Cyanobacterial populations in the world-wide distributed Tidal Flats regions

• Applicant: Privatdozentin Dr. Katarzyna A. Palinska, since 8/2012
• Subject Area: Evolution and Systematics of Plants and Fungi
• Term: from 2009 to 2013
• Project identifier: Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG) - Project number 108421081

The purpose of this project is to bring together data on molecular cyanobacterial diversity in relation to distribution of natural populations along ecological and geographic gradients. This approach will be applied to compare microbial populations of the North Sea Tidal Flats with ecologically similar, geographically distant habitats. The choice of tidal flats offers a nearly experimental setting through existence of sharp environmental gradients connecting the marine and terrestrial realms and acting as extreme condition within this transient zone. Strong selective pressures in these environments require specific adaptations minimizing the less predictable factors that offer competitive advantages within optimal environmental conditions. In addition, tidal flats are wide spread on all coasts and under different climates, where they provide comparable physical features within assemblages of microorganisms differentiating horizontally and vertically. The proposed research takes advantage of insights from the intuitive morphotypic assessments of natural populations of cyanobacteria which has accumulated over many years along with the phycological tradition. The novelty is the ability to use molecular tools proposed to calibrate the phenotypic criteria used in the past, and to evaluate their future use. This aspect of the proposed research has the potential to make future use of a molecularly tested record of the past research, thus providing baseline information for the study of recent environmental changes. Cyanobacteria have been chosen as they are prokaryotes that combine narrowly defined metabolic system with extraordinary structural diversity and as such are proposed as excellent model organisms to study the patterns of microbial diversification.

• DFG Programme: Research Grants
• Ehemaliger Antragsteller: Professor Dr. Dirk Albach, from 7/2011 until 8/2012