Project description
Understanding the impact of microplastics on aquatic microbes
For better or worse, plastics have become omnipresent in our lives. Whether carried by the wind and rain or resulting from improper industrial management, millions of tons of land-based debris and resulting microplastics are finding their way into marine and freshwater environments each year, threatening our aquatic ecosystems. While much of the focus has been on larger animals and plants, the impact of microplastics on microbial ecosystems is equally important. Microplastics impact microbial life and the services microbes provide as microorganisms play a role in the degradation of debris. The EU-funded BIOMIMIC project is developing a mechanistic description of microbe–microplastic encounters. It will elucidate the behavioural, physiological and biomolecular responses of representative bacteria and algae to microplastics to help us better address this pressing global challenge.
Objective
Aquatic microbes - both marine and freshwater - drive global biogeochemical cycles. However, owing to the influx of microplastics (MPs) in their natural ecosystems, microbes now face a daunting task of holding such cycles in balance. From passive encounters with suspended particles to active interactions among species, microbes tackle a myriad of environmental signals along the water depths. Crucially, a steady inflow of MPs into aquatic ecosystems has led to reduced species fitness, altered feeding dynamics, and ultimately, ecosystem restructuring. Due to their abundance, durability, and an easy mobility across trophic levels, MPs have been implicated in perturbing diverse aquatic settings. Despite the growing evidence of potentially deleterious ramifications, we still lack a mechanistic understanding of the microbe-MP interactions. BIOMIMIC will zoom into the microscale biophysics mediating the microbe-MP interactions, and develop a mechano-genetic framework to assess the emergent physiological consequences. By combining microfluidics, quantitative imaging, and molecular techniques, I will experimentally simulate, analyse and quantify the impact of MPs on aquatic microbes. To capture ecologically relevant settings, a representative group of bacteria and algal populations will be exposed to MPs with characteristic physico-chemical makeup, over a range of concentrations, and under different hydrodynamic regimes. Specifically, I will uncover MP-induced microbial response: behaviour, physiology, and bio-molecular, and concomitantly, the modification of MP-attributes due to microbial interactions. By cataloging the species-MP encounters in realistic settings, BIOMIMIC will unravel fundamental biophysical principles of microbial response to MPs. Through it's innovative approach, BIOMIMIC, for the first time, will offer a unique framework linking behaviour, physiology and bio-molecular response to MPs, paving the way for potential remediation of this global challenge.
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 physical sciences classical mechanics fluid mechanics microfluidics
- natural sciences earth and related environmental sciences environmental sciences pollution
- natural sciences biological sciences ecology ecosystems
- natural sciences earth and related environmental sciences hydrology limnology
- natural sciences biological sciences biophysics
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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)
Multi-annual funding programmes that define the EU’s priorities for research and innovation.
Multi-annual funding programmes that define the EU’s priorities for research and innovation.
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H2020-EU.1.3. - EXCELLENT SCIENCE - Marie Skłodowska-Curie Actions
MAIN PROGRAMME
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H2020-EU.1.3.2. - Nurturing excellence by means of cross-border and cross-sector mobility
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Topic(s)
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.
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.
Funding Scheme
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.
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.
MSCA-IF - Marie Skłodowska-Curie Individual Fellowships (IF)
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Call for proposal
Procedure for inviting applicants to submit project proposals, with the aim of receiving EU funding.
Procedure for inviting applicants to submit project proposals, with the aim of receiving EU funding.
(opens in new window) H2020-MSCA-IF-2019
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Net EU financial contribution. The sum of money that the participant receives, deducted by the EU contribution to its linked third party. It considers the distribution of the EU financial contribution between direct beneficiaries of the project and other types of participants, like third-party participants.
4365 ESCH-SUR-ALZETTE
Luxembourg
The total costs incurred by this organisation to participate in the project, including direct and indirect costs. This amount is a subset of the overall project budget.