River microbes play a key role in transforming and metabolizing dissolved organic matter (DOM) and thus have an important impact on global carbon cycles. However, scientists’ understanding of the relationship between the chemical composition of DOM and the genomic functional activity of microbial communities remains limited. Here, researchers aim to produce an extensive metagenomic and metatranscriptomic dataset of DOM-degrading microbes from river ecosystems. This project aligns with the DOE carbon cycling program.
Proposer: Byron Crump, Oregon State University
Proposal: Combined metagenomics and metatranscriptomics to evaluate dissolved organic matter metabolizing microbes in big rivers of the U.S.