Menu
MapConnectionsTopicsBulgariaThe Night (K-TRIO)Marie Skłodowska-CurieFor studentsFor teachersMethodologySurprise me
HEIndividual fellowship2023–2024

DatingSuCy · Timing the evolution of the dissimilatory sulfur cycle: a bridge between genes and geochemistry

Horizon Europe — Marie Skłodowska-Curie Actions

Duration
2023-01-01 → 2024-12-31
EU contribution
€183,601
Participants
1
Scheme
HORIZON-TMA-MSCA-PF-EF

Lines connect the coordinator with its partners.

Results in brief

Timing the evolution of the dissimilatory sulfur cycle: a bridge between genes and geochemistry

This MSC Action is titled “Timing the evolution of the dissimilatory sulfur cycle: a bridge between genes and geochemistry”. This project aims to elucidate the evolution of dissimilatory sulfur metabolisms and their interplay with sulfur geochemistry. The dissimilatory sulfur metabolisms, evolved primarily in microbes, are catalysed by a linked suite of "enzymatic machineries" composed largely of multimeric protein complexes. Over geological timescales, these “machineries” have co-opted to create a dissimilatory metabolic network at planetary scale, which has had tremendous consequences on the Earth’s major biogeochemical cycles, surface redox states, and climate stability. Despite the significant role in shaping the history of Earth and life, the timing of the onset of diverse dissimilatory sulfur metabolisms and their interplay with sulfur geochemistry remain unconstrained, due to the rarity of microbial fossils and ambiguity of ancient stable isotope signatures. This project proposed to tackle the knowledge gap by leveraging expanded genome catalogs of bacteria and archaea from metagenomes, advances in molecular clock and quantitative evolutionary models, and extensive compilations of sedimentary sulfur isotope records. The objectives of this project include (1) the derivation of phylogenies for a comprehensive set of genes encoding dissimilatory metabolisms of inorganic and organic sulfur compounds; (2) recapitulation of the evolutionary history of sulfur-cycling genes over the course of sulfur geochemistry development as recorded in rocks.

Data: CORDIS, © European Union

Project objective

Earth's biogeochemical sulfur cycle is driven by various microbial dissimilatory processes that couple sulfur redox transformations with energy conservation. These dissimilatory sulfur metabolisms are catalysed by a linked suite of ""enzymatic machineries"" composed largely of multimeric protein complexes. Over geological timescales, the sulfur-cycling ""machineries"" have co-opted to create a dissimilatory metabolic network at planetary scale, which has had tremendous consequences on the Earths major biogeochemical cycles, surface redox states and climate stability. The advent and expansion of sulfur-cycling ""machineries"" thus represent milestones in the multibillion-year history of Earth and life. Yet, the timing of the onset of diverse dissimilatory sulfur metabolisms and their interplay with sulfur geochemistry remain generally unconstrained due to the rarity of microbial fossils and ambiguity of ancient stable isotope signatures. The research proposed herein will explore the origin and evolution of dissimilatory sulfur metabolisms by leveraging genomes of uncultivated bacteria and archaea from metagenomes, advances in molecular clock and quantitative evolutionary models, and extensive compilations of sedimentary sulfur isotope records. A novel combination of large-scale comparative phylogenetic analyses and geochemical data will (1) derive expanded phylogenies for a comprehensive set of genes encoding full repertoires of dissimilatory metabolisms of inorganic and organic sulfur compounds, including uncharted sequences from new genomes; (2) map the evolutionary history of sulfur-cycling genes onto a geological timeline; and (3) formulate testable hypotheses on feedbacks between historical shifts in sulfur geochemistry and metabolic innovations. The aim of this work is to create the first unified timescale for the evolution of dissimilatory sulfur metabolisms and geochemistry, and document the transitions of early Earths sulfur cycle towards its modern complexity.""

Original text from CORDIS.

Participants

  • UNIVERSITAT WIEN · WienCoordinatorAustria

Links

Data: CORDIS, © European Union