Summary
In aquatic sediments microorganisms are gradually buried by newly deposited layers and cut off from their main energy source, organic matter from overlying water or adjacent land. Yet, large populations of microorganisms are found in buried sediments, living in a state of strongly reduced metabolic activity. The evolutionary advantages of survival in this dormancy-like state remain unclear and may be related to rare events where buried microorganisms are returned to energy-replete conditions after centuries or millennia of starvation.
The aim of this project is to observe how fast different sediment-inhabiting microbes are able to reactivate their metabolism and resume growth, and to determine the physiological changes and molecular mechanisms associated with the process. To initiate reactivation of starved microorganisms in a natural setting, deep layers of lake sediment will be transplanted to energy-rich surface sediments in diffusion chambers allowing nutrients to enter the chamber while preventing invasion of other microbes. Changes in gene expression of individual populations, combined with monitoring of cell size, shape, and biomass production will reveal molecular, physiological, and morphological responses involved in exiting starvation. The hypotheses on preferential substrate utilization and interdependencies between different populations derived from results of this in-situ experiment will be tested in controlled laboratory experiments, where targeted reactivation of selected community members will be triggered by addition of predicted preferred substrate.
The uncovered mechanisms of microbial starvation survival and reactivation will have implications for the carbon cycling performed by sediment microbial communities, an essential part of the global cycle of carbon sequestration and remineralization. With dormancy being wide-spread in the microbial world, the results will also be relevant for other areas of microbiology and environmental sciences.
The aim of this project is to observe how fast different sediment-inhabiting microbes are able to reactivate their metabolism and resume growth, and to determine the physiological changes and molecular mechanisms associated with the process. To initiate reactivation of starved microorganisms in a natural setting, deep layers of lake sediment will be transplanted to energy-rich surface sediments in diffusion chambers allowing nutrients to enter the chamber while preventing invasion of other microbes. Changes in gene expression of individual populations, combined with monitoring of cell size, shape, and biomass production will reveal molecular, physiological, and morphological responses involved in exiting starvation. The hypotheses on preferential substrate utilization and interdependencies between different populations derived from results of this in-situ experiment will be tested in controlled laboratory experiments, where targeted reactivation of selected community members will be triggered by addition of predicted preferred substrate.
The uncovered mechanisms of microbial starvation survival and reactivation will have implications for the carbon cycling performed by sediment microbial communities, an essential part of the global cycle of carbon sequestration and remineralization. With dormancy being wide-spread in the microbial world, the results will also be relevant for other areas of microbiology and environmental sciences.
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| Web resources: | https://cordis.europa.eu/project/id/101024224 |
| Start date: | 01-04-2021 |
| End date: | 28-04-2023 |
| Total budget - Public funding: | 191 149,44 Euro - 191 149,00 Euro |
Cordis data
Original description
In aquatic sediments microorganisms are gradually buried by newly deposited layers and cut off from their main energy source, organic matter from overlying water or adjacent land. Yet, large populations of microorganisms are found in buried sediments, living in a state of strongly reduced metabolic activity. The evolutionary advantages of survival in this dormancy-like state remain unclear and may be related to rare events where buried microorganisms are returned to energy-replete conditions after centuries or millennia of starvation.The aim of this project is to observe how fast different sediment-inhabiting microbes are able to reactivate their metabolism and resume growth, and to determine the physiological changes and molecular mechanisms associated with the process. To initiate reactivation of starved microorganisms in a natural setting, deep layers of lake sediment will be transplanted to energy-rich surface sediments in diffusion chambers allowing nutrients to enter the chamber while preventing invasion of other microbes. Changes in gene expression of individual populations, combined with monitoring of cell size, shape, and biomass production will reveal molecular, physiological, and morphological responses involved in exiting starvation. The hypotheses on preferential substrate utilization and interdependencies between different populations derived from results of this in-situ experiment will be tested in controlled laboratory experiments, where targeted reactivation of selected community members will be triggered by addition of predicted preferred substrate.
The uncovered mechanisms of microbial starvation survival and reactivation will have implications for the carbon cycling performed by sediment microbial communities, an essential part of the global cycle of carbon sequestration and remineralization. With dormancy being wide-spread in the microbial world, the results will also be relevant for other areas of microbiology and environmental sciences.
Status
CLOSEDCall topic
MSCA-IF-2020Update Date
28-04-2024
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