1,4,- 1University of Cape Town, Marine and Antarctic Research centre on Innovation and Sustainability (MARIS), Biological Sciences, South Africa (emma.rocke@uct.ac.za)
- 2European Bioinformatics Institute (EMBL-EBI), European Molecular Biology Laboratory, Wellcome Trust Genome Campus, Hinxton, Cambridge CB10 1SD, United Kingdom
- 3Ecology and Evolutionary Biology Section, Institut de Biologie de l'Ecole Normale Supérieure (IBENS), Ecole Normale Supérieure, 46 rue d'Ulm, 75005 Paris FRANCE
- 4CNRS/Sorbonne University, Station Biologique de Roscoff, Roscoff, France
- 5Stazione Zoologica Anton Dohrn, Napoli, Italy
- *A full list of author appears at the end of the abstract
The AtlantECO project and its Mission Microbiomes expedition were initiated to investigate the diversity and ecological functions of ocean microbiomes, with a particular focus on their roles in climate regulation and marine ecosystem health. Between 2020 and 2022, the expedition aboard the schooner Tara sampled diverse regions of the South Atlantic Ocean, spanning from the Brazilian coastline to the Southern Ocean and African coasts, using advanced genomic, metagenomic, and bioinformatic techniques. These efforts have shed light on the complexity of marine microbial communities, identifying numerous previously unknown species and uncovering crucial metabolic functions related to carbon, nitrogen, and sulfur cycles. Findings demonstrate that microbial communities are highly responsive to variations in temperature, acidity, and nutrient availability, underscoring their potential as indicators of ocean health. The discovery of novel genes and metabolic pathways opens avenues for biotechnological applications, including nutrient processing and carbon sequestration. The data generated by Mission Microbiomes AtlantECO will be made open-access, providing a vital resource for researchers and supporting sustainable innovation in fields ranging from environmental remediation to biomaterials development. This project thus enhances our understanding of microbial ecosystems in the ocean and their genetic potential to adapt to changing environmental conditions.
Aliénor Bourdais, Clementine Moulin, Elisabeth Catafort, Emmanuel Boss, Emmanuelle Petit, Eric Mahieu, Etienne Bourgois, Fabien Lombard, Juliette Schramm, Lionel Guidi, Miguel Moll, Patrick Wincker, Romain Troublé, Sophie Sanchez, Thomas Linkowski, Alain Prieur, Alessandra Gomes, Alessandro Tagliabue, Alison Chase, Andrea Freire, Andrea Green Koettker, Ange Bouramanding Diedhiou, Antoine Bertin, Antonella Ruggiero, Arthur Larie, Baptiste Regnier, Carole Pire, Céline Dimier, Charlotte Begouen, Clara Trellu, Constanze Kuhlisch, Cora Hörstmann, Damaria Ardène Boussiengue, David Leistenschneider, David Monmarché, Douglas Couet, Edouard Lavergne, Edson Macalini, Eric Pelletier, Erica Caroline Becker, Flora Vincent, François Aurat, Giancarlo Bachi, Gleice Sousa Santos, Guilia Grossman, Guillaume Bourdin, Guillaume Tauran, Helena Cruz de Carvalho, Hugo Viel, Irene Kopelman, Isabelle Calves, Jean-François Ghiglione, Josep Erta, Julie Nedelec-Andrade, Karine Lebaron, Kimerudi Motswai, Lara Tabet, Laurent Rogniaux, Léa Olivier, Lee Karp-Boss, Leïla Meitertzheim, Léo Boulon, Leslie Moquin, Loïc Caudan, Louis Wilmotte, Maeva Bardy, Mancha Mabaso, Manon Lanjouère, Martin Hertau, Martin Leroux, Mathieu Oriot, Mathilde Bourreau, Maxime Horlaville, Michel Flores, Miléna Cerda, Morgane Ratin, Nastassia Patin, Ndamonoghenda Mateus, Nicolas Bin, Nicolas Michel, Nicole Dames, Noé Poffa, Paula Huber, Pedro Junger, Rémi Laxenaire, Ricardo Silva, Roland Ngomo, Samuel Audrain, Samuel Chaffron, Sophie Bin, Stéphane Pesant, Suzana Nicolaus, Thomas Leeuw, Thomas Linkowski, Thulani Makhalanyane, Vincent Jolly, Xiomara Garcia Diaz, Yves Tourmon, Alexandra Ter Halle, Daniela Banaru, Darshika Manral, Florian Kokoszka, Georg Pohnert, Gilles Reverdin, Hugo Sarmento, Ian Probert, Jean-François Ghiglione, Jochen Horstmann, Josep Gasol, Lars-Eric Heimbürger, Linda Amaral Zettler, Lionel Guidi, Mak Saito, Matt Sullivan, Michel Flores, Mike Meredith, Mireille Pujo Pay, Naiara Rodriguez-Ezpeleta, Nicolas Metzl, Patrick Wincker, Paulo Calil, Rainer Pepperkok, Rubens Lopes, Sabrina Speich, Seth John, Shaun Dayzel, Thulani Makhalanyane, Ulisse Cardini
How to cite: Rocke, E., Stephane, P., Chris, B., Colomban, V., and Ludicone, D. and the AtlantECO Mission Microbiomes consortium: Insights from the AtlantECO Mission Microbiomes Expedition, One Ocean Science Congress 2025, Nice, France, 3–6 Jun 2025, OOS2025-1340, https://doi.org/10.5194/oos2025-1340, 2025.
