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MARINFORSKHAV-Marine ressurser og miljø - havmiljø

DeepSeaQuence – Uncovering the metabolic secrets and capacity of Arctic deep-sea hydrothermal vent microbiomes

Alternative title: På jakt etter uoppdagede metabolske funksjoner hos mikroorganismer som lever i varme kilder langs den Arktiske midtryggen.

Awarded: NOK 12.0 mill.

Project Manager:

Project Number:

315427

Application Type:

Project Period:

2021 - 2025

Partner countries:

The impact of biodiscoveries from deep sea hydrothermal vents are undisputed. Enzymes from deep-sea hydrothermal vents are commonly used in diagnostic testing, and several enzymes from Arctic deep-sea hydrothermal sites have been characterized as promising towards application. DeepSeaQuence provide important base-line ecosystem knowledge of a habitat, that is an important Norwegian reservoir of mineral resources and as a site where bioprospecting activities may lead to the discovery of new biomolecules of immense economical value. Uncovering the range of biodiversity, discovery of new microbial lineages and identifying microbial processes surrounding deep sea hydrothermal systems is an essential first step in the transfer to human applications. The project has so far been involved in investigating natural occurring marine sites of methane and oil. In the award-winning best paper of 2022 in the FEMS journal (https://doi.org/10.1093/femsec/fiac117), the enigmatic archaeal anaerobic methane (ANME) oxidizers were investigated from deep-sea hydrothermal sites at the Arctic mid-Ocean Ridges. In collaboration with the UIT coordinated AKMA project, DeepSeaQuence was involved in the interdisciplinary investigation of a natural oil seep site offshore western Svalbard. Furthmerore, the potential for extended metabolic capacity have also been assigned to other archaeal lineages. In the 2023 paper by Vulcano et al. (https://doi.org/10.1111/1758-2229.13168) the potential for homoacetogenesis via the Wood-Ljungdahl pathway in Koracrhaeeia lineages from marine hydrothermal vents was identified. Throughout these studies we have that by the use of genome-resolved metagenomics we are able to reveal the structure and function of individual microbial genomes and their interactions within a complex community and enable comparative analysis of microbiomes at a finer scale to shed light on how microbial communities and functions are influenced by environmental settings. Altogether, the knowledgebase provided by DeepSeaQuence will impact our understanding of the distribution, diversity, metabolic repertoire, and interactions of the vastly uncultivated, and thus far largely unknown, microbial biosphere in deep-sea hydrothermal systems.

The impact of biodiscoveries from deep sea hydrothermal vents are undisputed. Enzymes from deep-sea hydrothermal vents are commonly used in diagnostic testing of infections, such as Covid-19. However, discovery of new microbial lineages and identifying microbial processes surrounding deep sea hydrothermal systems is an essential first step in the transfer to human applications. Estimates based on DNA surveys suggest that uncultivated microorganisms make up as much as 81% of all microbial cells on Earth, inferring some kind of function which we have just started to understand based on their genetic potential. Intriguingly, uncultured microorganisms are numerically dominant in all major environments on Earth including the fascinating and inaccessible deep-sea hydrothermal systems. DeepSeaQuence aims at revealing the genetic and functional diversity of the vast unknown microbial diversity in deep-sea hydrothermal vents by studying vent fields along the Arctic Mid-Ocean ridge. DeepSeaQuence thus focuses on one of the least explored marine realms. DeepSeaQuence aims to provide important base-line ecosystem knowledge of a habitat, that is an important Norwegian reservoir of mineral resources and as a site where bioprospecting activities may lead to the discovery of new biomolecules of immense economical value. DeepSeaQuence will go beyond the exploratory and seek out added values and possibilities to address central global challenges within focus on natural resources and the marine environment. DeepSeaQuence is interdisciplinary, spanning microbial ecology, geobiochemistry, microbial interactions, bioinformatics, supported by advanced Norwegian marine technology. Altogether, the knowledgebase provided by DeepSeaQuence will impact our understanding of the distribution, diversity, metabolic repertoire, and interactions of the vastly uncultivated, and thus far largely unknown, microbial biosphere in deep-sea hydrothermal systems.

Publications from Cristin

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Funding scheme:

MARINFORSKHAV-Marine ressurser og miljø - havmiljø