Objectif Microorganisms drive the biogeochemical cycles on Earth. Traditionally, biogeochemical studies have relied on the analysis of microorganisms isolated from the environment, but they only represent a minor percentage of the existing diversity (<1%). New approaches such as metagenomics or functional genomics have revolutionized our ability to link microbial ecology to biogeochemical processes, expanding our knowledge about the genes involved in key biogechemical processes, the microorganisms imediating them, and the distribution and redundancy of functions in the environment. A central but seldom addressed question is whether different bacterial taxa are unique or redundant in their functions in the environment. This has important implications for the modeling of biogeochemical cycles. The objective of this project is to identify functional groups of bacteria and analyse their levels of redundancy in a marine long-term ecological station which has been monthly sampled for physical, chemical, and biological variables since 2001. We will incorporate molecular analyses during 3 years and make use of cutting-edge tools such as metagenomics and pyrosequencing to analyze the structure of functional bacterial groups. We will test whether the diversity of functional groups of bacteria change at a seasonal scale, whether these changes are related to environmental or biological parameters, and in turn, whether they affect the biogeochemical cycling. As a result, we expect to verify whether some ecosystem processes are a common metabolic strategy among different bacterial phylotypes and identify key bacterial populations involved in biogeochemical cycling in this coastal marine site. Identifying functional groups of microbes and their ecological characteristics will allow recognizing “microbial boxes” of different biogeochemical significance, improve the predictions of the models, and, overall, transform our understanding of globally important biogeochemical processes. Champ scientifique natural sciencesbiological sciencesgeneticsnatural sciencesbiological sciencesmicrobiologybacteriologynatural sciencesbiological sciencesecologyecosystemsnatural sciencesearth and related environmental sciencesgeochemistrybiogeochemistry Programme(s) FP7-PEOPLE - Specific programme "People" implementing the Seventh Framework Programme of the European Community for research, technological development and demonstration activities (2007 to 2013) Thème(s) FP7-PEOPLE-2009-RG - Marie Curie Action: "Reintegration Grants" Appel à propositions FP7-PEOPLE-2010-RG Voir d’autres projets de cet appel Régime de financement MC-ERG - European Re-integration Grants (ERG) Coordinateur INSTITUTO ESPANOL DE OCEANOGRAFIA Contribution de l’UE € 45 000,00 Adresse CORAZON DE MARIA 8 28002 MADRID Espagne Voir sur la carte Type d’activité Research Organisations Contact administratif Xosé Anxelu G. Morán (Dr.) Liens Contacter l’organisation Opens in new window Site web Opens in new window Coût total Aucune donnée