The microbiome of a mega-river: from genes to ecosystem functioning (deepRIVER)

• Grant number: 22/15842-6
• Support Opportunities: Scholarships in Brazil - Post-Doctoral
• Start date: April 01, 2023
• End date: October 31, 2024
• Field of knowledge: Biological Sciences - Ecology - Ecosystems Ecology
• Principal Investigator: Hugo Miguel Preto de Morais Sarmento
• Grantee: Maria Paula Huber
• Host Institution: Centro de Ciências Biológicas e da Saúde (CCBS). Universidade Federal de São Carlos (UFSCAR). São Carlos , SP, Brazil

Abstract

The Paraná River is one of the mega-rivers of the world traveling 3,800 km through South America. It is considered a hotspot of biodiversity that emerges from the complex combination of spatial and temporal environmental heterogeneity, climate and hydrology. Microorganisms are sentinels that can be used to diagnose the state of the ecosystems they inhabit. Metagenomic shotgun sequencing appears as a cutting-edge technique that enables exploring the genetic potential of the entire river community: the aquatic microbiome. The aim of deepRIVER is to study the microbiome of the Paraná River and its interplay with environmental drivers. Functional and taxonomic profiles will be analyzed at different spatial scales across the entire Parana River from the headwaters in Brazil to its mouth in Argentina. Microbiome samples will be shotgun sequenced by metagenomic technology and deep learning models for metagenomic analysis will be constructed. Environmental variables and changes in land use due to human activity will be analyze to uncover the dynamic interplay between the microbiome and the environment. The results obtained in this research project will be key to elucidate the functioning of a complex system such as the Paraná River and will serve as a baseline for subsequent studies of the aquatic microbiome and potential biotechnological applications.