Work in the HEAL group is supported by an ANR JCJC, “PanArctica” (Projet-ANR-21-CE02-0014), awarded 2021-2025.

The Arctic Ocean is set apart from all other oceans due to being encircled by land, its extreme environment, and its distinct ecosystem, characterised by strong seasonal succession. Anthropogenic climate change is rapidly changing the Arctic Ocean into a warmer, fresher habitat, and understanding the biological communities that support the Arctic is urgent for projecting its future robustness.

The data obtained from this project will provide in-depth insights into the functional biology of an important and rapidly changing oceanic habitat. In the long term, these may allow more refined understanding of which species will proliferate in the future Arctic Ocean. In addition, proteins identified that confer temperature, salinity and photo-tolerance in Arctic native species may be explored as candidates for improving the productivity and robustness of biofuels and other cultivable crop species.