Stockholm and Newcastle Universities Collaborate to Find Never Before Seen Nutrient Exchanges Between Algae and Bacteria

“NEVER BEFORE SEEN NUTRIENT EXCHANGES BETWEEN ALGAE AND BACTERIA.” NEW PUBLISHED STUDY FROM COLLABORATING RESEARCHERS AT NEWCASTLE UNIVERSITY AND STOCKHOLM UNIVERSITY

AMRI co-PIs Rachel Foster and Martin Whitehouse of Stockholm University have recently published a study in collaboration with researchers at Newcastle University that explores a new look on microscopic algae-bacteria interactions.

Excerpt from phys.org:

The research was carried out at the University of Cambridge and the Nordsim laboratory at the Swedish Museum of Natural History in Stockholm. They have used an advanced high-spatial resolution isotope mapping technique called 'SIMS' (secondary ion mass spectrometry) to chart for the first time how long it takes for labeled carbon produced by microalgae to be transferred to the bacteria hey are growing with.

The study reveals the details of important nutrient exchanges between algae and bacteria. Such exchanges determine the functioning of microbial communities in the environment, relevant to climate change cycles and agricultural productivity. Microbial interactions within microbial communities are important on many levels, ranging from the ecology of aquatic and terrestrial food webs, to wastewater treatment. A key characteristic of the interactions within these communities is the exchange of nutrients between species.

Rachel Foster, Stockholm University

Martin Whitehouse, Stockholm University