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A Single Cell Approach to Understanding a Bacterial-Protist Food Web


EMSL Project ID
48568

Abstract

Ciliate protists are ubiquitous in terrestrial environments, but their role in biomass deconstruction in these environments remains undefined. In this project, this consortium will be cultivated on 13C-labeled cellulose and single cell 13C incorporation measured by nanoSIMS to determine the roles of the bacteria and protist in cellulose hydrolysis. Time courses of 13C uptake will be measured by nanoSIMS to determine if the labeled cellulose is directly ingested by the protist or deconstructed through a bacterial-protist food web. The single cell imaging will be supported by gene expression analysis of the community performed at the JGI. The overall goal of this project is to characterize a model for the deconstruction of plant polysaccharides occurring at multiple trophic levels. This project wil combine cutting edge single cell measurements at EMSL and JGI to improve our understanding of terrestrial ecosystems.

Project Details

Project type
Special Science
Start Date
2015-02-10
End Date
2015-12-31
Status
Closed

Team

Principal Investigator

Steven Singer
Institution
Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory

Co-Investigator(s)

Doina Ciobanu
Institution
Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory

Team Members

Tanja Woyke
Institution
Joint Genome Institute