Probing Korachaeal ecophysiology via statistical analysis of quantitative molecular and geochemical data: A RIDGE2000 postdoctoral proposal

该项目描述了对热液喷口烟囱中Korarchaeota的分布和丰度的综合研究。深海热液喷口的极端环境中存在着各种微生物群落，它们具有广泛的代谢能力。在这些社区的高多样性主要是由于高微生境变化沿着梯度的温度，矿物学和地球化学从内，热液影响的表面上的内壁的烟囱的外壁附近的环境条件。虽然在这些栖息地的微生物多样性已被描述，在烟囱壁内的微生物的数量分布和丰度的信息在很大程度上是缺乏的。为了了解这些群落的功能以及从地幔到微生物和地下到周围深海的潜在联系，需要跨越这些梯度的烟囱内微生物种群的分布，丰度和代谢能力。我们对这些微生物群落的理解中最大的差距之一在于基本上没有特征的古菌群，Korarchaeota。该提案描述了一个严格的统计框架，用于将korarchaeote的分布和丰度与热液喷口烟囱的温度和地球化学数据联系起来，这项工作将使用合作实验室在胡安·德富卡海脊奋进段硫化物烟囱中植入的新型原位孵化装置收集的数据。培养装置是衬有基质（例如黄铁矿）的钛管，并配备有温度传感器和现场流体取样装置，将其放入硫化物（烟囱）侧面钻的直径5厘米的孔中。这些器械作为正在奋进Integrated研究中心进行的研究的一部分植入。克隆库将从钻探过程中获得的烟囱岩心中开发出来。这些文库将被用于开发和测试目前的korarchaeote peptides类型的引物。回收插入物后，将通过定量PCR分析孵育的底物，以计数korarchaeote peptide类型。这些数据将使我们能够将Korarchaeota的分布和丰度与合作实验室产生的地球化学和温度剖面联系起来。拟议研究的知识价值在于提供喷口生境中Korarchaeota的多样性、分布和丰度的定量数据。这项研究还将确定热液喷口烟囱内Korarchaeota的已实现的生态位，提供新的统计建模工具，用于完善目前的假设，并将重点放在喷口群落Korarchaeota类的潜在代谢能力的未来研究。这项研究的更广泛的影响包括新任命的教员和博士后研究人员在新的研究领域的培训。Girguis博士和Cordes博士之间的这一合作将首次对热液喷口生境中的Korarchaeota进行量化，并将导致形成关于Korarchaeota类代谢能力的易处理假设。Cordes博士将与Ridge2000中的SEAS项目合作，开发一个“从教室到海洋”的实验室，将这项研究与初中和高中学生联系起来。

This project describes an integrative study of distribution and abundance of the Korarchaeota in hydrothermal vent chimneys. Diverse microbial communities representing a wide array of metabolic capacities inhabit the extreme environments of deep-sea hydrothermal vents. The high diversity in these communities is largely a result of high microhabitat variability along gradients in temperature, mineralogy, and geochemistry from the inner, hydrothermally influenced surfaces on the inner walls of the chimney to the near ambient conditions of the outer walls. Although the microbial diversity has been described in these habitats, information on the quantitative distribution and abundance of microbes within the chimney walls is largely lacking. In order to understand the function of these communities and the potential links from mantle to microbe and subsurface to surrounding deep-sea, the distribution, abundance, and metabolic capacity of microbial populations within the chimneys that span these gradients are required. One of the largest gaps in our understanding of these microbial communities lies in the largely uncharacterized archaeal group, the Korarchaeota. This proposal describes a rigorous statistical framework for relating the distribution and abundance of korarchaeote phylotypes to temperature and geochemical data from hydrothermal vent chimneys.This work will use data gathered from novel in situ incubation devices implanted in sulfide chimneys on the Endeavor segment of the Juan de Fuca ridge by collaborating laboratories. Incubation devices are titanium tubes lined with substrates (e.g. pyrite) and equipped with temperature sensors and in situ fluid sampling devices, which are placed into 5 cm diameter holes drilled in the sides of sulfides (chimneys). These devices were implanted as part of an ongoing study at the Endeavor Integrated Study Site. Clone libraries will be developed from the chimney cores obtained during drilling. These libraries will be used to develop and test primers for the korarchaeote phylotypes present. After recovery of the inserts, incubated substrates will be analyzed via quantitative PCR to enumerate korarchaeote phylotypes. These data will allow us to relate the distribution and abundance of the Korarchaeota to the geochemical and temperature profiles generated by collaborating laboratories. The intellectual merit of the proposed research lies in the provision of quantitative data on the diversity, distribution and abundance of the Korarchaeota in the vent habitat. This study will also define the realized niche of the Korarchaeota within hydrothermal vent chimneys, providing new statistical modeling tools that will be used to refine current hypotheses and focus future studies of the potential metabolic capacities of korarchaeote phylotypes in vent communities. The broader impacts of this study include the training of a newly appointed faculty member and a post-doctoral researcher in new fields of study. This collaboration between Dr. Girguis and Dr. Cordes will provide the first quantification of the Korarchaeota in the hydrothermal vent habitat and will lead to the formation of tractable hypotheses for the metabolic capacity of korarchaeote phylotypes. Dr. Cordes will work with the SEAS program within Ridge2000 to develop a Classroom to Sea laboratory to relate this research to middle and high school students.