A Microbial Inventory of the Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem Thermal Features

已向新墨西哥大学的Cristina Takacs-Vesbach博士和波特兰州立大学的Anna-Louise Reysenbach博士授予赠款，以调查与大黄石生态系统(Gye：怀俄明州、蒙大拿州和爱达荷州)的主要地热特征相关的微生物多样性和地球化学。盖伊由世界上最大、最多样的地热盆地组成，但对多样性的评估仅限于少数几个这样的温泉。将使用分子遗传技术确定100个热区的系统发育和生理多样性，这些技术识别基因的DNA序列，这些基因是微生物物种和代谢过程的分子特征。这些数据连同地球化学测量将被汇编到一个可上网的数据库中，并将用于开发DNA微阵列，这一工具将使研究人员和管理人员能够快速评估其他热源地点的多样性。研究界将通过新墨西哥大学博物馆获得这项研究分离的DNA。调查人员将与国家公园管理局的工作人员合作，为普通公众开发现场教育展示，此外，还将通过实地课程和研讨会培训学生、管理人员和国家公园管理局的解释护林员微生物生态学。由于Gye的热微生物区系代表了大量尚未开发的遗传潜力，开发一份与环境数据库相联系的清单提供了获取这种多样性的手段，并将有助于确定具有潜在技术和工业重要性的生物体。此外，尽管热力场所位于黄石国家公园内，因此受到保护，但地质(地震)、气候(低含水层补给)和拟人化(密集采样或区域采矿)扰动有可能改变这些生态系统。在对这些资源进行清点之前，一些新的生物体将仅仅因为它们的存在而受到不完全的保护；该项目将提供Gye地区微生物多样性的基线，这对监测和管理微生物资源至关重要。

A grant has been awarded to Drs. Cristina Takacs-Vesbach (University of New Mexico) and Anna-Louise Reysenbach (Portland State University) to inventory the microbial diversity and geochemistry associated with the major geothermal features of the Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem (GYE: Wyoming, Montana, and Idaho). The GYE comprises the largest and most varied geothermal basin in the world, yet diversity assessments have been limited to only a handful of these thermal springs. The phylogenetic and physiological diversity of 100 thermal sites will be determined using molecular genetic techniques that identify DNA sequences of genes that are molecular signatures for microbial species and metabolic processes. These data, along with geochemical measurements, will be compiled into an Internet accessible database and will be used to develop DNA microarrays, a tool that will enable researchers and managers to rapidly assess the diversity of other thermal sites. The research community will have access to the DNA isolated by this study through the University of New Mexico Museum. The investigators will work with National Park Service personnel to develop on-site educational displays for the general public, in addition to training students, managers, and National Park Service interpretive rangers in microbial ecology through a field course and workshop. As the thermal microbiota of the GYE represents a wealth of untapped genetic potential, developing an inventory linked to an environmental database offers a means of accessing this diversity and will aid in the identification of organisms of potential technological and industrial importance. Furthermore, although the thermal sites occur within Yellowstone National Park and are thus protected, geological (earthquakes), climatological (low aquifer recharge), and anthropomorphic (intensive sampling or regional mining) perturbations have the potential to alter these ecosystems. Until an inventory of these resources is taken, some novel organisms will have incomplete protection simply because their existence is not known; the project will provide a baseline of microbial diversity in the GYE essential to monitoring and managing microbial resources.