Events

 
Colloquium

The air microbiome: A missing ecosystem?

Tuesday, 10 July 2018, 16:45-18:15
KIT, Campus Süd, IMK-TRO, Geb.30.23, Physikhochhaus, Seminarraum 13.OG

Microbial communities inhabiting terrestrial and aquatic ecosystems have long been studied. With the onset of metagenomics, the degree of diversity and abundance of these communities have become apparent, even on a global scale. In contrast, the atmosphere, despite its enormous planetary volume, has largely been neglected as a habitat for microbial communities, despite providing means of transport with an intercontinental range. We have studied the occurrence of airborne microbial organisms in the tropical climate of Singapore and found robust and persistent assemblages, both on an intra-day and a month-to-month time scales. Plant-associated bacteria and fungi were found to be the major constituent of the air microbiome, in addition to DNA derived from plants and insects. Besides conducting in-depth metagenomics studies that identified the diversity and abundance of airborne organisms, we have sequenced and assembled “100 genomes from air” using single molecule real-time sequencing (SMRT). These genome data, together with organismal and habitat information, are stored in a “DNAir database”, which largely extends the organismal range of public databases and also includes previously uncultivatable organisms.

This event is part of the eventgroup Meteorology Colloquium Karlsruhe
Speaker
Prof. Dr. Stephan C. Schuster

Nanyang Technological University, Singapore
Organizer
Institut für Meteorologie und Klimaforschung
Karlsruher Institut für Technologie
Kaiserstraße 12
76131 Karlsruhe
Mail: sekr does-not-exist.imk-tro kit edu
https://www.imk-tro.kit.edu/
Targetgroup
Scientific Staff
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