Lehrstuhl für Paläontologie & Geobiologie
print

Sprachumschaltung

Navigationspfad


Inhaltsbereich

Orsi, William

Overarching research theme

Microorganisms influence the composition of the atmosphere, the cycling of elements within and through ecosystems, and the functioning of ecosystems. Microorganisms are also the most metabolically flexible, and the most taxonomically and evolutionarily diverse organisms on Earth. Yet deciphering how that diversity influences biogeochemical processes at larger scales is a challenge, because of the overwhelming complexity of microbial communities makes it difficult to quantify how microbial taxa assimilate and transform elements in the environment.

We use a combination of methods that blend traditions from microbial ecology including stable isotope probing, genomic, and gene expression tools to explore how the diversity and physiology of microorganisms shape the biogeochemistry of marine ecosystems. Our research is derived primarily from field observations, as well as DNA and RNA stable isotope labeling experiments. Our research is primarily focused on the biological and biochemical mechanisms underlying marine microbial loops: the biogeochemical cycling of carbon and its processing through microbial food webs in the ocean.

Selected publications

Orsi W*, Vuillemin A, Rodriguez P, Coskun O, Gomez G, Mohrholz V, Lavik G, Ferdelman T (2020) Metabolic activity analyses demonstrate that Lokiarchaeon exhibits homoacetogenesis in sulfidic marine sediments. Nature Microbiology 5: 248–255

Vuillemin A, Wankel SD, Coskun OK, Magritsch T, Vargas S, Estes ER, Spivack AJ, Smith DC, Pockalny R, Murray RW, D’Hondt S, Orsi W* (2019) Archaea dominate oxic subseafloor communities over multimillion-year timescales. Science Advances 5:eaaw4108.

Coskun OK, Pichler M, Vargas S, Gilder S, Orsi W* (2018) Linking uncultivated microbial populations with benthic carbon turnover using quantitative stable isotope probing. Applied and Environmental Microbiology 84(18): e01083-18.

Orsi W* (2018) Ecology and evolution of seafloor and subseafloor microbial communities. Nature Reviews Microbiology 16, 671-683.

Orsi W*, Richards TA, Francis WR (2018) Predicted microbial secretomes and their target substrates in marine sediments. Nature Microbiology 3: 32-37.

Orsi W*, Wilken S, del Campo J, Heger T, James E, Richards TA, Keeling PJ, Worden AZ, Santoro AE (2018) Identifying protist consumers of photosynthetic picoeukaryotes in the surface ocean using stable isotope probing. Environmental Microbiology 20, 815-827

Orsi W, Smith JM, Liu S, Liu Z, Sakamoto CM, Wilken S, Poirier C, Richards TA, Keeling PJ, Worden AZ, Santoro AE (2016) Diverse, uncultivated bacteria and archaea underlying the cycling of dissolved protein in the ocean. The ISME Journal 10, 2158-2173.

Orsi W, Smith JM, Wilcox HM, Swalwell JE, Carini P, Worden AZ, Santoro AE (2015). Ecophysiology of uncultivated marine euryarchaea is linked to particulate organic matter. The ISME Journal 9: 1747-1763.

Klein F, Humphris SE, Guo W, Schubotz F, Schwarzenbach EM, Orsi WD (2015) Fluid mixing and the deep biosphere of a fossil Lost City-type hydrothermal system at the Iberia Margin. PNAS 112, 12036-12041.

Orsi W, Edgcomb V, Christman G, Biddle J. (2013). Gene expression in the deep biosphere. Nature 499: 205-208.

 

Selected publications

Orsi W* (2018) Ecology and evolution of seafloor and subseafloor microbial communities. Nature Reviews Microbiology 16, 671-683.

badgef1000

Orsi W*, Richards TA, Francis WR (2018) Predicted microbial secretomes and their target substrates in marine sediments. Nature Microbiology 3: 32-37.

Klein F, Humphris SE, Guo W, Schubotz F, Schwarzenbach EM, Orsi WD (2015) Fluid mixing and the deep biosphere of a fossil Lost City-type hydrothermal system at the Iberia Margin. PNAS 112, 12036-12041.

Orsi W, Edgcomb V, Christman G, Biddle J. (2013). Gene expression in the deep biosphere. Nature 499: 205-208.

Orsi W, Biddle J, Edgcomb, V. (2013). Deep sequencing of subseafloor eukaryotic rRNA reveals active Fungi across multiple subseafloor provinces. PLoS ONE 8(2): e56335.