Storelli Nicola

Biodiversity of ancestral photosynthetic microorganisms

Project Number: CH-7884

Project Type:
Project Duration:	01/06/2026 - 01/01/2027
Funding Source:	other ,
Leading Institution:	SUPSI
Project Leader:	Mr. Nicola Storelli Laboratorio di Microbiologia Applicata DACD-SUPSI SUPSI Bellinzona

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Research Areas:

PARKRESEARCH

Disciplines:

environmental sciences

Abstract:
Early life on Earth developed in anoxic environments where ancient anoxygenic phototrophs, such as purple and green sulfur bacteria, thrived. Today these microorganisms survive only in rare niches combining light and absence of oxygen. This study aims to isolate and characterize as many anoxygenic photosynthetic microorganisms as possible to expand genomic knowledge and better understand the evolutionary transition from anoxygenic to oxygenic photosynthesis. To achieve this, environmental samples and physicochemical parameters will be collected, followed by laboratory enrichment and isolation under strict anaerobic conditions. Genomic DNA will then be extracted, sequenced, and analyzed through bioinformatic pipelines. Deepening our understanding of these ancestral microbes is key to reconstructing the evolution of life on Earth and may also guide hypotheses about potential life forms on other planets.


Last update: 5/21/26
Source of data: ProClim- Research InfoSystem (1993-2024)
Update the data of project: CH-7884

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