FUEL - Glycan energy controls carbon flow in microbiomes (A01)

• Subject Area: Metabolism, Biochemistry and Genetics of Microorganisms ; General Genetics and Functional Genome Biology ; Biochemistry ; Microbial Ecology and Applied Microbiology ; Structural Biology
• Term: since 2025
• Project identifier: Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG) - Project number 542264307

Here we propose to discover how energy-storage polysaccharides control cycling and sequestration of glycan-carbon. We hypothesize that bacteria are preoccupied with consuming energy-rich glucose glycans, allowing more complex, relatively energy-poor glycans to escape degradation and sequester carbon. We will test this hierarchical utilization by performing dedicated experiments with different glycan types and suitable bacterial models. A1 FUEL will focus on reactions in vitro at molecular resolution to unravel how the energy content of glycans regulates bacterial carbon cycling in situ.

• DFG Programme: CRC/Transregios
• Subproject of: TRR 420: Carbon sequestration at Å resolution - CONCENTRATE
• Applicant Institution: Universität Greifswald
• Project Head: Professor Dr. Thomas Schweder