Project

Development of a high-pressure bioreactor to study the deep-sea biosphere

Code
01D01608
Duration
01 January 2009 → 31 December 2010
Funding
Regional and community funding: Special Research Fund
Promotor
Fellow
Research disciplines
  • Natural sciences
    • Marine ecology
  • Engineering and technology
    • Environmental marine biotechnology
Keywords
microbiology High pressure deep sea methane
 
Project description

The aim of this project is to develop a high-pressure reactor to study consortia that anaerobically oxidise methane (AOM) from the deep-sea. These consortia exhibit very slow growth rates and were until now not simulated under deep-sea conditions. In the high-pressure reactor, the growth conditions will be optimised to obtain optimal in situ level methane availability and to study the effect of environmental factors on the microbial community level.