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Olivia Ahern, a postdoctoral scientist at the Marine Biological Laboratory (MBL), was of the Joint Genome Institute’s (JGI) Community Science Program (CSP) for her research proposal to illuminate microbial food web connectivity. Through this award, JGI will provide in-depth DNA and RNA sequencing services to Ahern and her collaborators, along with expert advice. 

Ahern and the co-principal investigators on the project, Joseph Vallino (С�����Ƶ senior scientist) and (Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution senior scientist), are currently investigating the structure of microbial food webs by tracking organic carbon (i.e., food) incorporation into bacteria, as well as their predators, by labeling the organic carbon with stable isotopes of carbon. As the labeled carbon is consumed, it becomes incorporated into the RNA and DNA of the microbes. Using a powerful technique called stable isotope probing, Ahern, in collaboration with Huber, can identify which bacteria consume the labeled carbon sources, and which predators are consuming the bacteria. From this information, the team can determine if microbial foods webs are highly interconnected or sparsely connected, which has important implications for their stability and functioning.