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hotosynthesis is the most important biological metabolism for planetary health and biodiversity. The evolutionary expansion of oxygenic photosynthesis gave rise to our habitable atmosphere, multicellularity, species diversification and subsequently underpins all life. Typically, photosynthesis involves the capture of visible light by chlorophyll molecules and its chemical conversion into carbon compounds. However, there exists a group of cryptic microorganisms that photosynthesise in near darkness, harnessing energy from near-infrared (NIR) wavelengths. These unique cyanobacteria thrive in low-light habitats, where other photosynthetic organisms are unable to survive, including inside caves and stromatolites or deep in the tissue layers of coral. Despite their potential significance in these habitats, the diversity, ecological functions and collective contribution to productivity of NIR-cyanobacteria remain underexplored. This project aims to investigate the diversity, ecological roles, and adaptations of NIR-photosynthetic cyanobacteria in a variety of Australian ecosystems, including coastal mangroves, and the World Heritage sites of the Great Barrier Reef, the Blue Mountains, and the ancient stromatolites of Shark Bay. Using advanced confocal imaging, microsensor technology, imaging fluorometry and micro-spectral detection techniques developed by the project team, we aim to uncover this hidden diversity, examine the key photosynthetic properties and measure metabolic processes in both natural and cultured samples, gaining hitherto undiscovered insight into the biology and biogeography of these unique cyanobacteria.
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| Aerial view of Shark Bay, Western Australia. Sampling cyanobacterial mats at Shark Bay. Confocal microscopy image of cultured filamentous cyanobacteria from Shark Bay, WA: far-red chl f (red) and chl a and phycobilins (green and yellow) emissions. Photos and microscopy images by Dr Anya Salih. |
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