Structure and Function of Fermenters, Fe(III)-reducers, and Methanogens in a Peat Land
DFG Forschergruppe "Bodenprozesse" (TP2)
Peat lands can experience extreme changes in the water table and are thus subject to intensive alterations in redox chemistry. At Schl�pnerbrunnen, a low-bog site, methanogenesis and the reduction of sulfate and Fe(III) are ongoing microbial processes. However, drying should reinforce mineralization and the oxidation of reduced sulfur and iron compounds. The main objectives are to address the effect of wet/dry-cycles on (a) the activity and community composition of primary and secondary fermenters, and methanogens, (b) the importance of acetate and H2 during the anaerobic oxidation of organic carbon, (c) the diversity of acid-tolerant Fe(III)-reducers, (d) the transient co-activities of different respiring anaerobic populations, and (e) the amount of mobilized phosphate. A combination of methods, including molecular, microarray, and exo-enzyme analyses, process kinetics, and assessment of chemical gradients in the soil solution, will resolve structure/function relationships between key populations of the microbial biome during extreme in situ redox conditions. This reasearch is a contribution to the "DFG Forschergruppe Bodenprozesse".
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