MEB noon seminar 

Feb 24, 2022

Zoom:    https://usc.zoom.us/j/91097733636?pwd=TnlPMlU2OXRYQWlBTzVCYXJ5RXJ4Zz09

Dr. John Paul Balmonte

Postdoc, Dept. of Biology, Nordcss and HADAL

https://www.sdu.dk/en/forskning/hadal/people/phd-postdoc/john+paul+balmonte

Ravenous, reserved, or restricted: Microbial structures and transformations of organic matter in environmental transitions

Through their heterotrophic activities, microbial communities play key roles in regulating the balance of organic carbon stored in aquatic systems and the carbon stored as carbon dioxide in the atmosphere. Microbial roles in organic carbon remineralization ranges from the initial enzymatic degradation of macromolecules, to their final respiration to inorganic carbon. However, critical questions remain regarding these biogeochemical functions among microbial communities in environmental transitions—both along natural gradients and due to climate-induced changes. This research talk will present new insights into the following questions: How do rates of microbial enzyme-catalyzed transformations of organic matter vary from surface to deep oceans, and how does increasing hydrostatic pressure affect microbial enzymatic activities? To what extent do biotic (i.e., virus-host) interactions influence aquatic microbial structures and biogeochemical cycling, in both dissolved and particulate size fractions? How resistant, sensitive, or resilient are aquatic microbial community composition and function in response to environmental perturbations (e.g., sea-ice and glacial melt, permafrost thaw, pulses of organic matter)? Investigating microbial communities adapting to environmental transitions helps characterize controls on – and the future of – biogeochemical cycles, and will be the research focus of a potential Microbial and Environmental Transitions Laboratory at USC.