Project Details
Projekt
Effect of engineered inorganic nanoparticles on population structure, matrix composition and ecosystem services of microbial biofilms
Applicant
Professor Dr. Werner Manz
Subject Area
Microbial Ecology and Applied Microbiology
Term
from 2011 to 2019
Project identifier
Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG) - Project number 172114680
In the second phase of the INTERNANO research group BIOFILM intends to investigate the effects of differently aged and masked Ag NP and TiO2 NP (i) on the established mono-species model system using Aquabacterium citratiphilum, (ii) biofilms obtained from the indoor stream mesocosm system located at the Institute for Integrated Natural Sciences at the University Koblenz-Landau, campus Koblenz, and (iii) biofilms obtained from the INTERNANO joint floodplain mesocosm experiment as described in the umbrella conceptl. In the second project phase, BIOFILM will particularly focus on the functional key traits of biofilms and the associated organisms with the goal to bridge the gap from cellular reactions to exemplary ecosystem functions and services of natural biofilms. For this purpose, physicochemical characteristics of biofilms as a whole and the biofilm surfaces will be assessed after exposure to native, aged and masked Ag NP and TiO2 NP. Biofilm matrix components will be addressed by EPS protein analysis and characterization of EPS carbohydrate residues. EINP mediated effects on the phylogenetic composition of biofilm communities will be conducted by t-RFLP fingerprint analysis. Additionally, assessment of metabolic activity of the aerobic culturable fraction of biofilm community is foreseen by physiological profiling. Impact of Ag NP and TiO2 NP exposure on food web and potential transfer into higher levels within the food web will be addressed by the assessment of viability and culturability of Acanthamoeba and in close collaboration with IMPACT in the course of the joint floodplain mesocosm experiment.
DFG Programme
Research Units
