Objective Archaea are increasingly recognized as globally abundant organisms that mediate important processes controlling greenhouse gases and nutrients. Our latest work, published in PNAS and Nature, suggests that Archaea dominate the biomass in the subseafloor. Their unique ability to cope with extreme energy starvation appears to be a selecting factor. Marine sediments are of crucial importance to the redox balance and climate of our planet but the regulating role of the deep biosphere remains one of the great puzzles in biogeochemistry. The unique and diverse sedimentary Archaea with no cultured representatives, so-called benthic archaea, are key to understanding this system. Their presumed ability to degrade complex recalcitrant organic residues highlights their relevance for the carbon cycle and as potential targets for biotechnology. I propose to study the role of benthic archaea in the carbon cycle and in the deep biosphere and to explore their life strategies. This task requires an interdisciplinary frontier research approach at the scale of an ERC grant, involving biogeochemistry, earth sciences, and microbiology. Central to my research strategy is the information contained in structural and isotopic properties of membrane lipids from benthic archaea, an area of research spearheaded by my lab. In-depth geochemical examination of their habitat will elucidate processes they mediate. Metagenomic analysis will provide a phylogenetic framework and further insights on metabolism. At the Archaeenzentrum in Regensburg, we will grow model Archaea under a set of environmental conditions and examine the impact on cellular lipid distributions in order to develop the full potential of lipids as proxies for studying nearly inaccessible microbial life. Attempts to enrich benthic archaea from sediments will complement this approach. This frontier research will constrain the role of benthic archaea in the Earth system and examine the fundamental properties of life at minimum energy. Fields of science natural sciencesphysical sciencesastronomyplanetary sciencesplanetsnatural sciencesbiological sciencesbiochemistrybiomoleculeslipidsnatural sciencesearth and related environmental sciencesatmospheric sciencesmeteorologybiospheranatural sciencesbiological sciencesmicrobiologynatural sciencesearth and related environmental sciencesgeochemistrybiogeochemistry Programme(s) FP7-IDEAS-ERC - Specific programme: "Ideas" implementing the Seventh Framework Programme of the European Community for research, technological development and demonstration activities (2007 to 2013) Topic(s) ERC-AG-PE10 - ERC Advanced Grant - Earth system science Call for proposal ERC-2009-AdG See other projects for this call Funding Scheme ERC-AG - ERC Advanced Grant Host institution UNIVERSITAET BREMEN EU contribution € 2 638 450,00 Address Bibliothekstrasse 1 28359 Bremen Germany See on map Region Bremen Bremen Bremen, Kreisfreie Stadt Activity type Higher or Secondary Education Establishments Administrative Contact Silke Reinold (Ms.) Principal investigator Kai-Uwe Hinrichs (Prof.) Links Contact the organisation Opens in new window Website Opens in new window Total cost No data Beneficiaries (2) Sort alphabetically Sort by EU Contribution Expand all Collapse all UNIVERSITAET BREMEN Germany EU contribution € 2 638 450,00 Address Bibliothekstrasse 1 28359 Bremen See on map Region Bremen Bremen Bremen, Kreisfreie Stadt Activity type Higher or Secondary Education Establishments Administrative Contact Silke Reinold (Ms.) Principal investigator Kai-Uwe Hinrichs (Prof.) Links Contact the organisation Opens in new window Website Opens in new window Total cost No data UNIVERSITAET REGENSBURG Germany EU contribution € 270 140,00 Address UNIVERSITATSSTRASSE 31 93053 Regensburg See on map Region Bayern Oberpfalz Regensburg, Kreisfreie Stadt Activity type Higher or Secondary Education Establishments Administrative Contact Christian Blomeyer (Dr.) Links Contact the organisation Opens in new window Website Opens in new window Total cost No data
