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C-DEBI Newsletter – October 2, 2021
A biweekly digest of deep biosphere news and opportunities
from the Center for Dark Energy Biosphere Investigations

 

Message from the Director:

A sincere congratulations to C-DEBIer Jen Biddle (University of Delaware) who will receive the Joanne Simpson Medal for Mid-Career Scientists from the American Geophysical Union in recognition of her transformative scientific advances in the Earth sciences, demonstrated strong leadership, and outstanding service to science and society. Please share your personal kudos if you will also be attending the AGU Fall Meeting in New Orleans or online in December.

Cheers,

Jan Amend
C-DEBI Director



Press



Frontiers in Fungal Biology
Redefining the Subsurface Biosphere: Characterization of Fungi Isolated From Energy-Limited Marine Deep Subsurface Sediment - NEW!

Brandi Kiel Reese*, Morgan S. Sobol*, Marshall Wayne Bowles, Kai-Uwe Hinrichs
*C-DEBI Contribution 575


The characterization of metabolically active fungal isolates within the deep marine subsurface will alter current ecosystem models and living biomass estimates that are limited to bacterial and archaeal populations. Although marine fungi have been studied for over fifty years, a detailed description of fungal populations within the deep subsurface is lacking. Fungi possess metabolic pathways capable of utilizing previously considered non-bioavailable energy reserves. Therefore, metabolically active fungi would occupy a unique niche within subsurface ecosystems, with the potential to provide an organic carbon source for heterotrophic prokaryotic populations from the transformation of non-bioavailable energy into substrates, as well as from the fungal necromass itself. These organic carbon sources are not currently being considered in subsurface energy budgets. Sediments from South Pacific Gyre subsurface, one of the most energy-limited environments on Earth, were collected during the Integrated Ocean Drilling Program Expedition 329. Anoxic and oxic sediment slurry enrichments using fresh sediment were used to isolate multiple fungal strains in media types that varied in organic carbon substrates and concentration. Metabolically active and dormant fungal populations were also determined from nucleic acids extracted from in situ cryopreserved South Pacific Gyre sediments. For further characterization of physical growth parameters, two isolates were chosen based on their representation of the whole South Pacific Gyre fungal community. Results from this study show that fungi have adapted to be metabolically active and key community members in South Pacific Gyre sediments and potentially within global biogeochemical cycles.


Frontiers in Microbiology
Potential activities and long lifetimes of organic carbon-degrading extracellular enzymes in deep subsurface sediments of the Baltic Sea - NEW!

Jenna M. Schmidt, Taylor M. Royalty, Karen G. Lloyd, Andrew D. Steen*
*C-DEBI Contribution 576


Heterotrophic microorganisms in marine sediments produce extracellular enzymes to hydrolyze organic macromolecules, so their products can be transported inside the cell and used for energy and growth. Therefore, extracellular enzymes may mediate the fate of organic carbon in sediments. The Baltic Sea Basin is a primarily depositional environment with high potential for organic matter preservation. The potential activities of multiple organic carbon-degrading enzymes were measured in samples obtained by the International Ocean Discovery Program Expedition 347 from the Little Belt Strait, Denmark, core M0059C. Potential maximum hydrolysis rates (Vmax) were measured at depths down to 77.9mbsf for the following enzymes: alkaline phosphatase, β-D-xylosidase, β-D-cellobiohydrolase, N-acetyl-β-D-glucosaminidase, β-glucosidase, α-glucosidase, leucyl aminopeptidase, arginyl aminopeptidase, prolyl aminopeptidase, gingipain, and clostripain. Extracellular peptidase activities were detectable at depths shallower than 54.95mbsf, and alkaline phosphatase activity was detectable throughout the core, albeit against a relatively high activity in autoclaved sediments. β-glucosidase activities were detected above 30mbsf; however, activities of other glycosyl hydrolases (β-xylosidase, β-cellobiohydrolase, N-acetyl-β-glucosaminidase, and α-glucosidase) were generally indistinguishable from zero at all depths. These extracellular enzymes appear to be extremely stable: Among all enzymes, a median of 51.3% of enzyme activity was retained after autoclaving for an hour. We show that enzyme turnover times scale with the inverse of community metabolic rates, such that enzyme lifetimes in subsurface sediments, in which metabolic rates are very slow, are likely to be extraordinarily long. A back-of-the-envelope calculation suggests enzyme lifetimes are, at minimum, on the order of 230days, and may be substantially longer. These results lend empirical support to the hypothesis that a population of subsurface microbes persist by using extracellular enzymes to slowly metabolize old, highly degraded organic carbon.
 
 
 

Meetings & Activities


Joint Genome Institute: 2021 New Lineages of Life (NeLLi) Symposium, September 16 - October 21, 2021
Registration is free and open now for the symposium September 16 - October 21, 2021.

NSF: Virtual Grants Conference, October 4-8, 2021
Register in advance for the free sessions October 4-8, 2021.

NSF OLPA Distinguished Lecture: Burgeoning Opportunities: Attracting and Retaining More Latinx Researchers to STEM, October 7, 2021 - NEW!
The panel will discuss pathways to STEM, what’s attracting and retaining Latinx researchers to STEM careers and how America can better tap the talent and help develop the research potential of this growing population. Register for the webinar on Thursday, October 7, 2021 (11:30am to 1:00pm Eastern).

USSSP/IODP Apply to Sail: South Atlantic Transect Expeditions 390 and 393 Seek Sedimentologist + Microbiologists - NEW!
IODP is seeking scientists with expertise in sedimentology to apply for Expedition 390 (7 Apr-7 Jun 2022) and scientists with expertise in microbiology to apply for both Expeditions 390 and 393 (7 Jun-7 Aug 2022). South Atlantic Transect Expeditions 390 and 393 make up a multidisciplinary and joint scientific ocean drilling project that aims to recover complete sedimentary sections and ~200 m of oceanic crust along a crustal age transect at ~31°S across the South Atlantic Ocean to: (1) investigate the history of low-temperature hydrothermal interactions between the aging ocean crust and the evolving South Atlantic Ocean; (2) quantify past hydrothermal contributions to global geochemical cycles; (3) investigate sediment and basement-hosted microbial community in the low energy South Atlantic Gyre subseafloor biosphere; and (4) investigate the response of subtropical biota and ocean circulation in the core of the global conveyor belt and the subtropical gyre in the South Atlantic Ocean as a result of the opening of the Drake Passage. The deadline to apply for this special call is October 15, 2021.

AGU: Apply to be an AGU Bridge Partner Institution
Proposals are due October 15, 2021.

AGU Biogeosciences: Fall Meeting Caregiver Conference Support Award - NEW!
The AGU Biogeosciences Section Early Career Committee is excited to announce Caregiver Conference Support awards for the 2021 Fall Meeting. The purpose of these awards is to support student and early career members affiliated with the Biogeosciences section who face challenges in attending the Fall Meeting (either in person or online) due to expenses directly related to their responsibilities as the primary caregiver for a child or other dependent. Each grant of $500 can be used toward conference attendance or caregiving expenses such as day-care costs during the conference, flight expenses of the dependent accompanying the awardee to the conference, or temporary caregiver fees related to conference attendance. Applications due by October 29, 2021.

Bigelow Laboratory for Ocean Sciences: Course in Bioinformatics of Microbial Single Cells, April 3-9, 2022
Further details will be available and the registration will begin in October 2021.

USSSP-IODP: Apply to Sail on Two New IODP Expeditions
The deadline to apply to sail for both expeditions is November 1, 2021.

Ongoing Activities:

 

Proposal Calls


NSF: Organizational Change for Gender Equity in STEM Academic Professions (ADVANCE)
Various deadlines.

NSF HRD: Tribal Colleges and Universities Program (TCUP)
Various deadlines.

NSF: Inclusion across the Nation of Communities of Learners of Underrepresented Discoverers in Engineering and Science (NSF INCLUDES)
Letter of intent deadline date: October 4, 2021.

AGU: Sharing Science Grants for Science Communication and Outreach
The deadline is October 11, 2021.

NSF: Accelerating Research through International Network-to-Network Collaborations (AccelNet)
Full proposal deadline: October 11, 2021.

IODP-USSSP: Novel Projects in Support of Scientific Ocean Drilling
Proposal deadline: October 15, 2021.

NSF: Graduate Research Fellowship Program (GRFP)
Full proposal deadlines vary by discipline: October 18-22, 2021.

Carnegie: Postdoctoral Fellowships in Earth and Planets Laboratory
The deadline is November 1, 2021.

NASA: Postdoctoral Program
Current cycle deadline: November 1, 2021.

NSF GEO: Earth Sciences Postdoctoral Research Fellowships (EAR-PRF)
Full proposal deadline: November 3, 2021.

NSF GEO: Ocean Sciences Postdoctoral Research Fellowships (OCE-PRF)
Full proposal deadline: November 12, 2021.

NSF BIO: Biology Integration Institutes (BII) - NEW!
Full proposal deadline date: January 12, 2022.

NSF BIO: Integrative Research in Biology (IntBIO)
Full proposal deadline date: January 25, 2022.

NSF: Mid-Career Advancement (MCA)
Full proposal target date: February 7, 2022.

NSF OCE: Chemical Oceanography
Full proposal target dates: February 15, 2022 and August 16, 2022.

NSF OCE: Physical Oceanography
Full proposal target dates: February 15, 2022 and August 16, 2022.

NSF BIO / NIH: Enabling Discovery through GEnomics (EDGE)
Full proposal deadline: February 17, 2022.

NSF: Research Experiences for Undergraduates (REU)
Full proposal deadline date: August 24, 2022.

NSF: Research Traineeship (NRT) Program
Full proposal deadline date: September 6, 2022.

Rolling Calls:



Employment


Lehigh University: Assistant Professor in Prokaryotic Molecular Biology
Initial review of applications will begin on October 11, 2021.

UC Berkeley: Assistant Professor in Earth & Planetary Sciences
The deadline for applications is October 14, 2021.

Duke Kunshan University: Faculty in Environmental Science
Priority will be given to applications received by October 15, 2021.

Boston College: Assistant Professor in Sedimentary Processes
Review of applications will begin on October 15, 2021.

West Texas A&M University: Assistant Professor in Geology
Apply by October 15, 2021 to guarantee full consideration.

Yale: Assistant Professor of Geochemistry - NEW!
The Department of Earth and Planetary Sciences at Yale University invites applications for a tenure track faculty appointment in the broad area of geochemistry at the Assistant Professor level. Relevant fields include (but are not limited to) global biogeochemical cycling, paleoclimatology, atmospheric chemistry, biogeochemistry, geomicrobiology, planetary evolution, and Earth surface processes. We seek candidates who will develop outstanding research programs, have strong prospects for exceptional scholarly impact and teaching excellence, and who will enhance the existing strengths of the Department and University. The successful applicant will develop and implement externally-funded research programs, teach and advise students, and facilitate interdisciplinary research. Review of applications will begin on October 20, 2021, and will continue until the position is filled. 

NSF: Ocean Observatories Initiative (OOI) Program Director - NEW!
The National Science Foundation is seeking qualified candidates for an Oceanographer (Program Director) position for the Integrative Programs Section (IPS), in the Division of Oceansciences (OCE) within the Directorate for Geosciences (GEO), Alexandria, VA. This is an excellent opportunity to help guide the OOI. The application deadline is October 25, 2021.

Boston University: Postdoc Position in Environmental Microbiology - NEW!
The Marlow Lab at Boston University is seeking candidates for a two-year Postdoctoral Scholar position to advance the study of microbe-microbe and microbe-mineral interactions in complex communities through the U.S. Department of Energy’s efforts to pinpoint the “hot spots” and “hot moments” of metabolic activity. Research efforts will advance recent progress in the lab on mapping complex microbial communities in their native habitats by incorporating highly multiplexed FISH methods and spatially-resolved metabolic modelling. In the process, this research effort will get ever closer to seeing how microbes truly operate in the real world, and how their largely inscrutable activity can be seen on the microscale and connected with biogeochemical fluxes. Applicants should send questions and application materials to jjmarlow@bu.edu by October 31, 2021 for full consideration.

Rice University: Assistant Professor in Planetary and Environmental Sciences
The deadline for applications is October 31, 2021.

USC: Associate or Full Professor in Geobiology - NEW!
The University of Southern California Department of Earth Sciences invites applications for a position in Geobiology at the level of Associate or Full professor. At USC, Geobiology is interpreted broadly, including geomicrobiology, biogeochemistry, carbon cycles and proxies, ocean acidification, astrobiology, source to sink processes, earth-atmosphere-biosphere co-evolution, global change, carbon sequestration, paleoenvironments/paleoclimate, paleobiology and other areas that relate to these topics. Located in central Los Angeles, USC serves a transnational student body and provides unique opportunities to engage in research, teaching, and service within an urban sphere, as well as easy access to the broader Southern California environment. The position offers opportunities to interact with the Wrigley Institute for Environmental Studies and the Wrigley Marine Science Center on Catalina Island. Application review will begin on November 1, 2021.

Florida State University: Assistant Professor in Earth-Life Interactions (49940) - NEW!
The Department of Earth, Ocean and Atmospheric Science (EOAS) at the Florida State University (FSU) invites applications for a tenure-track Assistant Professor in Earth-Life Interactions. The ideal candidate will investigate the coevolution of life and environment with potential interests in planetary habitability of Earth and exoplanets, biosignatures for life (radiations and extinctions), and implications for modern climate change. Research areas of interest include but are not limited to: paleobiology, geobiology, extinction dynamics, paleoecology, paleontology, biotic responses to global change, geomicrobiology, and biogeochemistry. Review of applications commences November 1, 2021 and will continue until the positions are filled.

Florida State University: Assistant Professor in Aqueous Trace Element Biogeochemistry/Chemical Oceanography (49933) - NEW!
The Department of Earth, Ocean and Atmospheric Science (EOAS) at the Florida State University (FSU) invites applications for a tenure-track Assistant Professor in Aqueous Trace Element Biogeochemistry/Chemical Oceanography. The ideal candidate will examine the role of trace elements in the oceans or other aquatic environments, their role in biogeochemical cycles, and/or their impact on the biosphere as toxins. This research may include but is not limited to processes within the air-sea interface, water-column, bottom waters, and/or pore fluids. Review of applications commences November 1, 2021 and will continue until the positions are filled.

Cal State University Fresno: Assistant Professor in Microbiology - NEW!
The Department of Biology in the College of Science and Mathematics at California State University, Fresno seeks applicants for a tenure-track, academic year position as an Assistant Professor in Microbiology. The successful candidate will be broadly trained with expertise in microbiology. All candidates whose research program uses a microorganism (archaea, bacteria, eukaryotic microorganisms) as a model will be considered. Applicants who study molecular/cellular/biochemical mechanisms underlying microbial physiology, disease, or biotechnology are encouraged to apply. Review of applications will begin on November 1, 2021 and will continue until the position is filled.

Lehigh University: Assistant Professor in Earth and Environmental Sciences - NEW!
Lehigh University invites applications for a tenure track position in earth and environmental sciences at the assistant professor level. We seek individuals who will establish an internationally recognized externally funded research program. We are especially interested in candidates working across disciplinary boundaries or in emerging areas of earth and environmental sciences and whose expertise contributes to department strengths. Successful candidates will have a PhD, research expertise that contributes to department strengths, a commitment to teaching undergraduate and graduate students, and a commitment to diversity and inclusion. To ensure full consideration the application should be received by November 1, 2021.

Babson College: Assistant Professor in the Natural Sciences
Lecturer position also available. For full consideration materials should be submitted by November 1, 2021.

Princeton University: Assistant Professor in Geology - NEW!
The Department of Geosciences at Princeton University is seeking applications for a tenure-track assistant professor faculty position in geology, broadly defined. Possible fields of specialty include, but are not limited to, petrology, geochemistry, volcanology, tectonics, glaciology, geomorphology, sedimentology, Earth history, and paleontology. We are particularly interested in interdisciplinary scientists who could interact productively with existing faculty across the department. Evaluation of applications will begin as they arrive; for fullest consideration, apply by December 1, 2021.

University of New Hampshire: Postdoc Position in Marine Microbial Biogeochemistry
Application deadline: December 8, 2021.

University of Miami: Open Rank Faculty Search Rosenstiel School of Marine and Atmospheric Sciences

Swiss Federal Institute of Technology Lausanne (EPFL): Postdoctoral Researcher in Microbial Processes in Bentonite

University of Toronto: Postdoctoral Position(s) in Fluid-Rock Interactions & Investigation of Deep Subsurface Life

Carnegie Institution (Stanford): Postdoctoral in Microbial Ecological Modeling of the Marine Nitrogen Cycle

Carnegie Institution (Stanford): Postdoctoral in Ecological Modeling of Marine Microheterotrophic Communities

Pennsylvania State University: Postdoctoral Researcher on Microbial Metabolic Networks

2021-2022 Earth and Environmental Science Jobs List


Email me with any items you'd like to share in future newsletters. You are what makes our deep biosphere community!

 
Rosalynn Sylvan
C-DEBI Managing Director
University of Southern California, Los Angeles, CA 90089-0371
rosalyyl@usc.edu

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