Differential microbial degradation of particulate organic matter in a shallow water system
Final Report Abstract
The ocean's carbon cycle plays a major role in global climate change because the world's ocean acts as the largest long-term sink for atmospheric CO2. The transfer and long-term storage of organic matter in the ocean is determined by the break down of dissolved organic macromolecules produced by phytoplankton in the upper ocean. This initial step in organic matter remineralization is accomplished by microbial hydrolytic extracellular enzymes. Despite its importance for the elemental cycle, we still lack a detailed understanding of microbial enzymatic versatility in the water column. My research that I have conducted in the past two years as a postdoc fellow in Carol Arnosti's lab at the University of North Carolina helps to better understand interactions of (mineral) surfaces with organic matter substrates and extracellular enzymes, an important task of organic matter remineralization in sediments as well as coastal environments. I was also able to investigate extracellular enzyme activities on marine snow aggregates, i.e. fast sinking vehicles for organic matter in the ocean. The tools that I have learned in Arnosti's lab enable me to continue my research on microbial remineralization of dissolved organic matter with the goal of establishing a research group that deals with microbial dynamics and carbon cycling in the ocean.
Publications
- 2007. Surface associations of enzymes and of organic matter: Consequences for hydrolytic activity and organic matter remineralization in marine systems. Marine Chemistry 104,241-252
Ziervogel K., Karlsson E., Arnosti C.
