ENAC Seminar Series by Dr I. Altshuler
Event details
| Date | 20.05.2021 |
| Hour | 10:45 › 11:30 |
| Speaker | Dr Ianina Altshuler |
| Location | Online |
| Category | Conferences - Seminars |
10:45 – 11:30 – Dr I. Altshuler
Postdoctoral Fellow at Norwegian University of Life Sciences, Norway
Environmental adaptation in cryospheric environments undergoing climate change: from molecular to population scale responses
Cryospheric environments present hostile conditions including sub-zero temperatures, nutrient scarcity and low water availability, yet are crucially shaped by active and diverse extremophilic microorganisms. Environmental adaptation of microbial communities includes both population shifts and individual fundamental molecular changes such as alternative metabolisms and production of cold-specific enzymes that allow organisms to thrive in cryospheric environments. Importantly, ecosystems in terrestrial cryospheric environments are particularly sensitive to climate change and anthropogenic stressors. This fragility is unbalanced as permafrost thaw releases organic carbon stores which fuel microbial respiration, thus contributing to further greenhouse gas emissions, in a positive feedback loop of climate warming. Understanding environment adaptation of microbial communities on whole population and individual molecular scales is key in predicting and mitigating further disruptions to cryospheric terrestrial ecosystems. By integrating field in situ metabolic detection and sequencing technologies with controlled laboratory experiments, we identified microbial populations responsible for nitrous oxide (N2O) release from permafrost-affected soils, as well as novel methane (CH4) metabolizing microorganism, uncovering a molecular mechanism for negative flux through CH4 sequestration in high Arctic permafrost soils. Building on our knowledge of metabolic adaptation strategies in cryoenvironments, we demonstrated mechanisms for cold adaptation including modifications to cellular membranes, pigment production, and specialized cold-induced proteins. Specifically, we have isolated a novel Antarctic yeast that utilizes ethanol fermentation as a cold adaptive strategy and does so at the lowest temperature reported for natural ethanol production. Understanding such molecular adaptation strategies will also enable us to utilize cold-adapted enzymes and cultured microbial species for sustainable industrial applications and for carbon capture and storage technologies. Building on this research in the future, we can aim to determine ecosystem tolerance and potential for warm adaptation, identify keystone species that influence robustness of permafrost microbiomes, and identify microbial interactions with larger eukaryotic organisms for overall ecosystem function.
Short bio:
Dr. Ianina Altshuler is an Arctic field and experimental microbial ecologist. She holds an Honours BSc in Biological Sciences from York University and an MSc in Environmental Sciences from Windsor University. Dr. Altshuler completed her PhD in Environmental Microbiology at McGill University (Quebec, Canada) working on the microbial responses to climate warming in Arctic permafrost soils and microbial contributions to biogeochemical cycles. Currently, Dr. Altshuler, is a Postdoctoral Research Fellow at the Norwegian University of Life Sciences studying greenhouse gas mitigating strategies in agriculture through engineering of specialized microbial communities.
Postdoctoral Fellow at Norwegian University of Life Sciences, Norway
Environmental adaptation in cryospheric environments undergoing climate change: from molecular to population scale responses
Cryospheric environments present hostile conditions including sub-zero temperatures, nutrient scarcity and low water availability, yet are crucially shaped by active and diverse extremophilic microorganisms. Environmental adaptation of microbial communities includes both population shifts and individual fundamental molecular changes such as alternative metabolisms and production of cold-specific enzymes that allow organisms to thrive in cryospheric environments. Importantly, ecosystems in terrestrial cryospheric environments are particularly sensitive to climate change and anthropogenic stressors. This fragility is unbalanced as permafrost thaw releases organic carbon stores which fuel microbial respiration, thus contributing to further greenhouse gas emissions, in a positive feedback loop of climate warming. Understanding environment adaptation of microbial communities on whole population and individual molecular scales is key in predicting and mitigating further disruptions to cryospheric terrestrial ecosystems. By integrating field in situ metabolic detection and sequencing technologies with controlled laboratory experiments, we identified microbial populations responsible for nitrous oxide (N2O) release from permafrost-affected soils, as well as novel methane (CH4) metabolizing microorganism, uncovering a molecular mechanism for negative flux through CH4 sequestration in high Arctic permafrost soils. Building on our knowledge of metabolic adaptation strategies in cryoenvironments, we demonstrated mechanisms for cold adaptation including modifications to cellular membranes, pigment production, and specialized cold-induced proteins. Specifically, we have isolated a novel Antarctic yeast that utilizes ethanol fermentation as a cold adaptive strategy and does so at the lowest temperature reported for natural ethanol production. Understanding such molecular adaptation strategies will also enable us to utilize cold-adapted enzymes and cultured microbial species for sustainable industrial applications and for carbon capture and storage technologies. Building on this research in the future, we can aim to determine ecosystem tolerance and potential for warm adaptation, identify keystone species that influence robustness of permafrost microbiomes, and identify microbial interactions with larger eukaryotic organisms for overall ecosystem function.
Short bio:
Dr. Ianina Altshuler is an Arctic field and experimental microbial ecologist. She holds an Honours BSc in Biological Sciences from York University and an MSc in Environmental Sciences from Windsor University. Dr. Altshuler completed her PhD in Environmental Microbiology at McGill University (Quebec, Canada) working on the microbial responses to climate warming in Arctic permafrost soils and microbial contributions to biogeochemical cycles. Currently, Dr. Altshuler, is a Postdoctoral Research Fellow at the Norwegian University of Life Sciences studying greenhouse gas mitigating strategies in agriculture through engineering of specialized microbial communities.
Practical information
- General public
- Invitation required
- This event is internal
Organizer
- ENAC
Contact
- Cristina Perez