U.S.-Australia Cooperative Research on Thermal Adaptation and Trophodynamics of Earth's Hottest Animal, the Pompei Worm 'Alvinella pompejana'

本项目涉及深海热液喷口生物热耐受机制的国际合作研究。圣地亚哥州立大学的Charles Phleger教授和研究生Amy Groce将前往澳大利亚，与位于塔斯马尼亚州霍巴特的CSIRO海洋研究部的Peter Nichols博士和John Gordon一起工作。在塔斯马尼亚大学学习的美国研究生马修·纳尔逊也将参与该项目。他们将努力确定使动物能够在热液喷口附近的高温下生存的细胞膜特征。这将包括对2001年使用深海潜水器Alvin收集的选定物种的标志性脂质进行分析。尼科尔斯博士的CSIRO实验室在脂质分析方面装备特别精良。他们研究的生物包括庞贝蠕虫（Alvinella pompejana），这种动物被认为能够承受地球上任何动物的最高温度。他们对脂质的特别兴趣是基于这样一个事实，即许多喷口生物消耗大量的古细菌，这种微生物构成了喷口附近生物量的很大一部分。古细菌含有由醚连接脂质组成的耐热细胞膜。这赋予了这些生物在极端环境中生存的非凡能力。这项研究更广泛的意义在于理解适应的生化和生理机制，这使得这种蠕虫和其他蠕虫在接近水沸点的环境温度下不仅能生存，而且能茁壮成长。如果事实证明它们的膜是由食用古菌获得的醚脂质组成的，这将为极端环境下食物链的构建带来新的复杂性和意义。无论如何，所获得的知识可能在一些需要在高温高压下发酵的工业环境中有应用。第二个重要的方面是，它将为美国研究生提供在澳大利亚备受推崇和设备齐全的海洋实验室获得国际经验的机会。

0239877PhlegerThis project involves international collaborative research on the mechanisms of thermal tolerance of deep-sea hydrothermal vent organisms. Professor Charles Phleger and graduate student Amy Groce of San Diego State University will travel to Australia to work with Dr. Peter Nichols and John Gordon of the CSIRO Division of Marine Research in Hobart, Tasmania. The project will also involve Matthew Nelson, a US graduate student studying at the University of Tasmania. They will work to determine the cell membrane characteristics that allow animals to survive in the high temperatures found near hydrothermal vents. This will involve profiling the signature lipids of selected species collected in 2001 using the deep-sea submersible Alvin. The CSIRO laboratory of Dr. Nichols is particularly well equipped for lipid analysis. Their study organisms include the pompei worm "Alvinella pompejana", which is the animal believed to be able to withstand the highest temperatures of any animal on earth. Their particular interest in lipids is based on the fact that a number of vent organisms consume large amounts of Archaea, a microorganism that makes up a significant portion of the biomass near vents. Archaea contain heat-tolerant cell membranes comprised of ether-linked lipids. This confers on these organisms an extraordinary capability to live in extreme environments.The broader significance of this research lies in understanding the biochemical and physiological mechanisms of adaptation which allow this worm and others to be studied to not just survive but grow luxuriantly at environmental temperatures approaching the boiling point of water. If it turns out that their membranes are composed of ether lipids obtained by eating Archaea, this brings new complexity and implications to how the food chain in extreme environments is constructed. In any case, the knowledge gained may have applications in some industrial settings where fermentation is required at high temperatures and pressures. A second area of significance is that it will provide the opportunity for a US graduate student to gain international experience in a highly regarded and well equipped marine laboratory in Australia.