Objetivo Large quantities of plastics comprising a diverse set of hydrocarbon or hydrocarbon-like polymers are constantly released to the oceans. The impacts of plastics in marine environments are detrimental, as they are seemingly recalcitrant and harmful to marine life. The severity of this problem is gaining momentum because the untamed demand for plastics has led to an ever-increasing release of plastic to the sea. However, despite their seemingly persistent properties, they do not accumulate as expected, indicating a substantial sink for plastics in the ocean. Plastics are synthetic and thus rather new and ‘unconventional’ compounds in the marine realm, yet microbes can utilise plastics as carbon substrates. However, the potential for microbial degradation of plastics in the ocean as well as key factors controlling degradation kinetics are largely unknown and have been discussed controversially. Using innovative stable isotope assays, my preliminary research has shown that plastics can be degraded in marine sediments under aerobic as well as anaerobic conditions. Here I propose to further investigate the potential for marine plastic degradation by microbes in laboratory- and field-based experiments across a wide range of contrasting environmental boundary conditions. In the VORTEX project, we will use cutting-edge stable isotope labelling and stable isotope probing assays in combination with biogeochemical/microbiological and organic geochemical tools to trace isotopically labelled carbon from the plastic-substrate pools into microbial metabolites (e.g. CO2) and biomass (e.g. diagnostic lipid biomarkers, DNA/RNA). This will lead to a breakthrough in our understanding of microbial plastic degradation in the ocean because the proposed analytical approaches allow to quantify kinetics of microbial polymer breakdown, to identify and quantify the responsible microbes and degradation pathways, and to determine environmental conditions conducive for plastic degradation. Ámbito científico natural scienceschemical sciencesorganic chemistryhydrocarbonsnatural scienceschemical sciencespolymer sciencesnatural sciencesbiological sciencesbiochemistrybiomoleculeslipidsnatural sciencesbiological sciencesgeneticsRNAnatural sciencesearth and related environmental sciencesgeochemistryorganic geochemistry Programa(s) H2020-EU.1.1. - EXCELLENT SCIENCE - European Research Council (ERC) Main Programme Tema(s) ERC-2017-COG - ERC Consolidator Grant Convocatoria de propuestas ERC-2017-COG Consulte otros proyectos de esta convocatoria Régimen de financiación ERC-COG - Consolidator Grant Institución de acogida STICHTING NEDERLANDSE WETENSCHAPPELIJK ONDERZOEK INSTITUTEN Aportación neta de la UEn € 1 999 185,00 Dirección WINTHONTLAAN 2 3526 KV Utrecht Países Bajos Ver en el mapa Región West-Nederland Utrecht Utrecht Tipo de actividad Research Organisations Enlaces Contactar con la organización Opens in new window Sitio web Opens in new window Participación en los programas de I+D de la UE Opens in new window Red de colaboración de HORIZON Opens in new window Coste total € 1 999 185,00 Beneficiarios (1) Ordenar alfabéticamente Ordenar por aportación neta de la UE Ampliar todo Contraer todo STICHTING NEDERLANDSE WETENSCHAPPELIJK ONDERZOEK INSTITUTEN Países Bajos Aportación neta de la UEn € 1 999 185,00 Dirección WINTHONTLAAN 2 3526 KV Utrecht Ver en el mapa Región West-Nederland Utrecht Utrecht Tipo de actividad Research Organisations Enlaces Contactar con la organización Opens in new window Sitio web Opens in new window Participación en los programas de I+D de la UE Opens in new window Red de colaboración de HORIZON Opens in new window Coste total € 1 999 185,00