Project description
Investigating how microbes in deep-lake sediments survive dormancy
Large populations of microorganisms are found in buried sediments, living in a state of strongly reduced metabolic activity. However, the evolutionary advantages of survival in this dormancy-like state remain unclear. The EU-funded DMC-ReaDy project will observe how fast different sediment-inhabiting microbes are able to reactivate their metabolism and resume growth. It will also characterise the physiological changes and molecular mechanisms associated with this process. The molecular, physiological and morphological responses found to underlie microbial starvation, survival and reactivation will have important implications for the carbon cycling carried out by sediment-dwelling microbial communities, which play an essential role in the global cycle of carbon sequestration and remineralisation.
Objective
In aquatic sediments microorganisms are gradually buried by newly deposited layers and cut off from their main energy source, organic matter from overlying water or adjacent land. Yet, large populations of microorganisms are found in buried sediments, living in a state of strongly reduced metabolic activity. The evolutionary advantages of survival in this dormancy-like state remain unclear and may be related to rare events where buried microorganisms are returned to energy-replete conditions after centuries or millennia of starvation.
The aim of this project is to observe how fast different sediment-inhabiting microbes are able to reactivate their metabolism and resume growth, and to determine the physiological changes and molecular mechanisms associated with the process. To initiate reactivation of starved microorganisms in a natural setting, deep layers of lake sediment will be transplanted to energy-rich surface sediments in diffusion chambers allowing nutrients to enter the chamber while preventing invasion of other microbes. Changes in gene expression of individual populations, combined with monitoring of cell size, shape, and biomass production will reveal molecular, physiological, and morphological responses involved in exiting starvation. The hypotheses on preferential substrate utilization and interdependencies between different populations derived from results of this in-situ experiment will be tested in controlled laboratory experiments, where targeted reactivation of selected community members will be triggered by addition of predicted preferred substrate.
The uncovered mechanisms of microbial starvation survival and reactivation will have implications for the carbon cycling performed by sediment microbial communities, an essential part of the global cycle of carbon sequestration and remineralization. With dormancy being wide-spread in the microbial world, the results will also be relevant for other areas of microbiology and environmental sciences.
Fields of science (EuroSciVoc)
CORDIS classifies projects with EuroSciVoc, a multilingual taxonomy of fields of science, through a semi-automatic process based on NLP techniques. See: The European Science Vocabulary.
CORDIS classifies projects with EuroSciVoc, a multilingual taxonomy of fields of science, through a semi-automatic process based on NLP techniques. See: The European Science Vocabulary.
- natural sciences earth and related environmental sciences environmental sciences
- natural sciences biological sciences microbiology
- agricultural sciences agricultural biotechnology biomass
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Keywords
Project’s keywords as indicated by the project coordinator. Not to be confused with the EuroSciVoc taxonomy (Fields of science)
Project’s keywords as indicated by the project coordinator. Not to be confused with the EuroSciVoc taxonomy (Fields of science)
Programme(s)
Multi-annual funding programmes that define the EU’s priorities for research and innovation.
Multi-annual funding programmes that define the EU’s priorities for research and innovation.
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H2020-EU.1.3. - EXCELLENT SCIENCE - Marie Skłodowska-Curie Actions
MAIN PROGRAMME
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H2020-EU.1.3.2. - Nurturing excellence by means of cross-border and cross-sector mobility
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Topic(s)
Calls for proposals are divided into topics. A topic defines a specific subject or area for which applicants can submit proposals. The description of a topic comprises its specific scope and the expected impact of the funded project.
Calls for proposals are divided into topics. A topic defines a specific subject or area for which applicants can submit proposals. The description of a topic comprises its specific scope and the expected impact of the funded project.
Funding Scheme
Funding scheme (or “Type of Action”) inside a programme with common features. It specifies: the scope of what is funded; the reimbursement rate; specific evaluation criteria to qualify for funding; and the use of simplified forms of costs like lump sums.
Funding scheme (or “Type of Action”) inside a programme with common features. It specifies: the scope of what is funded; the reimbursement rate; specific evaluation criteria to qualify for funding; and the use of simplified forms of costs like lump sums.
MSCA-IF - Marie Skłodowska-Curie Individual Fellowships (IF)
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Call for proposal
Procedure for inviting applicants to submit project proposals, with the aim of receiving EU funding.
Procedure for inviting applicants to submit project proposals, with the aim of receiving EU funding.
(opens in new window) H2020-MSCA-IF-2020
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Net EU financial contribution. The sum of money that the participant receives, deducted by the EU contribution to its linked third party. It considers the distribution of the EU financial contribution between direct beneficiaries of the project and other types of participants, like third-party participants.
8092 Zuerich
Switzerland
The total costs incurred by this organisation to participate in the project, including direct and indirect costs. This amount is a subset of the overall project budget.