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- Posted Wednesday October 24, 2012
TGen and NAU researchers awarded $2 million NSF grant to study biodiversity link to carbon cycle
Scientists will examine origins of soil-carbon chemical chain reactions
October 24, 2012
Potential connections between the biodiversity of soil
microorganisms and the carbon cycle will be studied by the
Translational Genomics Research Institute (TGen) and Northern
Arizona University (NAU) under a $2 million grant from the National
Science Foundation (NSF).
The TGen-NAU project was one of 14 recently awarded a grant by NSF
under the Dimensions of Biodiversity program.
"The work will test the idea that biodiversity is a fundamental
driver of the carbon cycle, connecting microbes to the entire Earth
system," said Dr. Bruce Hungate, Professor of Biology and a
Director in NAU's Merriam-Powell Center for Environmental
Research.
The project will investigate "a surprising response" to changes in
soil carbon levels: When new carbon enters the soil, a chain
reaction leads to the breakdown of older soil carbon that otherwise
would have remained stable, Dr. Hungate said.
"Current theory does not explain this chain reaction," Dr. Hungate
said. "The project will explore new dimensions connecting the
diversity of the tree of life with the carbon cycle."
TGen's role in the project leverages advances in metagenomic
sequencing - spelling out the DNA code of microbial samples from
the environment -made by Dr. Lance Price, Director of TGen's
Center for Microbiomics and Human Health, and Dr. Cindy M. Liu, a
medical doctor and researcher at both TGen and NAU, who now works
for Johns Hopkins University.
"This project is a natural extension of our efforts to understand
how the human microbiome responds to injuries, surgeries and
chemicals," Dr. Price said. "Here, we're investigating how the
planet's microbiome responds to excess carbon inputs, which may in
turn loop back to negatively affect public health."
The work is important, Dr. Hungate said, because soil carbon is a
major reservoir in the global carbon cycle, storing about three
times the amount of carbon contained in the atmosphere as carbon
dioxide. Some soil processes promote carbon storage, locking it
away in stable forms, resistant to decay.
The phenomenon to be addressed has the opposite effect, converting
carbon that was thought to be stable to carbon dioxide, and
contributing to the atmospheric pool, amplifying rising carbon
dioxide due to human burning of coal, oil and gasoline.
Dr. Hungate's extensive portfolio of research includes the
ecosystem effects of biodiversity loss, the effects of climate
change on plant growth, and the role of soil microbes in
accelerating global warming.
NSF describes its biodiversity program's long-term goals as
developing "an integrated understanding of the key dimensions of
biodiversity in our ever-changing world."
About TGen
The Translational Genomics Research Institute (TGen) is a
Phoenix-based non-profit organization dedicated to conducting
groundbreaking research with life changing results. Research at
TGen is focused on helping patients with diseases such as cancer,
neurological disorders and diabetes. TGen is on the cutting edge of
translational research where investigators are able to unravel the
genetic components of common and complex diseases. Working with
collaborators in the scientific and medical communities, TGen
believes it can make a substantial contribution to the efficiency
and effectiveness of the translational process. For more
information, visit: www.tgen.org.
Press Contacts:
Steve Yozwiak
TGen Senior Science Writer
602-343-8704
[email protected]
Eric Dieterle
Public Affairs Coordinator
Northern Arizona University
[email protected]
928-523-9230 (office)
928-225-5042 (mobile)