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.

 

Work in the HEAL Group is supported by a JGI Community Sequencing Programme grant, “the Haptophyte Pan-Genome”, awarded 2022.

“The Haptophyte Genome Project” aims to expand the phylogenetic breadth of sequenced Haptophyte genomes, particularly freshwater samples. The Haptophytes are an ancient and complex lineage of eukaryotic algae of immense ecological importance, forming the second most significant contribution to planetary eukaryotic photosynthesis after diatoms [1, 2]. Sequencing genomes and transcriptomes of phylogenetically diverse haptophytes and relevant outgroups will address long-standing questions pertaining to: 1) the phylogenetic framework and genomic diversity of species selected from freshwater, salty continental and marine environments, 2) the transition of haptophytes between marine and freshwater systems, 3) the phylogenetic composition of the haptophyte genome with particular regard to its chloroplast, 4) key components involved in biomineralization, alkenone biosynthesis, and toxin production, 5) cellular machinery associated with mixotrophy, and 6) prevalence of pan-genomes, relevant to a heating ocean.

 

Work in the HEAL Group is supported by an ERC Starting Grant, “ChloroMosaic” (grant number 101039760: https://cordis.europa.eu/project/id/101039760/fr), awarded 2023-2028.

Ocean photosynthesis is performed by cyanobacteria and eukaryotic algae. These eukaryotic algae originate via the endosymbiotic acquisition of chloroplasts, and many of the most prominent marine algal groups possess chloroplasts derived from the secondary or higher endosymbiotic uptake of eukaryotic red algae. The EU-funded ChloroMosaic programme aims to understand the fundamentals of the evolution and future ecology of the planet, explaining the success of the secondary red chloroplasts in the modern ocean. The secondary red chloroplasts are evolutionary mosaics and supported by nucleus-encoded proteins of the symbiont. ChloroMosaic will perform proteomic analysis of the dinoflagellate chloroplasts to identify proteins, enabling the dominant contribution of secondary red chloroplasts to marine production and defining potential biomarkers of the resilience of algal communities to anthropogenic climate change