Prof. Kelly Wrighton, Colorado State University

Friend or foe? Microbial cross-feeding and viral predation in the engineered deep subsurface

Abstract

In this seminar, shewill discuss the establishment and persistence of microbial communities that colonize 2,500-meter-deep energy-rich shales after drilling and hydraulic fracturing. She will review how surface microorganisms adapt to this newly created extreme environment, as well as inventory what these microorganisms feed on and what feeds on them. She will focus on the importance of methylamine cycling to microbial persistence, as well as the critical role for viruses in mediating this ecosystem. It is our belief that long-term energy extraction from shale will require management of the beneficial and detrimental impacts of microbial growth in this economically important, engineered ecosystem.