ADAPTATION

Adaptation of freshwater bacteria communities to environmental conditions (LAC) Land use and bacteria

In this project, we merge microbial ecology and waterscape genomics with the ultimate goals of (i) characterizing current ecological niches of the operational taxonomic units highlighted in bacteria populations of Lake Geneva, (ii) identifying candidate adaptive genes responsible for adaptation of freshwater bacterial communities to contrasting freshwater habitats, (iii) projecting current bacteria distributions as a function of the expected change and (iv) identifying possible alterations in ecosystem functioning and services as a function of climate change. By doing this, we expect to contribute expanding our ability to characterize ecological niches using genetic data and sensitizing society about the importance of protecting freshwater ecosystems.

Collaborators: Stéphane Joost, LASIG (EPFL); Alcherio Martinoli, DISAL (EPFL)

Funding: L’eXPLORE platform