Microbes and carbon cycling

The carbon cycle is a central component of ecosystems, and critical for the balance between organic and inorganic (e. g. atmospheric CO₂) components of the biogeosphere. Microorganisms play central roles in several critical steps in this cycle, but their identities and functions are poorly known.

A large portion of the reduced carbon in the biosphere is bound in humic substances and biopolymers such as cellulose and chitin (Fig. 1). The identity and ecology of organisms responsible for the degradation of these compounds, as well as associated organisms that benefit from the degradation products, is a core component of the UMC research. Likewise, microorganisms fixing inorganic carbon to biomass using energy from light, or reduced chemical compounds, are of great importance and studied within UMC (Fig. 2). We develop and apply an array of molecular and tracer-based methods to identify these organisms and understand their metabolism, distribution, and activity.