IISER MOHALI

Abstract: Microbiomes have been shaped by physical and chemical gradients on Earth and in turn microbiomes have influenced the formation of major ecological niches. Elemental cycling mediated by microbiomes including carbon and nitrogen cycling strongly influence regional climate processes and food security. Global oceans including coastal oceans play a critical role in shaping the carbon budget of Earth. Microbiomes with key functional constituents control regional and global fluxes of carbon in the coastal ocean across spatio-temporal scales. The ocean surface water geochemistry in turn shapes functional plasticity of microbiome communities. Using robust decadal scale ecological time series-based monitoring and mesocosm experiments, specific functional role of microbiomes in controlling fluxes and rates of carbon cycling in coastal biotopes such as estuarine mangroves are increasingly becoming clearer. Local and regional oscillations in functional microbiomes are now known to influence global carbon budgets. Microbiome driven coastal biotopes along with biocomplexity are critical players that can sustain the health of global coastal oceans.