I am an early career researcher with a passion for understanding the complexities of the microbial world. To date, my research has centred around determining the structure and function of microbial assemblages and their impacts on the health of marine ecosystems. In order to address this inherently interdisciplinary topic, I have developed expertise in a wide range of disciplines including microbiology, ecology, oceanography, biogeochemistry, environmental genomics, bioinformatics and multivariate statistics, as well gaining considerable experience in field-based research.
In my current role within BES, I am investigating marine microbe-pollutant interactions as part of the NERC funded project, "Sources, impacts and solutions for plastics in South East Asia coastal environments". In this project we are using meta-omics to determine the dynamics of microbial colonisation of the plastisphere and to decipher microbial functional roles within this novel but ubiquitous niche.
Across all environments on Earth, microorganisms play a critical role in the biogeochemical cycling of key elements required for life, many of which are also important determinants of global climate. It is therefore vital to determine the specific functional roles of microorganisms within the context of the environments they inhabit, to truly understand the healthy functioning of a given ecosystem.
Within the marine environment, microorganisms constitute 90% of all ocean biomass, ultimately laying the foundation of the marine food web and controlling fluxes of carbon, nitrogen, and climate-active gases between the ocean and atmosphere. The combined activities of marine microbial communities underpins the societal and economic wealth and health (‘Blue Economy’) of the Ocean. As such, understanding the identities and functions of these organisms, and the environmental factors that determine their abundance and distribution, is a key facet to managing and preserving the marine estate now and into the future.
The overarching goal of my research is to employ environmental genomics and biogeochemical approaches to gain insights into the evolution and ecology of marine microbial communities. My current and former research includes free-living, host- and particle-associated microorganisms from the tropics to temperate latitudes, spanning coastal, open-ocean, and coral reef environments. At present, I am characterising microbial communities colonising marine plastic pollution to understand how this community functions. This collectively contributes to our understanding of how marine microorganisms impact the maintenance of healthy and productive marine ecosystems.
Article
A genome-centric view of the role of the Acropora kenti microbiome in coral health and resilience
Messer LF, Bourne DG, Robbins SJ, Clay M, Bell SC, McIlroy SJ & Tyson GW (2024) A genome-centric view of the role of the Acropora kenti microbiome in coral health and resilience. Nature Communications, 15, Art. No.: 2902. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-024-46905-5
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Messer LF, Lee CE, Wattiez R & Matallana-Surget S (2024) Novel functional insights into the microbiome inhabiting marine plastic debris: critical considerations to counteract the challenges of thin biofilms using multi-omics and comparative metaproteomics. Microbiome, 12 (1). https://doi.org/10.1186/s40168-024-01751-x
Article
Metcalf R, Messer LF, White HL, Ormsby MJ, Matallana-Surget S & Quilliam RS (2024) Evidence of interspecific plasmid uptake by pathogenic strains of Klebsiella isolated from microplastic pollution on public beaches. Journal of Hazardous Materials, 461, Art. No.: 132567. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jhazmat.2023.132567
Article
Global oceanic diazotroph database version 2 and elevated estimate of global oceanic N 2 fixation
Shao Z, Xu Y, Wang H, Luo W, Wang L, Huang Y, Agawin NSR, Ahmed A, Benavides M, Bentzon-Tilia M, Berman-Frank I, Berthelot H, Biegala IC, Bif MB & Messer LF (2023) Global oceanic diazotroph database version 2 and elevated estimate of global oceanic N 2 fixation. Earth System Science Data, 15 (8), pp. 3673-3709. https://doi.org/10.5194/essd-15-3673-2023
Article
Lee C, Messer L, Holland S, Gutierrez T, Quilliam R & Matallana-Surget S (2023) The primary molecular influences of marine plastisphere formation and function: Novel insights into organism -organism and -co-pollutant interactions.. Critical Reviews in Environmental Science and Technology, pp. 1-24. https://doi.org/10.1080/10643389.2023.2224182
Article
Priorities to inform research on marine plastic pollution in Southeast Asia
Omeyer LCM, Duncan EM, Aiemsomboon K, Beaumont N, Bureekul S, Cao B, Carrasco LR, Chavanich S, Clark JR, Cordova MR, Couceiro F, Lee C, Matallana-Surget S, Messer LF & Quilliam R (2022) Priorities to inform research on marine plastic pollution in Southeast Asia. Science of The Total Environment, 841, Art. No.: 156704. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.scitotenv.2022.156704
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O’Brien J, McParland EL, Bramucci AR, Siboni N, Ostrowski M, Kahlke T, Levine NM, Brown MV, van de Kamp J, Bodrossy L, Messer LF, Petrou K & Seymour JR (2022) Biogeographical and seasonal dynamics of the marine Roseobacter community and ecological links to DMSP-producing phytoplankton. ISME Communications, 2 (1), Art. No.: 16. https://doi.org/10.1038/s43705-022-00099-3
Article
Microbial tropicalization driven by a strengthening western ocean boundary current
Messer LF, Ostrowski M, Doblin MA, Petrou K, Baird ME, Ingleton T, Bissett A, Van de Kamp J, Nelson T, Paulsen I, Bodrossy L, Fuhrman JA, Seymour JR & Brown MV (2020) Microbial tropicalization driven by a strengthening western ocean boundary current. Global Change Biology, 26 (10), pp. 5613-5629. https://doi.org/10.1111/gcb.15257
Article
Messer LF, Brown MV, Van Ruth PD, Doubell M & Seymour JR (2020) Temperate southern Australian coastal waters are characterised by surprisingly high rates of nitrogen fixation and diversity of diazotrophs. PeerJ, 9, Art. No.: e10809. https://doi.org/10.7717/peerj.10809
Article
A genomic view of the reef-building coral Porites lutea and its microbial symbionts
Robbins SJ, Singleton CM, Chan CX, Messer LF, Geers AU, Ying H, Baker A, Bell SC, Morrow KM, Ragan MA, Miller DJ, Forêt S, Voolstra CR, Tyson GW & Bourne DG (2019) A genomic view of the reef-building coral Porites lutea and its microbial symbionts. Nature Microbiology, 4 (12), pp. 2090-2100. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41564-019-0532-4
Article
A horizon scan of priorities for coastal marine microbiome research
Trevathan-Tackett SM, Sherman CDH, Huggett MJ, Campbell AH, Laverock B, Hurtado-McCormick V, Seymour JR, Firl A, Messer LF, Ainsworth TD, Negandhi KL, Daffonchio D, Egan S, Engelen AH & Fusi M (2019) A horizon scan of priorities for coastal marine microbiome research. Nature Ecology & Evolution, 3 (11), pp. 1509-1520. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41559-019-0999-7
Article
Rinke C, Rubino F, Messer LF, Youssef N, Parks DH, Chuvochina M, Brown M, Jeffries T, Tyson GW, Seymour JR & Hugenholtz P (2019) A phylogenomic and ecological analysis of the globally abundant Marine Group II archaea (Ca. Poseidoniales ord. nov.). The ISME Journal, 13 (3), pp. 663-675. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41396-018-0282-y
Article
Moore LR, Huang T, Ostrowski M, Mazard S, Kumar SS, Gamage HKAH, Brown MV, Messer LF, Seymour JR & Paulsen IT (2019) Unicellular Cyanobacteria Are Important Components of Phytoplankton Communities in Australia’s Northern Oceanic Ecoregions. Frontiers in Microbiology, 9. https://doi.org/10.3389/fmicb.2018.03356
Article
Brown MV, van de Kamp J, Ostrowski M, Seymour JR, Ingleton T, Messer LF, Jeffries T, Siboni N, Laverock B, Bibiloni-Isaksson J, Nelson TM, Coman F, Davies CH, Frampton D, Rayner M, Goossen K & Robert S (2018) Systematic, continental scale temporal monitoring of marine pelagic microbiota by the Australian Marine Microbial Biodiversity Initiative. Scientific Data, 5 (1), Art. No.: 180130. https://doi.org/10.1038/sdata.2018.130
Article
Diversity and Activity of Diazotrophs in Great Barrier Reef Surface Waters
Messer LF, Brown MV, Furnas MJ, Carney RL, McKinnon AD & Seymour JR (2017) Diversity and Activity of Diazotrophs in Great Barrier Reef Surface Waters. Frontiers in Microbiology, 8, Art. No.: 967. https://doi.org/10.3389/fmicb.2017.00967
Article
Messer LF, Mahaffey C, Robinson CM, Jeffries TC, Baker KG, Bibiloni Isaksson J, Ostrowski M, Doblin MA, Brown MV & Seymour JR (2016) High levels of heterogeneity in diazotroph diversity and activity within a putative hotspot for marine nitrogen fixation. The ISME Journal, 10 (6), pp. 1499-1513. https://doi.org/10.1038/ismej.2015.205
Article
Doblin MA, Petrou K, Sinutok S, Seymour JR, Messer LF, Brown MV, Norman L, Everett JD, McInnes AS, Ralph PJ, Thompson PA & Hassler CS (2016) Nutrient uplift in a cyclonic eddy increases diversity, primary productivity and iron demand of microbial communities relative to a western boundary current. PeerJ, 4, Art. No.: e1973. https://doi.org/10.7717/peerj.1973
Article
Tout J, Siboni N, Messer LF, Garren M, Stocker R, Webster NS, Ralph PJ & Seymour JR (2015) Increased seawater temperature increases the abundance and alters the structure of natural Vibrio populations associated with the coral Pocillopora damicornis. Frontiers in Microbiology, 6, Art. No.: 432. https://doi.org/10.3389/fmicb.2015.00432
Article
Prokaryotic and diazotrophic population dynamics within a large oligotrophic inverse estuary
Messer LF, Doubell M, Jeffries TC, Brown MV & Seymour JR (2015) Prokaryotic and diazotrophic population dynamics within a large oligotrophic inverse estuary. Aquatic Microbial Ecology, 74 (1), pp. 1-15. https://doi.org/10.3354/ame01726
