7.5 ZHANG Yu

From exploration to experimentation: applying high-pressure bioreactors to investigate marine microbial processes

Yu Zhang, Fengping Wang, Xiang Xiao

Shanghai Jiao Tong University

Elevated pressure is a key aspect of marine environments, e.g. 70% of the ocean is at a pressure of at least 38 MPa. Microorganisms residing under these high pressures are driving oceanic biogeochemical cycles and catalyzing reactions among rocks, sediments and fluids. Meanwhile, high-pressure is one strong selecting force to distinguish the endemic piezotolerant or (obligate)-piezophilic microorganisms in the deep sea from the piezosensitives ones. To illustrate the prominent microbial processes and to cultivate the influential inhabitant in the deep sea, we have developed a series of high-pressure bioreactor, including the simulators of cold seep and hydrothermal vent. Combined with omics analysis and genetic engineering, we have elucidated the methane consuming and producing processes mediated by the cold-seep community, and we have obtained a hydrothermal-vent community adapting to ultra-high temperature fluctuations. This integrated high-pressure biotechnology platform provides us opportunities to unveil the deep-sea processes under laboratory condition.