Pupils name bacteria in the Aquirufa Sparkling Science project

Under the guidance of the project team, the school class and their teachers are looking after the study waters in the Weitwörther Au in Salzburg. Water samples are taken there, measurements are taken, and the samples are analysed in the laboratory.

The class discovered two new species of the bacterium ‘Aquirufa’. Now it was time for them to search for species names. In a joint video conference with the Israeli cooperation partner Prof. Aharon Oren, who provided support as an expert in taxonomy and systematisation, two provisional names were found: ‘Aquirufa salirivi’ and ‘Aquirufa novilacunae’. The ideas will now be honed and further developed in further dialogue with the researchers. The young researchers gained an insight into scientific processes and were also able to contribute their language skills. 

Further information on the Aquirufa project can be found on the Sparkling Science homepage.