Probing light-driven iron oxidation in primordial oceans through a living fossil bacterium

• Project/Area Number: 23K19390
• Research Category: Grant-in-Aid for Research Activity Start-up
• Allocation Type: Multi-year Fund
• Review Section: 0703:Biology at organismal to population levels and anthropology, and related fields
• Research Institution: Japan Agency for Marine-Earth Science and Technology
• Principal Investigator: TSUJI JACKSON・MAKOTO 国立研究開発法人海洋研究開発機構, 超先鋭研究開発部門(超先鋭研究開発プログラム), Young Research Fellow (60976207)
• Project Period (FY): 2023-08-31 – 2025-03-31
• Project Status: Granted (Fiscal Year 2023)
• Budget Amount: ¥2,860,000 (Direct Cost: ¥2,200,000、Indirect Cost: ¥660,000); Fiscal Year 2024: ¥1,430,000 (Direct Cost: ¥1,100,000、Indirect Cost: ¥330,000); Fiscal Year 2023: ¥1,430,000 (Direct Cost: ¥1,100,000、Indirect Cost: ¥330,000)
• Keywords: Photosynthesis / Iron / Microbiology / Evolution

Outline of Research at the Start

This project will combine geochemical, biochemical, and DNA-based tools to probe how a novel bacterium (strain L227-S17) uses light energy to "eat" iron. Results from this project will give new insights into how photosynthesis may have sustained life in the iron-rich oceans of the ancient Earth.