FWF grant from the 1000 ideas program for Dimitra Sakoula

Dimitra Sakoula, working as a Postdoc in the nitrification group obtained funding from the “1000 Ideas Program” of the Austrian Science Fund (FWF). The aim of this program is to support daring and original research ideas that lie outside the current scientific understanding. In the second call for funding in this program, Dimitra was among 22 awardees from a total of 270 applicants. Congratulations Dimitra!

In her MarCo project Dimitra aims to enrich and characterize marine complete ammonia oxidizer (comammox) organisms. To date, comammox elude identification in marine ecosystems. A combination of a novel, activity-based method for the specific detection of ammonia-oxidizing microorganisms, BONCAT labeling, and fluorescence-activated cell sorting will be employed for the identification and enrichment of novel, marine comammox species. Furthermore, the metabolic potential of the enriched organisms will be identified using state-of-the-art metagenomics, while activity assays and microrespirometry will provide their in-depth physiological characterization unraveling the driving forces shaping the nitrifying communities in the ocean.