UBO / CNRS / IFREMER
Located in Ifremer (Centre de Brest) and Institut Unversitaire Européen de la Mer (IUEM/UBO), the lab has expertise and skills dedicated to the microbiology of deep sea extreme environments. Its research topics include the study of ecosystems including the preparation and organization of work at sea, the description of the phylogenetic and functional microbial diversity, and understanding of adaptative processes at the cellular and molecular level.
The laboratory has missions of research, teaching and valorization. In particular, LM2E conducts microbiological research programs for extreme environments, mainly oceanic, on behalf of the three tutors. This work is based on the preparation and implementation of oceanographic surveys, in close partnership with biologists, chemists and geochemists in extreme environments: hydrothermal springs, cold seeps from the continental margins, ocean floor. The LM2E is actively involved in understanding how microorganisms in these environments contribute to the functioning of these original ecosystems and can ensure the integrity of their genetic material. It also has unique skills and means in France for the sampling, analysis and exploitation of microbiological samples. For sampling operations, it shall have regular access to the national resources of the French oceanographic fleet in accordance with the standard procedure for selecting campaigns. For historical reasons, research activities in microbiology are distributed on the two sites: IUEM and Center Ifremer de Brest. The LM2E has a large part of the analytical resources needed to carry out its work. It also benefits from access to the technical platforms or technical services of the Ifremer EEP department (scanning microscope), UBO and Ifremer (calculator, mass spectrometry, microscopy), and BiogenOuest (association of the western platforms).