Brilliant Marine Research Idea 2022 - Response of marine microbial communities to an electrical highway shut down.

Cable bacteria span from the top oxic zone till the anoxic part. This allows them to outcompete single cell bacteria by spatially separating redox reactions, with sulfide oxidation in the deeper sediment and oxide reduction in the oxic top layer [3] changing the pH and sulfide concentration within the sediment. The coupling of these half reactions is established by transporting electrons over centimetre scale using conductive fibers. This 'electrical highway' that the cable bacteria constructs is crucial for interaction with other microbes. However, it is not know what the effect is on the microbial community. Therefor this research idea proposes to investigate the effect of cable bacteria on the microbial community.

Keywords:MICROBIAL ECOLOGY

Disciplines:Bacteriology