March 14, 2023
The behavior of microorganisms is crucial to understand the effects of carbon dioxide input in the oceans. Researchers at Constructor University in Bremen, Germany, in collaboration with colleagues from Australia, the United States and Switzerland, have now gained new insights into the metabolic exchanges between microorganisms. The research results were recently published in the renowned journal Nature Microbiology.
Microorganisms are central components of marine ecosystems; among other things, they produce oxygen and bind carbon dioxide. "Until now, it was assumed that the diffusion of nutrients depends on the size of the cell," said Professor Dr. Matthias Ullrich, a microbiologist at Constructor University and one of the study's co-authors. The larger a cell, the more substances it releases, producing a greater attraction on smaller, motile organisms at the same time. The technical term chemotaxis describes this orientation movement triggered by chemical stimuli.
The researchers have now shown that smaller cells of the same size can also be recognized by chemotaxis. This means that there are metabolic relationships between some of the most common microorganisms in the oceans, which are by no means only one-sided, as previously assumed. Photosynthetic organisms not only supply consuming bacteria with carbohydrates, but also receive nutrients from them, meaning they behave actively.
"To better understand carbon exchange in the oceans, it is crucial to know more about the exchange mechanisms of microorganisms," Ullrich said and added, "In the future, researchers in microbiology will monitor even more closely how microorganisms of the same size exchange substances."
This discovery was only made possible by fundamental research at Constructor University in Bremen. About a decade ago, researchers led by Professor Ullrich had already decoded the genes of a single bacterium. They determined which genes contribute to the recognition and binding of a cell. Eva Sonnenschein, then a PhD student who now teaches as a professor at the University of Swansea in Wales, was involved in the research at that time and contributed to the current study. The research was largely driven by scientists from several Australian universities, the Massachusetts Institute of Technology in the USA and the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology in Zurich.
Link zur Studie:
https://www.nature.com/articles/s41564-023-01327-9
Questions answered by:
Prof. Dr. Matthias Ullrich | Professor of Microbiology
mullrich [at] constructor.university | +49 421 200-3245
About Constructor University:
An international community, vibrant and diverse. Offering academic excellence, ensuring the highest standards in research and teaching. Empowering students to solve the world's pressing challenges through knowledge and science: Constructor University is a top-ranked, English-speaking, private university. Founded in 2001, it provides a wide range of 25+ academic programs and PhD. The Constructor ecosystem comprises the University, located in Bremen, Germany, and an institute in Schaffhausen, Switzerland.
Over 1.800 students from more than 110 nations on campus benefit from a unique interdisciplinary, foundational theoretical and practical education. Enriched with a buzzing entrepreneurial culture that prepares young professionals to thrive in the job market. With 6.000+ alumni worldwide, our community keeps growing – with our highest cohort ever registered in 2022.
The research-centric faculty projects are funded by the German Research Foundation and the European Union's Framework Program for Research and Innovation as well as by globally leading companies.
The Constructor ecosystem benefits from partnerships with high-ranked universities such as Carnegie Mellon, the University of Geneva or the National University of Singapore School of Computing, and technology companies such as Anisoprint, JetBrains and ChemDiv.
Constructor is a global institution dedicated to addressing the main challenges of the world through science, education, and technology. Apart from the University, the ecosystem relies on several for-profit entities that provide technology infrastructures and solutions, life-long education programs, consulting services, and funding: Alemira by Constructor, Rolos by Constructor, Constructor Learning and Constructor Capital.
Contact:
Maike Lempka | Corporate Communications
presse [at] constructor.university | Tel.: +49 421 200-4504