NAI
2007 Annual Science Report
Marine Biological Laboratory
Reporting | JUL 2006 – JUN 2007
Executive Summary
Most of life’s genetic and metabolic diversity is microbial, from the beginning of life and throughout its history to the present day. These organisms form microbial communities of astounding genetic complexity. Their aggregate metabolic activities shape planetary habitability by maintaining the carbon cycle through remineralization of carbon with and without oxygen, controlling the global utilization of nitrogen and mediating biogeochemical cycles for sulfur, iron and manganese. In marine settings, between 50 and 98 percent of the total biomass is microbial.
Figure 1. Microbes rule the ocean. Cultivation-based enumeration of microbes in the oceans generally reported 100 organisms/ml of sea water. In contrast, when viewed through the microscope, the number of cells that can be stained with the DNA binding dye DAPI, ranges from 105 to 106 microorganisms/ml. The number of viruses is at least ten fold greater. The large objects in this micrograph ...
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Mitchell Sogin
NAI, ASTEP, ASTID, Exobiology -
TEAM Active Dates:
11/2003 - 10/2008 CAN 3 -
Members:
35 (See All) - Visit Team Page
Project Reports
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Microbial Diversity and Population Structure Studies in the Rio Tinto
ROADMAP OBJECTIVES: 5.1 5.2 -
Genome-Genome Integration: Symbiosis, Genetic Assimilation, and Evolutionary Innovation
Using insect-associated bacteria as model systems, we are exploring the genomic and functional basis of endosymbiotic associations in which prokaryotes replicate within multicellular hosts. This project has important implications for understanding genome-genome interactions among disparate life forms, the evolution of complex life, and the molecular forces that shape beneficial and parasitic associations in endosymbionts
ROADMAP OBJECTIVES: 4.2 5.1 5.2 6.2 -
Microbial Communities and Activities in the Deep Marine Subsurface
ROADMAP OBJECTIVES: None Selected -
Recognition of Theoretical Environments on Mars
ROADMAP OBJECTIVES: None Selected -
Iron Oxidation – Shaping the Past and Present Environments
ROADMAP OBJECTIVES: 4.1 5.2 5.3 6.1 7.2 -
Microbial Diversity in the Deep Ocean
Microbial life exerts a profound influence on habitability of Earth where it drives all of the major biogeographical transformations including the fixation of carbon and production of atmospheric gases.
ROADMAP OBJECTIVES: 5.1 5.2 5.3 6.1
Publications
- There are no publications for this team in the 2007 annual report.
2007 Teams
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Carnegie Institution of Washington
Indiana University, Bloomington
Marine Biological Laboratory
NASA Ames Research Center
NASA Goddard Space Flight Center
Pennsylvania State University
SETI Institute
University of Arizona
University of California, Berkeley
University of California, Los Angeles
University of Colorado, Boulder
University of Hawaii, Manoa