Microorganisms on Burrow Walls of Infauna: Predictable or Fortuitous Occurrence?

大型底栖生物的洞穴通常是 强烈的微生物活动，经常拥有大量的种群 微生物。由于不同的底栖动物种类 在其生物学上有很大的差异（例如，饲养公会，运动性）和 特别是在洞穴建造方面， 通风，这是合理的预期， 也会有所不同该项目将测试一个 burrows增加的微生物丰度和活性 代表环境微生物的增强或是否存在 是特定的微生物种群， 洞穴，独立于周围的微生物群落。一 对这些复杂的微生物群落进行全面评估 将需要非选择性的方法;微生物的磷脂， 酯连接脂肪酸（PLFA）， 将检查真细菌和真核生物中的膜脂质。 这些PLFA已经从野外样品中提取出来， 洞穴和周围沉积物的，是强大的， 用于确定微生物生物量、组成甚至 生理条件这些生化标记将被用于 来比较五种底栖动物的洞穴微生物， 代表了三个门，在六个地点取样。比较 将在种间和种内水平， 多变量分析这个项目将测试一个有趣的 地球化学假说和冲击非常有吸引力的 “微生物园艺”的概念。

The burrows of macro-infaunal organisms are generally sites of intense microbial activity and often harbor abundant populations of microorganisms. Since the various infaunal species differ greatly in their biology (e.g., feeding guild, motility) and specifically, in aspects of their burrow construction and ventilation, it is reasonable to anticipate that the microbiology of their burrows will also vary. This project will test whether a burrows' increased microbial abundance and activity simply represents enhancement of ambient microorganisms or whether there are specific microbial populations that predictably occur in burrows, independent of the ambient microbial community. A comprehensive assessment of these complex microbial communities will require non-selective methods; the microbes' phospholipid, ester-linked fatty acids (PLFA), the chief constituent of membrane lipids in eubacteria and eukaryotes will be examined. These PLFA, which have already been extracted from field samples of burrows and ambient sediments, are powerful, discriminating tools for determining microbial biomass, composition, and even physiological condition. These biochemical markers will be used to compare the burrow microbes of five infaunal species, representing three phyla, sampled across six sites. Comparisons will be made at interspecific and intraspecific levels using multivariate analysis. This project will test an intriguing biogeochemical hypothesis and impinge on the very attractive concept of "microbial gardening".