The contribution of pelagic fungi to ocean biomass

Chie Amano is a marine microbial ecologist studying the role of bacteria and archaea in the ocean’s biogeochemical cycles, with a focus on the dark, deep ocean. Her research addresses both sides of the carbon cycle: the heterotrophic degradation of organic matter, including by particle-associated communities, and dark inorganic carbon fixation through anaplerotic and chemolithoautotrophic processes. She also examines how hydrostatic pressure shapes microbial activity and carbon cycling in the deep sea, and she develops single-cell approaches such as BONCAT and microautoradiography, together with in situ instrumentation, to quantify microbial activity in the deep ocean.