Francesca Vulcano

Anaerobic methane oxidation is a relevant process in marine sediments and is responsible for consumption of methane produced in the seafloor before it is released into the oceans. In diffusive, sediment-influenced hydrothermal systems, methane and other short-chains hydrocarbons can feed abundant population of anaerobic alkane oxidisers, that are metabolically associated to populations of sulfate-reducers. The dynamics and the physiology of this association and how it is shaped by the environments is not fully understood yet. In this project, with microscopy, cultivation, metabolic rates measurements and genome analysis, we try to expand the knowledge about anaerobic alkane oxidation in hydrothermal settings and shed light on the molecular aspects that regulate the interaction between the two syntrophic partners.