RUI: Physiological Ecology of Diatom Motility and Adhesion

RUI：硅藻运动和粘附的生理生态学

• 批准号: 9982897
• 负责人: Stanley Cohn
• 金额: $ 25万
• 依托单位: DePaul University
• 依托单位国家: 美国
• 项目类别: Continuing Grant
• 财政年份: 2000
• 资助国家: 美国
• 起止时间: 2000-02-01 至 2004-01-31
• 项目状态: 已结题
• 来源: https://www.nsf.gov/awardsearch/showAward?AWD_ID=9982897&HistoricalAwards=false
• 关键词: RUI; Physiological; Ecology; Diatom; Motility

Cohn9982897Diatoms, an abundant and widespread group of golden algae, are one of the most important members of virtually all aquatic communities, often providing much of the primary production of biomass for other organisms. With diatoms situated at the base of the food chains, it becomes critical to understand how diatoms succeed in their environments, and how different environmental conditions affect their viability. This project is designed to better understand the way in which diatoms are able to move through their environment, and how this movement helps them compete (both with other algae and between different diatom species) for limited local resources such as light and nutrients. Because these cells are confined within a hardened glass-like cell wall, their movement is thought to be generated by the secretion of mucilage through specialized slits in their cell wall, and the subsequent force exerted on the adhering mucilage strands. The PI plans to examine the process of diatom movement by: 1) analyzing the number and distribution of direct contact sites made by diatoms with the underlying surface as a function of changes in the environmental conditions (light, temperature, etc.); 2) analyzing the ability of diatoms to adhere to surfaces under different environmental conditions in the presence of flowing water; and 3) analyzing the effect of environmental conditions on the ability of diatoms to aggregate in areas of light. The experiments will be carried out at DePaul University, a teaching-oriented urban university, with a research team that includes several undergraduates. The techniques used in this study, such as video-microscopy and interference reflection microscopy, using various filters and environmental cell chambers to regulate the light, temperature, water, and surface conditions, are relatively easy for students to learn quickly. This project therefore provides an opportunity to not only increase our knowledge of how the behavior of diatoms is affected by the environmental conditions, but also offer an exciting training opportunity for a number of undergraduate students to get involved directly in cellular and environmental research.

硅藻是一种数量众多、分布广泛的金藻，是几乎所有水生生物群落中最重要的成员之一，通常为其他生物提供大量的初级生物量。由于硅藻位于食物链的底部，了解硅藻如何在其环境中成功，以及不同的环境条件如何影响其生存能力变得至关重要。该项目旨在更好地了解硅藻在其环境中移动的方式，以及这种移动如何帮助它们（与其他藻类以及不同硅藻物种之间）竞争有限的当地资源，如光和营养物质。由于这些细胞被限制在硬化的玻璃样细胞壁内，因此它们的运动被认为是由细胞壁上专门的裂缝分泌粘液以及随后施加在粘附的粘液链上的力产生的。PI计划通过以下方式来研究硅藻的运动过程：1)分析硅藻与下垫面直接接触部位的数量和分布随环境条件（光、温度等）变化的变化；2)分析有流水存在的不同环境条件下硅藻对表面的粘附能力；3)分析了环境条件对硅藻在光照区聚集能力的影响。实验将在德保罗大学进行，这是一所以教学为导向的城市大学，研究团队包括几名本科生。本研究中使用的技术，如视频显微镜和干涉反射显微镜，使用各种滤光片和环境细胞室来调节光、温度、水和表面条件，对于学生来说相对容易快速学习。因此，这个项目提供了一个机会，不仅增加了我们对硅藻行为如何受环境条件影响的了解，而且为一些本科生直接参与细胞和环境研究提供了一个令人兴奋的培训机会。