Marine Microbiome Initiative
Marine Microbiome Initiative
The Australian Microbiome Initiative is a national bio-resource, providing a central database of microbial diversity, developed in association with Bioplatforms Australia. Water samples from several depths are collected from IMOS National Reference Stations and the Southern Ocean Time Series mooring in the sub-Antarctic Zone, establishing a time-series of the marine microbial and planktonic communities in Australian coastal and sub-Antarctic waters.
Siboni and Doszpot, CSIRO
Why it’s important
Marine microorganisms control the productivity and biogeochemistry of the global ocean. Microbiome data derived from DNA provide crucial spatial and temporal information that underpin the understanding of Australian marine microbiology. Coupled with the suite of biological, physical and chemical observations already established at IMOS National Reference Stations.
The Marine Microbiome Initiative supports the understanding of status and trends of oceanic health, biogeochemistry and primary productivity. The collection, analysis and archiving of eDNA represents a valuable resource for genomic interrogation of a diverse range of taxa at multiple trophic levels, providing further insights into biodiversity and larger-scale marine ecosystem processes.
Useful information
Acknowledging IMOS
Users of IMOS data are required to clearly acknowledge the source material by including the following statement:
Australia’s Integrated Marine Observing System (IMOS) is enabled by the National Collaborative Research Infrastructure Strategy (NCRIS). It is operated by a consortium of institutions as an unincorporated joint venture, with the University of Tasmania as Lead Agent.