FIBR: Do Species Matter in Microbial Communities?

物种被认为是动植物群落的基本单位。这个项目的主要生物学问题是物种是否也是微生物群落的基本单位。这个问题争论得很激烈。虽然微生物无性繁殖，但它们有几种交换遗传物质的机制。如果微生物之间的这种“水平基因转移”是猖獗和混杂的，那么可能有必要将微生物物种概念与植物和动物物种完全不同。这个问题将通过评估基于进化论的假设来解决，该理论认为，基因上不同的个体被划分为生态上不同的种群，这些种群表现出物种的特性——它们表达独特的基因集，占据独特的生态位，并且在进化过程中不可逆转地分离。黄石国家公园的温泉微生物垫群落及其占优势的蓝藻种群是研究的目标。基因组测序方法将用于研究席蓝藻的遗传变异。种群遗传学和进化模拟方法将用于评估这些变异是否可以被归类为具有物种特性的假定生态专门种群。微阵列方法将用于检查蓝藻基因组中哪些基因在mat中高度表达。如果理论是正确的，高表达基因的等位基因变异的分布应该与假定的生态种群的分布相关。遗传上可分离的生态微生物种群的发现将广泛地影响微生物进化、系统学、生态学和生理学的思考，并将统一生物体在大小和复杂性方面的进化原则。该小组由来自不同地理和人口结构机构的年轻和成熟的男性和女性调查人员组成。该研究将进化生物学的原理与微生物生态学、微生物生理学和基因组学领域的技术相结合，提供了一个交叉培训的机会，将有助于填补这些领域之间的鸿沟。参与者将通过一系列研讨会相互分享他们的学科观点，并与科学界分享他们的观点，这些研讨会将导致基于网络的学习模块。由于正在调查的微生物群落在黄石公园，因此将有许多机会与公园训练有素的非正式教育工作者进行互动。准备新的教育资源（例如，培训季节性护林员和公园管理人员的资源手册、标牌、步道指南、网站和新游客教育中心的展品）将帮助数百万每年的游客，无论老少，改变他们对微生物的看法。一个中央项目网站（http://landresources.montana.edu/FIBR）将(i)描述该项目，（ii）链接到其他网站，这些网站将提供基因组和微阵列数据、研究工具和教育产品，以及（iii）在项目目标的背景下解释所有结果。

Species are considered fundamental units in plant and animal communities. The major biological question in this project is whether species are also fundamental units of communities of microorganisms. This question is hotly debated. Although microorganisms reproduce asexually they have several mechanisms for exchanging genetic material. If this "horizontal gene transfer" among microorganisms is rampant and promiscuous, it might be necessary to conceptualize microbial species quite differently from species of plants and animals. The question will be addressed by evaluating the hypothesis, based on evolutionary theory, that genetically distinct individuals are grouped into ecologically distinct populations that exhibit properties of species -- they express unique sets of genes, occupy unique niches and are irreversibly separate in their evolution. A well-studied hot spring microbial mat community in Yellowstone National Park and its predominating cyanobacterial populations are the targets of investigation. Genomic sequencing methods will be used to investigate genetic variation among mat cyanobacteria. Population genetics and evolutionary simulation methods will be used to evaluate whether these variants can be grouped into putative ecologically specialized populations with the properties of species. Microarray methods will be used to examine which genes in cyanobacterial genomes are highly expressed in the mat. The distribution of allelic variants of highly expressed genes should correlate with the distribution of putative ecological populations if the theory is correct. The discovery of genetically separable ecological microbial populations will broadly impact thinking in microbial evolution, systematics, ecology and physiology and will unify evolutionary principles across the breadth of size and complexity among organisms. The team is a balance of young and established, male and female investigators from geographically and demographically diverse institutions. The research integrates principles from evolutionary biology with techniques derived from the fields of microbial ecology, microbial physiology and genomics, providing a cross-training opportunity that will help fill the chasms separating these fields. Participants will share their disciplinary perspectives with each other and the scientific community through a workshop series that will lead to web-based learning modules. Since the microbial community under investigation is in Yellowstone Park, there will be numerous opportunities for interaction with the park's trained informal educators. Preparation of new educational resources (e.g., resource manual for educating seasonal rangers and park managers, signage, trail guides, websites and exhibits for a new Visitor Education Center) will help millions of annual visitors, young and old, change the way they think about microorganisms. A central project website (http://landresources.montana.edu/FIBR) will (i) describe the project, (ii) link to other websites that will present genomic and microarray data, research tools and educational products, and (iii) interpret all results in the context of project objectives.