Periodic Reporting for period 3 - sEEIngDOM (Ecological and Evolutionary Importance of Molecular Diversity in Dissolved Organic Matter)
Reporting period: 2022-02-01 to 2023-07-31
This project is discovering how the tremendous diversity of molecules found in dissolved organic matter matters for the function of lakes and human well-being. Our main objectives are to understand how dissolved organic matter is created by microbes and generate models to predict how it influences the benefits that freshwaters deliver to people. The outcomes of this work will deliver better predictions and tools to manage freshwaters and drinking water supplies.
We also took advantage of our lake survey to sample microplastic pollution. We have discovered that pollution from microplastics and anthropogenic fibres can be entirely predicted from surrounding land use and in-lake water quality. Our efforts will help inform pollution control and remediation efforts.
The second main achievement has been to start an experiment where we will understand how microbes adapt and evolve to use different types of dissolved organic matter. The outcomes of this study has the long-term potential to improve drinking water treatment. We have cultured bacteria isolated from the natural environment and concentrated thousands of litres of lake water to purify dissolved organic matter. We are now growing the bacteria for thousands of generations on a novel media supplemented with the dissolved organic matter purified from lakes with different characteristics.
The second half of this ERC project will delve into the mechanisms by which chemical diversity is created and how microorganisms adapt and evolve in response to it. We will use innovative lab and field experiments and expect to create fundamental knowledge that can ultimately benefit land management and drinking water treatment. We will also discover how chemical diversity in dissolved organic matter varies temporally. We have established a global network of 70 sites on every major continent where collaborators are collecting water monthly from Jan to Dec 2021 for our laboratory to analyse. This unprecedented analysis will track the ‘pulse’ of dissolved organic matter worldwide as it changes with the seasons.