Hawkesbury Institute for the Environment

Microbial Research - Aims

Understand the implications of atmospheric and climatic changes on microbial diversity and functioning.

Background

Soil dwelling microbes such as fungi and bacteria are fundamental, yet largely unnoticed, components in the natural environment. They form the hidden engine room of our planetary ecosystem.

It is only with recent advances in experimental monitoring and molecular analysis that a clearer picture of subterranean communities can now be formed. For decades research was limited to what scientists could get to grow on agar plates in the lab – it didn’t reveal much about the complexity and diversity of life in soil.

Importantly, these technological breakthroughs are now being used by scientists to measure the impact of rising atmospheric carbon dioxide levels and climate change on microbial communities.

Without a clear view of the changes happening under the surface in our forests, farms and gardens scientists will be unable to accurately predict the full impact of climate change on these ecosystems.

Details

Eight specially designed controlled environment chambers have been installed at the Institute which will enable scientists to manipulate the conditions for the plants, soil and micro organisms living inside.

Light, temperature, humidity and even the mix of atmospheric gases in the chambers are all computer controlled.

The chambers can mimic specific environmental conditions, including those of higher atmospheric carbon dioxide concentrations and higher temperatures.

The soil micro organisms from the experimental chambers will be analysed using state-of-art genetic analyses. These analyses will identify the diversity of micro organisms present in the test chambers and determine any changes in the variety of organisms present, or in their ecological function, as a result of the altered environmental conditions.

The new facility also utilises next-generation DNA sequencing technology which can generate more than 1 million sequences per run – vastly increasing the speed and capacity of analysis.

Next generation sequencing technology will also be used to analyse samples of soil collected from the associated Whole Tree Chambers in the Hawkesbury Forest Experiment, the Rainout Shelters and the FACE field site.

Key questions answered

• How do soil microbial communities respond to altered environmental conditions?
• What are the consequences of changes in microbial diversity under these environmental conditions for soil carbon and nutrient cycling processes?