My research has a strong focus on deep-sea hydrothermal vent ecosystems.

In spite of the recent technological and analytical advancement in the field of hydrothermal vent research and metagenomics, fundamental and systematic knowledge on the biodiversity of microbial life and their functional role in the unique deep sea vent environments can still be considered as in its infancy and in the exploratory phase. This hampers our ability to evaluate the global ecological role of the hydrothermal vent biota. Since genomic knowledge is still missing for most of the uncultivated lineages in hydrothermal vents, there is a comprehensive knowledge need and potential to discover new microbial lineages with novel and primordial metabolisms, as well as new metabolic inter-dependencies and species interactions. At present, knowledge is also lacking on the encoded capacity of hydrothermal vent microorganisms to produce bioactive compounds to be used in communications between and across trophic levels in the ecosystem, and in turn represent compounds for human benefit.

Integrated studies combining genome-centric metagenomics with metatrascriptomics and high-resolution microscopy is central in my research to infer potential functions of uncultured novel hydrothermal vent microbial lineages, and identifying microbial metabolic interdependencies and co-operations.

 

 

2026

• Diego Sebastian Reyes Avila; Alexander Mika Hannasvik; Kristina Halvorsrød Meszaros et al. (2026). Discovery and characterization of novel fucoidanases for depolymerization of Macrocystis pyrifera fucoidan. (external link)

2025

• Trong Thuc Nguyen; Ida Helene Steen; Runar Stokke (2025). Remarkable biosynthetic capacity of Arctic hydrothermal biofilms. (external link)
• Trong Thuc Nguyen; Runar Stokke (2025). Nanopore Sequencing of Environmental Microbial Metagenomes and Metatranscriptomes Using the Native Barcoding Kit 24 V14. (external link)
• Runar Stokke (2025). Invited panel debate: From Science to School in a Click. (external link)
• Steinar Sanni; Phil Weaver; Roger Flage et al. (2025). Environmental risk framework and research recommendations for SMS mining in the Norwegian Arctic mid-ocean ridge. (external link)
• Petra Hribovšek; Emily Maria Denny; Achim Mall et al. (2025). Adaptation strategies of iron-oxidizing bacteria Gallionella and Zetaproteobacteria crossing the marine–freshwater barrier. (external link)
• Victoria Røyseth; Brianna M. Hurysz; Hasan Arsin et al. (2025). Substrate profiling of marine-derived thermotolerant cysteine protease reveals unique cleavage preferences for industrial applications. (external link)

2004

• Nannan Yang; IH Steen; Solveig Karlsen et al. (2004). Isocitrate dehydrogenases from various organisms: a model system to study structural basis of biological adaptations to extreme temperatures. (external link)

2015

• Irene Roalkvam; Runar Stokke; Karine Drønen et al. (2015). Isolation, characterization and genome analysis of a nitrate reducing Arcobacter sp. isolated from injection water. (external link)

2014

• Irene Roalkvam; Asbjørg Karine Drønen; Runar Stokke et al. (2014). Isolation, characterization and genome analysis of a nitrate reducing Arcobacter sp. isolated from saline aquifer water. (external link)

See a complete overview of publications in NVA.

Current and previous projects

 

PRINCIPAL INVESTIGATOR:

2021-2025  DeepSeaQuence; Uncovering the metabolic secrets and capacity of Arctic deep-sea hydrothermal vent microbiomes. Research Council of Norway, FRINATEK Researcher Project

 

PROJECT PARTNER/COLLABORATOR:

2022 - 2025 RIALHE: Remote Intelligent Access to Labs in Higher Education. Erasmus+, Cooperation partnerships in higher education.

2021 - UiB Centre for Deep-Sea Research - Trond Mohn Foundation

2021 - 2024 Eco-Safe Ridge Mining: environmental risk studies towards sustainable deep-sea mining on the Mid-Ocean Ridge in Norway

2021 - 2023 RAS-TOOLS: A microbial toolbox for RAS production and innovation

2017-2021: KG Jebsen centre for Deep-Sea Research (leading WP6; Biodiscovery and Bioprospecting)