Dr Michaela Mausz

Lipid membranes are essential for cellular life forming a barrier towards the environment. In phototrophic organisms such as cyanobacteria and eukaryotic microalgae they are also a key component of thylakoid membranes and chloroplasts. Here, in the photosynthetic machinery embedded in these membranes phytoplankton can fix carbon dioxide (CO₂), with about half of the global carbon fixation occurring in the oceans. But what happens, if the composition of lipid membranes is changed for example due to external stressors such as nutrient limitation?

I am going to start my own lab from January 2025.

My current research focuses on investigating consequences of such lipid remodelling on carbon fixation in the ocean. This will help to better understand potential consequences of climate change and how it will affect cell physiology, thus, improving climate model predictions.

Phosphorus (P) limitation is a global challenge to primary production both in terrestrial and marine environments. As an adaptation to low phosphate availability, marine phytoplankton can substitute P-containing lipids for other non-P-containing lipids. This lipid remodelling process provides P for essential cellular functions such as nucleic-acid synthesis. Using liquid chromatography – mass spectrometry I am investigating this lipid remodelling process following P-limitation in laboratory phytoplankton cultures. Monitoring carbon fixation rates of a radiolabelled CO₂ source and photophysiological measurements allow to determine consequences associated to lipid remodelling in the P-limited culture in comparison to non-limited controls. Together with other results from investigations targeting cell physiology, findings on carbon fixation rates will be used to improve primary production ecosystem models.

Additionally, I am involved in a few collaborations looking at the relevance of lipids. For example, we found that viral infection of a eukaryotic microalga resulted in strong changes of the lipid profile only a few hours after infection. In the coccolithophore Emiliania huxleyi I could show the depletion of host-specific sterols originating from the mevalonate-isoprenoid pathway during lytic viral infection (Rosenwasser, Mausz et al., 2014, Plant Cell https://doi.org/10.1105/tpc.114.125641). Further, I looked at lipids in a nematode host and its chemosynthetic symbiont in oxic-anoxic interfaces. Lipid profiles exhibited an increase in the relative abundance of lysophospholipids under anoxia as well as incorporation of host lipids into the symbiont’s membranes (Paredes et al., 2021, mSystems https://doi.org/10.1128/mSystems.01186-20; Paredes et al., 2022, Sci. Rep. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-022-13235-9).

Broader interests and activities

Teaching:

Associate Fellowship of the HEA
Postgraduate Award in Teaching and Learning in Higher Education (PGA TLHE) of the University of Warwick
Personal Academic Tutor to undergraduate students
Human and animal microbiomes lecture within HR926 Microbiomics and Metagenomics module

Outreach:

Webnews article: https://pml.ac.uk/News/Undermeasured-compound-could-help-resilience
British Science Festival participation, September 2019
Introduction to N-osmolytes (1^st Postdoctoral project): https://youtu.be/qPIqpJ_BKTU

Biography

2014-present: Postdoctoral Research Fellow (3 projects), University of Warwick, UK
2014: PhD (summa cum laude) in Bioorganic Analytics, Friedrich Schiller University Jena, DE
2013: Visiting researcher, Vardi lab, Weizmann Institute of Science, Rehovot, IL
2008: Mag. (MSc equivalent) in Ecology/Marine Biology, University of Vienna, AT

Member, Royal Society of Biology
Member, Applied Microbiology International

Publications

Li, Chun-Yang, Mausz, Michaela A., Murphy, Andrew, Zhang, Nan, Chen, Xiu-Lan, Wang, Shu-Yan, Gao, Chao, Aguilo-Ferretjans, María M., Silvano, Eleonora, Lidbury, Ian D. E. A., Fu, Hui-Hui, Todd, Jonathan D., Chen, Yin and Zhang, Yu-Zhong (2023) Ubiquitous occurrence of a dimethylsulfoniopropionate ABC transporter in abundant marine bacteria. The ISME Journal, 17 . pp. 579-587. doi:10.1038/s41396-023-01375-3 ISSN 1751-7362.

Stirrup, Rachel, Mausz, Michaela A., Silvano, Eleonora, Murphy, Andrew, Guillonneau, Richard, Quareshy, Mussa, Rihtman, Branko, Aguilo Ferretjans, Maria, He, Ruo, Todd, Jonathan D., Chen, Feng, Scanlan, David J. and Chen, Yin (2023) Aminolipids elicit functional trade-offs between competitiveness and bacteriophage attachment in Ruegeria pomeroyi. ISME Journal, 17 (3). pp. 315-325. doi:10.1038/s41396-022-01346-0 ISSN 1751-7362.

Beale, Rachael, Polimene, Luca, Chen, Yin, Mausz, Michaela A., Scanlan, David J. , Widdicombe, Claire, Tarran, Glen, Woodward, Malcolm, Harris, Carolyn, McEvoy, Andrea and Airs, Ruth L. (2023) Seasonal measurements of the nitrogenous osmolyte glycine betaine in marine temperate coastal waters. Biogeochemistry, 162 . pp. 309-323. doi:10.1007/s10533-022-01006-7 ISSN 0168-2563.

Paredes, Gabriela F., Viehboeck, Tobias, Markert, Stephanie, Mausz, Michaela A., Sato, Yui, Liebeke, Manuel, König, Lena and Bulgheresi, Silvia (2022) Differential regulation of degradation and immune pathways underlies adaptation of the ectosymbiotic nematode Laxus oneistus to oxic-anoxic interfaces. Scientific Reports, 12 (1). 9725. doi:10.1038/s41598-022-13235-9 ISSN 2045-2322.

Scanlan, Julie, Guillonneau, Richard, Cunningham, Mark R., Najmin, Sahanara, Mausz, Michaela A., Murphy, Andrew, Murray, Leanne L., Zhang, Limei, Kumaresan, Deepak and Chen, Yin (2022) The proteobacterial methanotroph Methylosinus trichosporium OB3b remodels membrane lipids in response to phosphate limitation. mBio, 13 (3). e00247-22. doi:10.1128/mbio.00247-22 ISSN 2150-7511.

Mausz, Michaela A., Airs, Ruth, Dixon, Joanna, Widdicombe, Claire, Tarran, Glen, Polimene, Luca, Dashfield, Sarah, Beale, Rachael, Scanlan, David J. and Chen, Yin (2022) Microbial uptake dynamics of choline and glycine betaine in coastal seawater. Limnology and Oceanography, 67 (5). pp. 1052-1064. doi:10.1002/lno.12056 ISSN 1541-5856.

Smith, Alastair F., Silvano, Eleonora, Päuker, Orsola, Guillonneau , Richard, Quareshy, Mussa, Murphy, Andrew, Mausz, Michaela A., Stirrup, Rachel, Rihtman, Branko, Aguilo Ferretjans, Maria, Brandsma, Joost, Petersen, Jörn, Scanlan, David J. and Chen, Yin (2021) A novel class of sulfur-containing aminolipids widespread in marine roseobacters. ISME Journal, 15 . pp. 2440-2453. doi:10.1038/s41396-021-00933-x ISSN 1751-7362.

Paredes, Gabriela F., Viehboeck, Tobias, Lee, Raymond, Palatinszky, Marton, Mausz, Michaela A., Reipert, Siegfried, Schintlmeister, Arno, Maier, Andreas, Volland, Jean-Marie, Hirschfeld, Claudia, Wagner, Michael, Berry, David, Markert, Stephanie, Bulgheresi, Silvia and König, Lena (2021) Anaerobic sulfur oxidation underlies adaptation of a chemosynthetic symbiont to oxic-anoxic interfaces. mSystems, 6 (3). e1186-20. doi:10.1128/msystems.01186-20 ISSN 2379-5077.

Mausz, Michaela A., Segovia, María, Larsen, Aud, Berger, Stella A., Egge, Jorun K. and Pohnert, Georg (2020) High CO 2 concentration and iron availability determine the metabolic inventory in an Emiliania huxleyi ‐dominated phytoplankton community. Environmental Microbiology, 22 (9). pp. 3863-3882. doi:10.1111/1462-2920.15160 ISSN 1462-2912.

Jones, Helen J., Kröber, Eileen, Stephenson, Jason, Mausz, Michaela A., Jameson, Eleanor, Millard, Andrew D., Purdy, Kevin J. and Chen, Yin (2019) A new family of uncultivated bacteria involved in methanogenesis from the ubiquitous osmolyte glycine betaine in coastal saltmarsh sediments. Microbiome, 7 . 120. doi:10.1186/s40168-019-0732-4 ISSN 2049-2618.

Mausz, Michaela A. and Chen, Yin (2019) Microbiology and ecology of methylated amine metabolism in marine ecosystems. Current Issues in Molecular Biology, 33 (1). pp. 133-148. doi:10.21775/cimb.033.133 ISSN 1467-3037.

Sun, Jing, Mausz, Michaela A., Chen, Yin and Giovannoni, Stephen J. (2019) Microbial trimethylamine metabolism in marine environments. Environmental Microbiology, 21 (2). pp. 513-520. doi:10.1111/1462-2920.14461 ISSN 1462-2912.

Smith, Alastair, Rihtman, Branko, Stirrup, Rachel, Silvano, Eleonora, Mausz, Michaela A., Scanlan, David J. and Chen, Yin (2019) Elucidation of glutamine lipid biosynthesis in marine bacteria reveals its importance under phosphorus deplete growth in Rhodobacteraceae. The ISME Journal, 13 . pp. 39-49. doi:10.1038/s41396-018-0249-z ISSN 1751-7362.

Lidbury, Ian, Mausz, Michaela A., Scanlan, David J. and Chen, Yin (2017) Identification of dimethylamine monooxygenase in marine bacteria reveals a metabolic bottleneck in the methylated amine degradation pathway. ISME Journal, 11 . pp. 1592-1601. doi:10.1038/ismej.2017.31 ISSN 1751-7362.

Segovia, M., Lorenzo, M. R , Maldonado, M. T., Larsen, A., Berger, S. A., Tsagaraki, T. M., Lázaro, F. J., Iñiguez, C., García-Gómez, C., Palma, A., Mausz, Michaela A., Gordillo, F. J. L., Fernández, J. A., Ray, J. L. and Egge, J. K. (2017) Iron availability modulates the effects of future CO2 levels within the marine planktonic food web. Marine Ecology Progress Series, 565 . pp. 17-33. doi:10.3354/meps12025 ISSN 0171-8630.

Mausz, Michaela A. and Pohnert, Georg (2015) Phenotypic diversity of diploid and haploid Emiliania huxleyi cells and of cells in different growth phases revealed by comparative metabolomics. Journal of Plant Physiology, 172 . pp. 137-148. doi:10.1016/j.jplph.2014.05.014 ISSN 0176-1617.

Rosenwasser, S., Mausz, Michaela A., Schatz, D., Sheyn, U., Malitsky, S., Aharoni, A., Weinstock, E., Tzfadia, O., Ben-Dor, S., Feldmesser, E., Pohnert, G. and Vardi, A. (2014) Rewiring host lipid metabolism by large viruses determines the fate of Emiliania huxleyi, a bloom-forming alga in the ocean. The Plant Cell, 26 (6). pp. 2689-2707. doi:10.1105/tpc.114.125641 ISSN 1040-4651.

Paul, Carsten, Mausz, Michaela A. and Pohnert, Georg (2013) A co-culturing/metabolomics approach to investigate chemically mediated interactions of planktonic organisms reveals influence of bacteria on diatom metabolism. Metabolomics, 9 (2). pp. 349-359. doi:10.1007/s11306-012-0453-1 ISSN 1573-3882.

Paul, Carsten, Reunamo, Anna, Lindehoff, Elin, Bergkvist, Johanna, Mausz, Michaela A., Larsson, Henrik, Richter, Hannes, Wängberg, Sten-Åke, Leskinen, Piia, Båmstedt, Ulf and Pohnert, Georg (2012) Diatom derived polyunsaturated aldehydes do not structure the planktonic microbial community in a mesocosm study. Marine Drugs, 10 (12). pp. 775-792. doi:10.3390/md10040775 ISSN 1660-3397.

Research Projects

Title	Funder	Award start	Award end
Analysing phytoplankton cultures for their specific nitrogen-osmolyte content - Summer studentship for Anya Jacobs supervised by PDRA Michaela Mausz	Society for Applied Microbiology	21 Aug 2017	20 Oct 2017

Teaching/Student supervision

I am happy to discuss MBio wet-lab projects working on consequences of nutrient limitation associated with lipid membrane remodelling to photophysiology and carbon fixation in marine phytoplankton. If you are interested, please, contact me at the above email.

Year 3 undergraduate research projects: I offer wet and dry lab projects. Wet lab projects will look at consequences of nutrient limitation on lipid composition and carbon fixation in different eukaryotic microalgae. Dry lab meta-analysis projects will focus on lipid biosynthesis pathways and genes in eukaryotic microalgae.

PhD projects are available through the CENTA DTP.

CENTA is currently awaiting confirmation of funding under the BBSRC-NERC Doctoral Landscape Award (DLA) scheme, which is the new name for Doctoral Training Partnerships (DTPs). This funding will support cohorts starting from 2025 onwards. We anticipate receiving further information by late October or early November 2024. The availability of funding for both studentship pathways, and for all projects listed on our website, depends on this confirmation.