Unraveling novel Archaeal Metabolic Pathways impacting Greenhouse Gas Emissions

Introduction

Archaea are remarkable microorganisms that, alongside bacteria and eukaryotes, form one of the three domains of life. They have shaped Earth's biogeochemistry and climate for billions of years. These microorganisms are the main producers of the greenhouse gas methane.

Importance of Research

Especially in view of climate change, it is crucial to understand all factors impacting greenhouse gas emissions. Methanogenic archaea are at the center of my research. Recent breakthroughs in this field have been driven by the discovery of many new archaeal lineages via (meta)genomic sequencing.

Current Challenges

However, physiological characterization and isolation attempts of archaea lag far behind, and the evolution of methanogenic archaea is still heavily debated. Now is the right time to investigate the still underexplored metabolic capabilities of (methanogenic) archaea, their impact on greenhouse gas emissions, and to enrich novel archaea.

Recent Discoveries

I recently discovered a metabolic pathway enabling archaea to produce methane and/or CO2 from wood components and, in silico, from prevalent methylated compounds such as chloromethane. The novel enzyme systems involved are widespread, and new metabolic pathways involving a variety of methylated substrates can be predicted. This suggests an important role of archaea in anaerobic conversions of lignin and various methylated compounds to methane and/or CO2.

Research Objectives

Therefore, I aim to:

1. Characterize these novel enzyme systems biochemically and in regard to their evolution.
2. Study the physiology of the archaea using these systems.
3. Evaluate the role of these archaea in the environment and for methane and CO2 emissions.

Potential Impact

This proposal has the potential to revolutionize our view on the metabolic versatility of archaea by unraveling novel mechanisms of methane and CO2 production in a ground-breaking manner. Identifying new archaeal substrates involved in methane and CO2 production enables us to assess the impact of these conversions on the environment and global methane and CO2 budgets.