Microbial Diversity of Yellowstone Hydrocarbon Seeps

这项少数民族研究计划拨款的目标是使用非种植方法来描述黄石国家公园与天然碳氢化合物渗漏有关的微生物种群。除了著名的温泉，黄石公园还有一些有记载的含有碳氢化合物渗漏的地区。这些渗漏通常与热喷口有关，最具特征的是发生在陆地地区。拟议的研究将集中在方解石泉地区采集的土壤样本上，该地区存在几处碳氢化合物渗漏。此规划奖助金的具体目标是：1。评价方解石泉土壤中含有天然碳氢化合物的土壤微生物多样性。2 .研究功能基因多样性及其与编码碳氢化合物降解酶（PAH双加氧酶）的特征基因的进化相关性。描述方解石泉土壤中碳氢化合物的丰度和类型。16S rRNA基因和多环芳烃双加氧酶基因片段的克隆文库将被构建和测序，以确定存在于碳氢化合物影响的土壤中的微生物和分解代谢途径。还将对土壤样品进行彻底的化学分析（GC-MS），以确定和量化存在的主要碳氢化合物。本研究将首次对黄石国家公园陆源烃渗漏相关土壤微生物种群的系统发育多样性进行研究。这些信息之所以引起人们的兴趣，主要是因为这些微生物群长期暴露于碳氢化合物中。因此，新的微生物和/或代谢途径可能在这种环境中进化。作为一项针对科学界代表性不足的少数族裔的计划拨款，该奖项将有助于增加少数族裔科学家参与nsf资助的研究。此外，该计划拨款将用于为NSF CAREER提案提供足够的初步数据，该提案将研究和教学工作结合起来，重点研究黄石国家公园碳氢化合物渗漏的微生物生态学。

Project SummaryThe goal of this Minority Research Planning Grant is to use non-cultivation based methods tocharacterize the microbial populations associated with natural hydrocarbon seeps in YellowstoneNational Park. In addition to its well-known hot springs, Yellowstone has a few documentedareas that contain hydrocarbon seeps. These seeps are typically associated with thermal vents andthe best characterized ones occur in terrestrial areas. The proposed research will focus on soilsamples to be taken from the Calcite Springs area, where several hydrocarbon seeps exist. Thespecific objectives of this planning grant are:1. Evaluate soil microbial diversity in Calcite Springs soil containing naturally occurringhydrocarbons.2. Examine functional gene diversity and evolutionary relatedness to characterized genesencoding hydrocarbon-degrading enzymes (PAH dioxygenases).3. Characterize the abundance and types of hydrocarbons present in Calcite Springs soiladjacent to hydrocarbon seeps.Clone libraries of 16S rRNA genes and PAH dioxygenase gene fragments will be constructedand sequenced to identify microorganisms and catabolic pathways present in hydrocarbon-impacted soil. A thorough chemical analysis of soil samples (GC-MS) will also be performed toidentify and quantify the major hydrocarbons present. This study will provide the firstinvestigation into the phylogenetic diversity of soil microbial populations associated withterrestrial hydrocarbon seeps in Yellowstone National Park. This information is of interestprimarily due the extended exposure to hydrocarbons that these microbial populations havereceived. As such, novel microorganisms and/or metabolic pathways may have evolved in thissetting. As a planning grant targeting underrepresented minorities in science, this award will helpto increase the participation of a minority scientist in NSF-funded research. Furthermore, thisplanning grant will be used to generate sufficient preliminary data for an NSF CAREER proposalto combine research and teaching efforts focused on the microbial ecology of hydrocarbon seepsin Yellowstone National Park.