Temperature is a fundamental regulator of biogeochemical processes, because the biochemical machinery of a living cell is affected by the kinetic and thermodynamic properties of enzymes. As climate warming occurs, microbial communities and the biogeochemical carbon cycle will undoubtedly be affected, but the specific interactions between microbial community changes and associated effects for carbon cycling have yet to be explored in detail.
We use bacterial sulfate reduction as a key carbon degradation process in the marine environment, which is well studied both in terms of its biogeochemical linkage with the marine carbon cycle and in terms of the active microbiota.
This work combines biogeochemistry with molecular microbiology. In long-term experimental temperature manipulations, process rate measurements are combined with molecular analysis of the microbial sulfate-reducing community.
These experiments provide us with first insights on the microscopic regulation of key global processes that are affected by climate change.

Contact information:
Volker Bruchet | volker.bruchert@geo.su.se