SGER: Hydrogenase activity and microbial metabolism of the deep biosphere

深海沉积物中生物圈研究的一个关键问题是微生物代谢活动普遍水平很低，这使得常规技术对检测微生物相对无效。基于认识到H2是厌氧微生物过程的一种普遍存在的中间产物，本研究计划将开发一种新的氢化酶（H2ase）为基础的技术来测量这种酶在海洋沉积物中的活性，并将校准应用于测量微生物代谢率在缺氧沉积物中的技术，如深海钻探过程中经常遇到的。如果成功，研究人员设计的方法将立即广泛应用于深海生物圈的IODP研究和缺氧海洋沉积物的常规岩心研究。该方案的目标直接涉及国际海洋发展方案长期科学计划的生物圈部分。 这项研究还可能扩大对维持生命所需的最低能量和深层生物圈生命的环境限制的理解。 该计划通过培训博士后研究人员和本科研究员的参与来支持教育和人力资源开发。

A critical problem for the study of the biosphere in deep marine sediments is the pervasively low level of microbial metabolic activity that renders conventional techniques relatively ineffective for detecting microbes. Based on the recognition that H2 is a ubiquitous intermediate product of anaerobic microbial processes, this research program will develop a new hydrogenase(H2ase)-based technique to measure the activity of this enzyme in marine sediments and will calibrate the technique for application to measuring microbial metabolic rates in anoxic sediments like those often encountered during deep ocean drilling. If successful, the methods devised by the researchers will find immediate and wide-ranging application in IODP studies of the deep biosphere and in studies of conventional cores from anoxic marine sediments. The goals of the program directly address the biosphere component of the IODP long-range science plan. The research also has the potential for expanding understanding of the minimum energy required to sustain life and the environmental limits of life in the deep biosphere. The program supports education and human resource development through training of a postdoctoral researcher and involvement of undergraduate research fellows.