Metabolomics analysis of carbon storing microbial communities
EMSL Project ID
60927
Abstract
We have completed the development of two naturally evolved communities of soil bacteria that can produce high levels of CaCO3. As CaCO3 production is one way in which carbon storage in the soil can be driven we are now obtaining a deeper understanding of the interspecies interactions within these communities that drive this CaCO3 production. Our communities contain 5-8 members, and we hypothesize that interactions between non-CaCO3 producers and CaCO3 producers are key to this community’s growth and bioactivity. If we can enhance interactions that support CaCO3 producers, then we can increase the CaCO3 production of the community as a whole. One way in which we plan to gain information on these interactions is through metabolomics analysis of individual species as well as a shared metabolite pool using an approach where species are kept physically separate, but metabolite sharing is allowed. The metabolites that each members species produces, and which are shared, will be a key piece of data that helps us better understand interactions between species. We propose to incubate strains in this manner, collect supernatants and carry out LC-MS on a Q-Exactive HFX. We propose 50 samples total (9 strains and 1 shared metabolite pool x 1 timepoint x 5 replicates).
Project Details
Start Date
2023-05-22
End Date
N/A
Status
Active
Released Data Link
Team
Principal Investigator
Co-Investigator(s)