Content archived on 2024-05-27

Bacterial single-cell approaches to the relationship between diversity and fucntion in the sea

Taking a closer look at marine ecosystems

The marine ecosystems play an extremely important role in the overall ecological balance of the planet. Elucidating the nature of that role allows scientists to properly evaluate the function of specific marine components as well as their behaviour in the face of acute environmental challenges.

Climate Change and Environment

The EC-funded BASICS project focused on the identification of the microorganisms associated with carbon and sulphur cycling. This is an important aspect of the study of overall marine diversity, which is expected to reveal the links between diversity and the role of marine bacteria in the ecosystem. The Max-Planck Institute for Marine Microbiology developed a novel technique for the identification of marine bacteria within the framework of BASICS. The technology behind the new approach is termed FISH, (fluorescence in situ hybridization)) and it uses rRNA-targeted oligonucleotide probes. These probes can selectively choose different bacteria from marine and sediment samples. The intensity of fluorescence is directly associated with the abundance of the specific bacterial population in the sample each time. Use of this method allows the rapid identification of bacterial population. Furthermore, its standardised approach provides a common reference point for all project partners.