As an Einstein Independent Researcher, Ruben Gerrits will join Professor Dietrich Volmer in the field of Bioanalytical Chemistry at Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin to investigate whether melanin has a role in climate change mitigation as a long-term carbon sink in soils. This dark polymer, which is produced not only in the skin of humans and animals but also by many fungi and bacteria, fulfils several environmentally relevant functions and is considered particularly resistant to decomposition. Ruben Gerrits will examine in what quantities melanin occurs in natural soils using a biomarker-based approach.
The project is especially innovative because it focuses on a specific persistent soil organic carbon compound, whereas many existing climate change mitigation approaches primarily target inorganic forms of sequestration such as carbonates or soil organic carbon as a whole. In addition, the research aims to clarify which environmental factors promote the formation and accumulation of melanin and whether humic substances, which are important organic carbon stores in soil, may in fact originate from melanin.