TASKS
Work will start by characterizing the physical and chemical parameters of vent and control stations (no‐vent) (Task 1). Macro‐species diversity and abundance will be determined at all stations following an appropriate census strategy (Task 2). Upon sampling, the use of recent technological advances in DNA sequencing (16S metagenomics) will be applied to describe the microbial diversity of the vent environment, including on the water column, in association to higher taxa and on biofilms (Task 3). Gathered information will then be used in a series of experimental procedures involving dominant macro‐species aimed at describing and investigating the dynamics of host‐microbe associations in vent/ control stations (Task 4). Finally, vent microbial samples will be isolated and bacteria with antimicrobial activities will be identified (Task 5). Microbiome isolates will also be screened for biotechnologically relevant enzymes.
TASK 1
What are the physical and chemical water properties of shallow‐water vent systems?
How different are these abiotic properties from adjacent shores (control stations), and what is the temporal variation of such properties?
Do these abiotic factors help to shape the community structure and the species distribution in the shallow‐water vent areas?
TASK 2
What is the composition and abundance of macro‐species assemblages at shallow‐water vents?
TASK 3
What is the genomic variation and diversity of host‐associated and free‐living microbial communities at both the vent site and controls?
TASK 4
What is the specificity of host‐microbial associations and the temporal variation in microbiome associated with a specific host?
How flexible are such associations under environment changes?
What is the compositional and functional response of the microbial communities
upon disturbance?
What is the spatial and temporal recruitment of benthic taxa in vent systems?
Is species dominance/rareness in vent systems mainly determined by recruitment
failure and/or competition mechanisms?
TASK 5
What is the potential of vent microbiomes for biotechnology applications?
How many distinct bacterial isolates and/or extracts derived from host‐microbes
systems show significant antimicrobial activity?
What kind of marine biocatalysts can be detected in host‐microbiome
associations at vent environments? Can CAZymes be qualitatively detected in microbial samples? What kind of secondary metabolites are produced by vent microbiomes?