Descrizione del progetto
Risolvere l’antico enigma della fissazione del carbonio sulla Terra
L’atmosfera della Terra primordiale, che era impregnata di CO2 durante l’eone Archeano, ha innescato l’evoluzione della vita microbica attraverso la fissazione autotrofa del carbonio; gli ambienti moderni, tuttavia, caratterizzati da livelli di CO2 più bassi, oscurano le antiche vie metaboliche, vitali per la vita primordiale. In questo contesto, il progetto Archean Park, finanziato dal CER, si imbarca in una ricerca per esplorare gli ecosistemi del sottosuolo ricchi di CO2. Studiando queste reliquie in ambienti abbondanti a livello di CO2, i ricercatori prevedono di scoprire intuizioni biochimiche innovative con profonde implicazioni, nell’ambito di un’iniziativa che promette di rimodellare i paesaggi biotecnologici e geotecnici offrendo soluzioni che vanno dalla produzione avanzata di biomassa allo stoccaggio del carbonio. Archean Park non solo illumina il passato, ma guida anche il futuro dell’evoluzione microbica e del ciclo del carbonio sulla Terra.
Obiettivo
The biological conversion of inorganic to organic carbon, autotrophic CO2 fixation, is arguably the most important biosynthetic process on Earth. Having been established early in the Archean Eon, a period characterized by an atmosphere rich in CO2, this metabolism helped spark and fuel the evolution of early microbial life. Mounting evidence suggests that exceedingly high levels of CO2 select for energetically efficient CO2 fixation pathways, immensely affecting carbon cycling. We hypothesize that CO2-rich subsurface ecosystems still harbor microbes that prefer or even require extremely high CO2 concentrations; we refer to these microbes as carbodioxyphiles. Accordingly, elevated CO2 levels would impact the thermodynamics of the microbial central carbon metabolism, enhancing autotrophy and hindering remineralization of organic matter by heterotrophs. To this end, we will study microbial life in CO2-rich subsurface environments and elucidate ancient metabolic pathways rendered obsolete by the CO2 levels of most modern environments. Each of the research team’s members has contributed to prior breakthroughs in novel autotrophic pathways, environmental genomics, metabolomics, and/or the biogeochemistry of deep subsurface environments. Establishing optimal synergy in this wealth of expertise and experience, we will describe novel modes of microbial carbon fixation in CO2-rich settings and elucidate the importance of carbodioxyphily for microbial evolution. Archean Park will provide a unique window through which to study a new mode of cellular biochemistry, the relicts of primordial carbon fixation, and Earth’s earliest carbon cycle. We will comprehensively characterize the metabolic mechanisms exploited by microbes to achieve evolutionary dominion in these relict environments. Our findings will stimulate biotechnological and geotechnical innovations ranging from enhanced autotrophic biomass production to improved carbon sequestration and storage.
Campo scientifico
Parole chiave
Programma(i)
- HORIZON.1.1 - European Research Council (ERC) Main Programme
Argomento(i)
Meccanismo di finanziamento
HORIZON-ERC-SYG - HORIZON ERC Synergy GrantsIstituzione ospitante
48149 MUENSTER
Germania