GENS · Genomic Approach to Study the Role of Bacterioplankton in the Sulfur Cycle

This proposal aims at using environmental functional genomic tools to expand knowledge of bacterial roles in organic sulfur cycling in ocean surface waters, focusing particularly on biological controls of volatile sulfur exchange across the ocean/atmosphere boundary and links between microbial community structure and cycling of relevant organic sulfur compounds. A better understanding of the fate of dimethylsulfoniopropionate (DMSP), the precursor of the climatic active gas dimethylsulfide (DMS) in marine environments will not only provide insights into climate regulation and ocean-atmosphere interactions but also microbial food web dynamics and C and S biogeochemistry.