New perspectives on ocean photosynthesis

太阳能最终驱动所有地球化学循环，并维持行星的可居住性。在海洋中，各种微生物吸收这种太阳能，许多微生物将其用于光合自养过程，“固定”新的碳，从而维持碳循环。然而，通常情况下，碳固定是有限的可用养分（例如，铁），但光仍然被吸收，以驱动光合异养过程。人们越来越认识到这种光合异养代谢在海洋系统中为重要的细胞过程提供动力的重要性和作用，如CO2浓度和营养吸收。然而，不同的光合异养过程的机理基础以及如何/何时使用它们还没有很好的理解。该项目旨在将原位和实验方法结合起来，以了解使用不同太阳能捕获策略的条件及其维持的细胞过程。这将为利用太阳能维持行星系统以及该系统如何演变和适应未来的海洋提供重要的新见解。

Solar energy ultimately drives all biogeochemical cycles and sustains planetary habitability. In the oceans, diverse microbes absorb this solar energy and many use it in photoautotrophic processes that 'fix' new carbon, thereby sustaining the carbon cycle. Often, however, carbon-fixation is limited by available nutrients (for example, iron) but light is still absorbed to drive photoheterotrophic processes. There is an increasing appreciation of the importance and role of this photoheterotrophic metabolism in ocean systems in powering vital cellular processes such as CO2 concentration and nutrient uptake. However, the mechanistic basis of different photoheterotrophic processes and how/when they are used are not well understood. This project aims to couple in situ and experimental approaches to understand the conditions under which different solar energy capture strategies are used and the cellular processes they maintain. This will provide important new insights into the use of solar energy to sustain the planetary system, and how the system evolved and will adapt in a future ocean.