EMODnet: your gateway to marine data in Europe

Peer Reviewe

Best Practices in Stakeholder Engagement, Data Dissemination and Exploitation

Identification of successful stakeholder engagement mechanisms and tools to make available, disseminate and visualize ocean observations/data serving as guidance to AtlantO

Marine Microbial Diversity and its role in Ecosystem Functioning and Environmental Change

Seas and oceans cover more than 70% of the Earth’s surface, host the majority of its biomass, and contribute significantly to all global cycles of matter and energy. All life on Earth most likely originated from microbes in the sea. In today’s marine ecosystems, following billions of years of evolution, microbes such as Bacteria, Archaea, viruses, fungi and protists (including microalgae), dominate the living biomass. Recent rapid developments in molecular ecology, metagenomics and ecological modelling illustrate that microbes represent the most important biological group on Earth in terms of phylogenetic and functional diversity. In addition, interdisciplinary research has uncovered new and unexpected roles of microbes in the biogeochemical cycling of carbon, nitrogen, silica and iron and many other (trace) elements in our seas and oceans. Marine microorganisms produce the organic matter and oxygen required to sustain life and facilitate the storage, transport, and turnover of key biological elements. Thus, microorganisms are the foundation of life and are of critical importance to the habitability and sustainability of our planet. (...)Peer reviewe

Decoding the ocean's microbiological secrets for marine enzyme biodiscovery

A global census of marine microbial life has been underway over the past several decades. During this period, there have been scientific breakthroughs in estimating microbial diversity and understanding microbial functioning and ecology. It is estimated that the ocean, covering 71% of the earth's surface with its estimated volume of about 2 x 10(18) m(3) and an average depth of 3800 m, hosts the largest population of microbes on Earth. More than 2 million eukaryotic and prokaryotic species are thought to thrive both in the ocean and on its surface. Prokaryotic cell abundances can reach densities of up to 10(12) cells per millilitre, exceeding eukaryotic densities of around 10(6) cells per millilitre of seawater. Besides their large numbers and abundance, marine microbial assemblages and their organic catalysts (enzymes) have a largely underestimated value for their use in the development of industrial products and processes. In this perspective article, we identified critical gaps in knowledge and technology to fast-track this development. We provided a general overview of the presumptive microbial assemblages in oceans, and an estimation of what is known and the enzymes that have been currently retrieved. We also discussed recent advances made in this area by the collaborative European Horizon 2020 project 'INMARE'

EMODnet: your gateway to marine data in Europe

Peer Reviewe

EMODnet: your gateway to marine data in Europe

Peer Reviewe