This project investigates the hypothesis that certain algal glycans aggregate bacterial proteins and other molecules. These aggregates are dense, sink and become marine sediment that stores carbon for millennia and longer. This adhesion and stabilization of organic matter via an unknown mechanism may contribute to the formation of sinking particles that export carbon into the deep ocean. Within the first four years B5 GLUE will conduct biochemical reactions between glycans and proteins to find evidence for potential cross-linking reactions.