RUI-Microbial Observatories: A Longitudinal Molecular Diversity and Chemical Survey of Red Layer Microbial Communities in Yellowstone National Park

西俄勒冈大学的S. Boomer博士获得了一笔赠款，用于在黄石国家公园的四个长期温泉研究地点识别、表征和监测细菌多样性。该奖项资助了红层微生物观测项目的更新，该项目的总体目标是发现新的温泉细菌和群落，并了解它们的分布模式和多样化。这些研究将侧重于红/绿非硫微生物，这是一种鲜为人知的古老细菌谱系，并采用DNA序列分析和分子群体评估技术。现场评估还将包括广泛的地球化学监测，包括与热生物学研究所（蒙大拿州立大学）的合作者的合作努力。这笔拨款还将改善和支持在线公共数据库的维护，该数据库集成了环境和分子数据，使我们能够在环境变化和观察到的这些微生物群落的遗传图谱之间建立相关性。西俄勒冈大学是一所公立大学，通过研究性课程和实验课程，以及密集的夏季培训和研讨会，让本科生参与研究项目。该项目的一个新组成部分将包括广泛致力于以研究为基础的大学前教育推广工作，并为培训分子生物学教师举办讲习班。在第一个奖励期，该研究项目涉及83名本科生和65名大学预科学生。在接下来的五年里，我们预计这个更新的项目将影响两倍的本科生和三倍的大学预科学生，以及每年35-50名教学候选人。

A grant has been awarded to Dr. S. Boomer of Western Oregon University to identify, characterize, and monitor bacterial diversity at four long-term hot spring study sites in Yellowstone National Park. This award funds a renewal of what is known as the Red Layer Microbial Observatory project, the overall goal of which is to discover novel hot spring bacteria and consortia, and to understand their patterns of distribution and diversification. These studies will focus on Red/Green Nonsulfur microorganisms, a poorly understood ancient lineage of bacteria, and employ DNA sequence analysis and molecular population assessment techniques. Site assessment will also include extensive geochemical monitoring, including a cooperative effort with collaborators at the Thermal Biology Institute (Montana State University). This grant will also improve and support the maintenance of an on-line public database that integrates environmental and molecular data over time, allowing us to make correlations between environmental variation and observed genetic profiles of these microbial communities. Western Oregon University is a public institution that involves undergraduate students in research projects, both through research-based class and lab curricula as well as through intensive summer training experiences and workshops. A new component of this project will include an extensive commitment to research-based pre-college education outreach and the development of workshops for training teachers in molecular biology. During the first award period, this research project involved 83 undergraduates and 65 pre-college participants. Over the next five years, we anticipate this renewed project will impact twice as many undergraduates and three times the numbers of pre-college students, in addition to 35-50 teaching candidates per year.