Seminar: Marc Alperin – UNC-CH

UNC-CH’s Department of Marine Sciences is proud to host a guest seminar by Marc Alperin. This event is scheduled for Wednesday, February 24th, at 12:30 pm. This seminar is remote only and will be broadcast live online via Zoom (Meeting ID: 934-0604-8353).

Presenter Affiliation: Associate Professor, Director of Undergraduate Studies, Department of Marine Sciences, the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill

Title: Environmental Bioenergetics of Autotrophic Methanogens: A Cell-scale Model

Abstract: Autotrophic methanoarchaea represent a unique biological group. They are the only organisms able to produce methane as a metabolic product, the most cosmopolitan of microbes (inhabiting anaerobic environments ranging from the human gut to 100 m below the seafloor), live at temperatures ranging from 2° to 110°C, and are possibly the oldest organism on Earth. We have developed a micro-scale reaction-transport model that simulates metabolism of an autotrophic methanogen cell in a bulk solution of any chemical and thermal properties. The model couples diffusive transport of limiting substrate (CO2 or H2) to catabolism subject to kinetic and bioenergetic constraints, and predicts cell-specific methane production rate and power yield. The challenge, as is often the case in models of biological systems, is in determining appropriate values for parameters that govern complex metabolic processes. Acquiring these parameters has been likened to a “hard slog”*, but as with most challenging journeys, there are surprises and rewards to be had along the way.