SubsidieMeestersThe impact of the viral shunt and its metabolic landscape on microbial lifestyles and the flow of carbon during algal blooms
The VIBES project aims to quantify the viral shunt's impact on carbon cycling in marine environments by exploring microbial interactions and chemical communication during algal bloom demise.
Projectdetails
Introduction
The fate of carbon in marine environments is influenced by associations between heterotrophic bacteria and phytoplankton, mediated by chemical communication and metabolic exchange. Deciphering the nature of these associations is critical given the impact of marine plankton on biogeochemical cycling and climate regulation.
Viral Infection and Algal Blooms
Viral infection is a prevalent mortality agent of algal blooms in the ocean, leading to massive release of biomass to the dissolved organic matter (DOM) pool, one of the largest global inventories of carbon. This process, termed the viral shunt, is a key ecosystem process, but remains unquantifiable and mechanistically enigmatic.
Metabolic Composition of DOM
Furthermore, the metabolic composition of the DOM released following viral infection (vDOM) and its role in shaping microbial communities are largely unknown.
Project Goals
In the VIBES project, we will:
- Disentangle the complexity of the viral shunt.
- Elucidate its impact on microbial lifestyles (mutualism and pathogenicity) during algal bloom demise.
- Generate experimental approaches to study these bacterial lifestyles.
- Uncover the chemical language that mediates them.
Methodology
Our expertise in marine microbial chemical ecology, using single-cell transcriptomics to quantify host-pathogen interactions, and metabolomics to identify the chemical signals that govern microbial interactions, will pave the way for unprecedented quantification of the viral shunt.
Investigation Focus
We will investigate:
- The molecular and metabolic basis of virus-derived microbial lifestyles.
- Their consequence for the flow of carbon in the ocean, both under controlled lab-based experiments and during complex interactions in the ocean.
Carbon Partitioning
We will also explore how microbial lifestyles that specialize on vDOM can determine the partitioning of carbon between the dissolved and particulate fractions, representing carbon cycling and export, respectively.
Conclusion
Ultimately, VIBES will enable us to evaluate the importance of microscale interactions to the cycling of carbon in the ocean.
Financiële details & Tijdlijn
Financiële details
| Subsidiebedrag | € 2.500.000 |
| Totale projectbegroting | € 2.500.000 |
Tijdlijn
| Startdatum | 1-10-2022 |
| Einddatum | 30-9-2027 |
| Subsidiejaar | 2022 |
Partners & Locaties
Projectpartners
- WEIZMANN INSTITUTE OF SCIENCEpenvoerder
Land(en)
Vergelijkbare projecten binnen European Research Council
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|---|---|---|---|---|
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Host-virus interactions in marine diatoms across environmental and ecophysiological gradients
The project aims to investigate how environmental factors influence diatom host-virus interactions, enhancing understanding of their role in the ocean's carbon cycle and response to climate change.
Microbial interactions driven by organic and inorganic metabolic exchange and their role in present and future biogeochemical cycles
This project aims to uncover the molecular mechanisms of algal-bacterial interactions in marine ecosystems under climate change to enhance biogeochemical models and inform ocean stewardship policies.
Quantifying temporal patterns of viral mortality in soil
This project aims to quantify the role of soil viruses in microbial mortality and carbon sequestration, using microbiology and bioinformatics to enhance global carbon flux models.
Archaeal Virology: unravelling the mechanisms of interviral warfare
This project aims to investigate viral mechanisms that enable competition among viruses infecting archaea, with potential applications in enhancing human health and reducing methane emissions.
Mapping metabolic responses to understand coexistence and community functioning
This project aims to explore how species interactions influence the metabolism of marine phytoplankton, affecting community productivity and responses to biodiversity loss and global warming.