Mircrobial communities and metabolisms responsible for chemolithoautotrophic energy and carbon transfer at the Mid-Atlantic Ridge

该项目旨在调查大西洋中脊不同热液喷口自由生活的化学自养微生物的时间和空间变化，以及它们将能量和碳从地质转移到生物界所涉及的相关生理特性。重点在于底物和流体化合物作为自养群落的能源所起的作用，以及所使用的二氧化碳固定途径。在这方面，化学自养的变形杆菌将是特别感兴趣的。对于拟议的研究，将使用分子生物学工具和培养实验。申请者将与地球物理学家、地球化学家和地质学家合作，因为拟议的微生物学研究依赖于化学自养生物生活的周围生境的坚实的物理化学和矿物学特征。结果发现将扩大我们对自由生活的化学自养微生物及其在自然栖息地中的功能的知识。这将有助于更好地了解深海热液喷口的地质-生物相互作用。

The project aims at investigating the temporal and spatial variations of the free-living chemolithoautotrophic microorganisms at different hydrothermal vents on the Mid-Atlantic Ridge and their associated physiological properties involved in transferring energy and carbon from the geological into the biological world. The focus lies on the role that substrates and fluid chemical compounds play as energy sources for the autotrophic community and on the CO2 fixation pathways used. In this regard, chemolithoautotrophic Epsilonproteobacteria will be of special interest. For the proposed studies, molecular biology tools as well as cultivation experiments will be used. The applicant will cooperate with geophysicists, geochemists and geologists because the proposed microbiology studies depend on a solid physico-chemical and mineralogical characterization of the ambient habitat the chemolithoautotrophs live in. The resultant findings will expand our knowledge of the freeliving chemolithoautotrophic microorganisms and their functioning in their natural habitat. This will provide a better understanding of geological-biological interactions at deep-sea hydrothermal vents.