ERC Starting Grant · 2022
Structure and functions of terrestrial phycospheres
Microscopic algae release organic compounds to the region immediately surrounding their cells, known as the phycosphere, constituting a niche for colonization by heterotrophic bacteria. These bacteria consume algal photoassimilates and provide beneficial functions to their host, in a process that resembles the establishment of microbial communities associated with the roots and rhizospheres of land plants. Phycosphere communities have been well studied in aquatic environments, where they are known to play important roles in nutrient and energy fluxes. For many species of algae, interactions with their associated phycosphere bacteria can also provide beneficial functions, often mediated by…
From the public funding record at EU CORDIS. Describes the funded project, not the reviews below.