Speaker: Angie Boysen, Assistant Professor of Chemistry, Pacific Lutheran University

Title: Chemical Currencies of Marine Microbes in the North Pacific Ocean

Abstract: Tiny microbes in the ocean surface have an outsized effect on global ocean ecosystem function and health. Microbes make up more than two-thirds of marine biomass and reach densities of over one million microbial cells per milliliter of seawater. Phytoplankton convert 100 million tons of inorganic carbon into thousands of different organic compounds every day. The structure of each chemical is critical to its biological and ecosystem role, yet the diversity of biomolecules produced by marine microbes remains underexplored, especially small polar molecules which are considered the currency of the microbial ecosystem. Studying the structure and functioning of the ocean microbiome, particularly the chemicals that underpin cellular and ecosystem functions, is central to better understanding the marine ecosystem and its resilience in the face of stressors such as pollution and ocean warming. Here, I identify organic compounds that are produced in natural and perturbed marine ecosystems. I attempt to untangle their biological roles, including identifying organisms responsible for the production of various compounds, the organism that may subsequently use those compounds, and resulting consequences for microbial metabolism and marine microbial ecosystems.