Freshwater ecology - guest lectures

flow cytometer

use light scattering to determine size and complexity of of microbes

flowcam

• counts cells and takes photos

• run sample through small glass tube and take photos

• determine size, diameter, and shape of microbes

metadata

• info about environment

• ex: weather, temperature, light

metagenomics

• genome sequencing

• determines diversity

metatranscriptomics

• gene expression sequencing

• functions

metabolomics

• secondary metabolites

• toxins and antibiotics

key characters in lakes

• diatoms

• cyanobacteria

• green algae

• giant viruses

• RNA viruses

• DNA viruses

• Bacteriophages

key microbe-microbe interactions

• RNA Viruses and diatoms

• Bacteriophages and cyanobacteria

• Giant viruses, green algae, other eukaryotic algae

• GVs + hosts + virophages

  
  

bloom factors

• temperature

• phosphorus

• light

• other nutrients

• viruses

virocells

• infected cells that do what the virus wants (goals not aligned with the microbe anymore)

• changes bloom diversity and can cause collapse

• impacted by light

TALE

• Transcriptomes Assembled from Lake Erie

• Metatranscriptomes gathered across several investigations of Lake Erie and Lake Erie water

• Data from 2013 – 2023 (current version)

• All seasons

• A “co-assembly” of these data

GALE

• Genomes Assemble from Lake Erie

• Metagenomes gathered across several investigations of Lake Erie

• Data from 2019 – 2022 (current version)

• A “co-assembly” of these data

rhodopsin tools

• Alternative way to source energy when photosynthesis is limited
  (low temperature, low iron, too high of light)

• PPRs pump protons across membranes, build ATP

• Functional diversity

• Taxonomic diversity of microbial rhodopsins

Lake winnipeg

• large watershed - hard to control/mediate what goes into it because of country and province borders

• lots of cyanobacteria and diatoms

• temp increase rate doubles

• fires accumulate nutrients