Title: 20,000 intrigues under the sea: illuminating the biochemical potential of marine microbes 

Jennifer Glass, Jean “Chris” Purvis Professor, School of Earth and Atmospheric Sciences, Georgia Institute of Technology

Abstract: The ocean plays a major role in Earth’s climate and biogeochemical cycles. Microorganisms are key players in ocean carbon cycle. Archaea and bacteria oxidize most of the methane that diffuses upward from vast reservoirs beneath the seafloor before it can reach the atmosphere. In this seminar, I will present recent findings from our lab on the role of microbes and their proteins on methane and methanol cycling in three habitats: under the seafloor, in a deep brine pool, and in the surface ocean. First, I will highlight our discovery of methane hydrate binding proteins made by subseafloor bacteria, and how collaboration with GT biochemists enabled characterization of these novel proteins that are only found in bacteria that inhabit deep seafloor sediments rich in methane. Second, I will present our recent study of marine archaea that prevent leakage of methane out of a deep anoxic salt pond on the seafloor of the Gulf of Mexico. Third, I will highlight our discovery of Methylaequorales, an uncultivated order of alphaproteobacteria that are highly active in the surface ocean and use lanthanide-requiring enzymes to grow on methanol. Despite recent progress, we have barely scratched the surface of knowledge of the biochemical repertoire of microbial proteins, particularly those from habitats rarely visited by humans, and the need for fundamental science to uncover the chemical potential of environmental microbes is stronger than ever.