Marine fungi - 2026 Winter - 2 of 6

Marine fungi are an under sampled but increasingly recognized component of the ocean’s carbon cycle. Our project will sail to the productive South Atlantic Bight to ask how fungi interact with bacteria to decompose zooplankton- and phytoplankton- derived carbon substrates such as cellulose and chitosan. By combining metagenomics, metatranscriptomics and quantitative DNA stable isotope probing (DNA-SIP) we will determine which fungal and bacterial lineages express genes encoding hydrolytic enzymes, trace their incorporation of 13C-labeled substrates, and test whether these interactions accelerate carbon turnover. Shipboard work will be tightly integrated with shore-based enzyme biochemistry and co-culture experiments. Insights will reveal whether fungi merely compete with bacteria for carbon or form synergistic networks that stabilize microbial communities against environmental change, ultimately improving model predictions of carbon export efficiency. The cruise also serves as a training platform for undergraduate and graduate students through a vertically integrated education plan that links laboratory, field, and bioinformatic skill building.