Oceanography Seminar- Dr. Fengping Wang
DR. FENGPING WANG
DISTINGUISHED PROFESSOR
INTERNATIONAL CENTER OF DEEP SEA LIFE INVESTIGATION
SCHOOL OF OCEANOGRAPHY
SHANGHAI JIAOTONG UNIVERSITY, CHINA
“Microbially mediated carbon transformation in marine sediment”
Marine sediments represent the largest organic carbon sinks on Earth. Microbial transformation of carbon is a key process influencing carbon flow in sediment, and ultimately impacts atmospheric oxygen and carbon dioxide concentrations. Nevertheless, the controls and mechanisms on microbially mediated carbon transformation in marine sediments are not well constrained. In this talk, I’ll discuss our recent investigations and progress on microbially mediated carbon transformation in marine sediment, focusing on the first steps of high molecular weight organic carbon degradation, and the last step of methane biotransformation. In particular, the roles of yet-uncultivated microbes in the degradation of recalcitrant organic carbon will be explored. Specific attention will be directed to the cosmopolitan Bathyarchaeota group, with focus on recent rapidly-growing knowledge base on these methane and alkane metabolizing Archaea.
