ROW: Anaerobes and Anaerobic Processes in Marine Microbial Assemblages: Zooplankton Digestive Tracts as a Model System

9415688普罗克特 海洋环境中许多重要的微生物过程都是厌氧的。 固氮、硫酸盐还原、甲烷生成和许多微量元素的可利用性仅仅是由厌氧细菌或仅在厌氧条件下有活性的酶介导的过程中的几个。有矛盾的证据表明，厌氧过程发生在具有厌氧微生物活动的化学特征的水柱中，例如海洋沃茨中存在的甲烷峰值。 这些厌氧微生物聚集在哪里？ 厌氧微生物或厌氧过程如何在充氧良好的水柱中发生。 与海洋浮游动物消化系统相关的微生物群落可能是水体厌氧过程的重要微环境。 从微生物学的角度来看，肠道代表了水柱的高氧但低营养环境中的高营养、低氧环境。 固氮和产甲烷是两个需要大量碳源和能量的代谢过程，这些碳源和能量可以在海洋浮游动物的消化道中提供。这个ROW规划奖的主要目标是选择一种模式生物，用于海洋浮游动物肠道微生物群落中厌氧菌和厌氧过程的生理和生态研究。 近期目标之一是调查海洋浮游动物的肠道内容物，以估计各种浮游动物肠道内发现的细菌的丰度和变异性，并选择合适的候选物种进行进一步研究。 在这项研究中成功的关键肠道厌氧菌和厌氧过程将是使用严格的厌氧技术，一个程序，这还没有常规用于海洋厌氧菌的其他研究。 ***

9415688 Proctor Many important microbial processes in the marine environment are anaerobic. Nitrogen fixation, sulfate reduction, methanogenesis and the availability of many trace elements are but a few of the processes which are mediated by either anaerobic bacteria or enzymes which are active only under anaerobic conditions. There is paradoxical evidence that anaerobic processes occur in the water column with chemical signatures of anaerobic microbial activity such as methane peaks present in marine waters. Where are these anaerobic microbial assemblages? How can anaerobes or anaerobic processes occur in a well-oxygenated water column. Microbial assemblages associated with the digestive systems of marine zooplankton may be important microenvironments for anaerobic processes in the water column. From a microbiological point of view, the gut represents a high nutrient, low oxygen environment within the high oxygen but low nutrient environment of the water column. Nitrogen fixation and methanogenesis are two of the metabolically- demanding processes which require large sources of carbon and energy that could be supplied in the digestive tracts of marine zooplankton. The primary goal of this ROW planning award is to select a model organism for a physiological and ecological study of anaerobes and anaerobic processes in the gut microflora of marine zooplankton. One of the immediate objectives is to survey the gut contents of marine zooplankton in order to estimate the abundance and variability of bacteria found within the gut of a variety of zooplankton and select a suitable candidate species for further study. The key to success in this study of gut anaerobes and anaerobic processes will be the use of strict anaerobic technique, a procedure which has not been routinely used in other studies of marine anaerobes. ***