology and Biochemistry 30: 1423-1433.
Sundh I., M. Nilsson and P. Borgå (1997) Variation in microbial community structure in two boreal peatlands as revealed by analysis of phospholipid fatty acid profiles. Applied and Environmental Microbiology 63: 1476-1482.
Sundh I., P. Borgå, M. Nilsson, and B.H. Svensson (1995) Estimation of cell numbers of methanotrophic bacteria in boreal peatlands based on analysis of specific phospholipid fatty acids. FEMS Microbiology Ecology 18: 103-112.
Sundh I., G. Granberg, M. Nilsson and B.H. Svensson (1994) Depth distribution of microbial production and oxidation of methane in northern boreal peatlands. Microbial Ecology 27: 253-265.
Sundh I. (1992) Biochemical composition of dissolved organic carbon derived from phytoplankton and used by heterotrophic bacteria. Applied and Environmental Microbiology 58: 2938-2947.