Descrizione del progetto
Sostenere gli ecosistemi acquatici grazie ai microbi
Le interazioni tra batteri e fitoplancton eucariotico sono onnipresenti negli ecosistemi marini, e lo scambio di metaboliti tra questi organismi è reciprocamente vantaggioso. Comprendere la dinamica di tali interazioni è fondamentale per valutare l’impatto delle comunità batteriche sui cicli biogeochimici marini. Il progetto Microsyndia, finanziato dall’UE, intende valutare il potenziale ruolo dei batteri diazotrofi nel soddisfare la domanda di sostanze nutritive delle alghe, in ambienti con una quantità di azoto limitato. L’obiettivo è creare un sistema microbico modello del diazotrofo eterotrofo marino con una dipendenza obbligata dal carbonio fissato tramite fotosintesi e una diatomea, che fa affidamento sull’azoto fissato dal diazotrofo. I risultati faranno luce sull’insieme interconnesso di strutture, dinamiche e funzioni di consorzi microbici che sostiene la vita degli ecosistemi acquatici.
Obiettivo
Bacterial interactions with eukaryotic phytoplankton are ubiquitous in marine ecosystems. The basis of many of these interactions is a reciprocal exchange of metabolites that mutually benefits the organisms involved. Under diffusion limitation, such relationships typically require close spatial coupling between the two partners. How long these intimate interactions must endure for a sustained exchange to occur is unclear and challenges our judgement of what truly constitutes a symbiosis.
Understanding the dynamics of syntrophic interactions is essential to understand the impact of bacterial communities in marine biogeochemical cycles. With this proposal, I intend to evaluate the potential role of diazotrophic bacteria in alleviating the nutrient demands of algae in nitrogen-limited environments.
To achieve this, I plan to establish a model microbial system with a marine heterotrophic diazotroph, which has an obligate dependency on photosynthetically fixed carbon, and a diatom, which relies on nitrogen fixed by the diazotroph. I will construct a microfluidic bioreactor to enable detailed monitoring of the spatiotemporal distribution of bacteria and diatom cells during long-term culturing. Integrating this microenvironment with stable-isotope probing and Raman microscopy will allow me to quantify carbon and nitrogen uptake and transfer rates between partners. By relating microbial behaviour to single-cell activity rates, this project will offer invaluable information connecting the structure, dynamics and function of microbial consortia, and thereby provide robust insights into the basal ecological functioning that supports aquatic ecosystems.
Campo scientifico
- natural sciencesbiological sciencesmicrobiologybacteriology
- natural sciencesbiological sciencesmicrobiologyphycology
- natural sciencesbiological sciencesecologyecosystems
- natural sciencesbiological sciencesbiological behavioural sciencesethologybiological interactions
- natural sciencesearth and related environmental scienceshydrologylimnology
Parole chiave
Programma(i)
Argomento(i)
Meccanismo di finanziamento
MSCA-IF - Marie Skłodowska-Curie Individual Fellowships (IF)Coordinatore
8092 Zuerich
Svizzera