Project description
Decoding the multi-isotopic composition of sulphur-bearing materials
Many bacteria play a role in the sulphur cycle via so-called dissimilatory sulphur metabolisms including sulphate reduction, reduced sulphur oxidation, and sulphur disproportionation. Sulphur and oxygen isotope discrimination during this metabolic activity is modulated by diagenesis (physical and (bio)chemical processes that alter sediments) before being preserved in sedimentary rocks. The multi-isotope composition of these rocks encodes valuable information about microbial activity, environmental conditions and elemental cycles. The ERC-funded ISoSCOPE project aims to improve interpretation of this encoded information with better understanding of metabolic isotope fractionation and the impacts of diagenesis on its preservation. Metabolic-isotopic models will be embedded in ecosystem models, and the results will be compared to microfluidic experiments and environmental data.
Objective
Dissimilatory S metabolisms impart large S and O isotope fractionations, which are modulated by a suite of (bio)chemical reactions and physical processes (i.e. diagenesis) and ultimately preserved in the reduced and oxidized products of sedimentary S cycling (e.g. pyrite, carbonate-associated sulfate). The multi-isotope composition of such compounds encodes valuable information about microbial activity, environmental conditions, and elemental cycles. Robust interpretation of these signals requires mechanistic understanding of both the metabolic isotope fractionation itself and the impacts of diagenesis on its ultimate preservation. Such understanding is currently limited by simplified models of isotopic fractionation in dissimilatory S metabolisms, and by difficulty in capturing spatio-temporally heterogeneous diagenesis in reaction-transport models. We pioneered metabolic-isotopic models (MIMs), which account for the thermodynamics and kinetics of enzymatic reactions and turn empirical multi-isotope correlations into causal relationships. Here, I propose to develop and apply novel, experimentally-validated MIMs of the three most ecologically important S metabolisms—sulfate reduction, reduced S oxidation, and S disproportionation. By embedding these MIMs in a hierarchy of ecosystem models of increasing dimensionality and sophistication, and comparing the results to microfluidic experiments and environmental data, we will gain quantitative, nuanced insight into: (i) the controls on multi-isotope fractionation in metabolic S cycling, (ii) its heterogeneous manifestation in aqueous and solid compounds, and (iii) the use of these compounds' isotopic compositions to robustly probe S cycling on microscopic to global scales, microenvironmental conditions, and depositional parameters, in both modern and ancient settings. With S as a test case, we blaze a path to similar treatment of the processes that govern the isotopic composition of many other natural materials.
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 chemical sciences electrochemistry electrolysis
- natural sciences biological sciences ecology ecosystems
- medical and health sciences basic medicine physiology
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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)
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Multi-annual funding programmes that define the EU’s priorities for research and innovation.
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HORIZON.1.1 - European Research Council (ERC)
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Topic(s)
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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.
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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.
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Call for proposal
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Procedure for inviting applicants to submit project proposals, with the aim of receiving EU funding.
(opens in new window) ERC-2023-ADG
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7610001 Rehovot
Israel
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