The 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 Carbon Release
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.
Unknowns in DOM Composition
Furthermore, the metabolic composition of the DOM released following viral infection (vDOM) and its role in shaping microbial communities are largely unknown.
Project Objectives
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.
Investigative 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
Project | Regeling | Bedrag | Jaar | Actie |
---|---|---|---|---|
MANUNKIND: Determinants and Dynamics of Collaborative ExploitationThis project aims to develop a game theoretic framework to analyze the psychological and strategic dynamics of collaborative exploitation, informing policies to combat modern slavery. | ERC STG | € 1.497.749 | 2022 | Details |
Elucidating the phenotypic convergence of proliferation reduction under growth-induced pressureThe UnderPressure project aims to investigate how mechanical constraints from 3D crowding affect cell proliferation and signaling in various organisms, with potential applications in reducing cancer chemoresistance. | ERC STG | € 1.498.280 | 2022 | Details |
Uncovering the mechanisms of action of an antiviral bacteriumThis project aims to uncover the mechanisms behind Wolbachia's antiviral protection in insects and develop tools for studying symbiont gene function. | ERC STG | € 1.500.000 | 2023 | Details |
The Ethics of Loneliness and SociabilityThis project aims to develop a normative theory of loneliness by analyzing ethical responsibilities of individuals and societies to prevent and alleviate loneliness, establishing a new philosophical sub-field. | ERC STG | € 1.025.860 | 2023 | Details |
MANUNKIND: Determinants and Dynamics of Collaborative Exploitation
This project aims to develop a game theoretic framework to analyze the psychological and strategic dynamics of collaborative exploitation, informing policies to combat modern slavery.
Elucidating the phenotypic convergence of proliferation reduction under growth-induced pressure
The UnderPressure project aims to investigate how mechanical constraints from 3D crowding affect cell proliferation and signaling in various organisms, with potential applications in reducing cancer chemoresistance.
Uncovering the mechanisms of action of an antiviral bacterium
This project aims to uncover the mechanisms behind Wolbachia's antiviral protection in insects and develop tools for studying symbiont gene function.
The Ethics of Loneliness and Sociability
This project aims to develop a normative theory of loneliness by analyzing ethical responsibilities of individuals and societies to prevent and alleviate loneliness, establishing a new philosophical sub-field.
Vergelijkbare projecten uit andere regelingen
Project | Regeling | Bedrag | Jaar | Actie |
---|---|---|---|---|
Archaeal Virology: unravelling the mechanisms of interviral warfareThis project aims to investigate viral mechanisms that enable competition among viruses infecting archaea, with potential applications in enhancing human health and reducing methane emissions. | ERC STG | € 1.500.000 | 2022 | Details |
Microbial interactions driven by organic and inorganic metabolic exchange and their role in present and future biogeochemical cyclesThis 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. | ERC STG | € 1.499.999 | 2022 | Details |
Host-virus interactions in marine diatoms across environmental and ecophysiological gradientsThe 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. | ERC STG | € 1.868.196 | 2023 | Details |
Mapping metabolic responses to understand coexistence and community functioningThis project aims to explore how species interactions influence the metabolism of marine phytoplankton, affecting community productivity and responses to biodiversity loss and global warming. | ERC STG | € 1.488.550 | 2024 | Details |
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.
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.
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.
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.