Research Starter Grant: Survey of Metal Resistant Bacteria from a Mercury Contaminated Site

研究启动补助金：汞污染地点的金属抗性细菌调查

• 批准号: 0620240
• 负责人: Jonathan Caguiat
• 金额: $ 2.23万
• 依托单位: Youngstown State University
• 依托单位国家: 美国
• 项目类别: Standard Grant
• 财政年份: 2006
• 资助国家: 美国
• 起止时间: 2006-09-01 至 2007-08-31
• 项目状态: 已结题
• 来源: https://www.nsf.gov/awardsearch/showAward?AWD_ID=0620240&HistoricalAwards=false
• 关键词: Research; Starter; Grant; Survey; Metal

East Fork Poplar Creek near Oakridge, TN is a stream that was contaminated with mercury and other heavy metals from early production of nuclear weapons systems. Bacteria have been isolated from nearby soils contaminated with either higher (96) or lower (2 ppm) amounts of mercury. The specific goals of this project are to identify these different isolates by sequencing their 16S rDNA genes (a useful and determinative marker), measure their ability to grow in the presence of toxic concentrations of various metals, and identify any metal resistance genes that they may have that are similar to those found in a highly metal resistant bacterium (Stenotrophomonas maltophilia ORO2) that has been characterized previously from that area.This project will also involve research training opportunities for undergraduate students from Youngstown State University, as well as advanced high school students from the Youngstown Early College, a nearby high school. Many metal resistant bacteria detoxify their environment by precipitating or sequestering dissolved metals. These properties can be exploited for cleaning up metal contaminated water or for mining. Other metal resistant bacteria synthesize proteins that pump out toxic metals as they enter the cell. Some of these proteins, such as the ones involved in copper resistance in bacteria, are similar to the human proteins that process copper. Studying metal resistance proteins in bacteria may provide insights into the causes of some diseases, like Menkes and Wilson's disease, which are the result of deficient copper processing proteins in humans.

田纳西州橡树岭附近的东福克杨树溪是一条被早期生产核武器系统时产生的汞和其他重金属污染的溪流。从被较高(96)或较低(2ppm)汞污染的附近土壤中分离出细菌。这个项目的具体目标是通过对它们的16S rDNA基因(一个有用的和决定性的标记)进行测序来识别这些不同的菌株，测量它们在各种金属有毒浓度存在时的生长能力，并确定它们可能具有的任何金属抗性基因，这些基因可能与先前在该地区发现的高度耐金属的细菌(嗜麦芽窄食单胞菌)中发现的基因相似。该项目还将为扬斯敦州立大学的本科生以及附近高中扬斯敦早期学院的高中生提供研究培训机会。许多耐金属细菌通过沉淀或隔离溶解的金属来为环境解毒。这些特性可用于净化受金属污染的水或采矿。其他耐金属细菌会合成蛋白质，在有毒金属进入细胞时将其排出。其中一些蛋白质，比如细菌中与铜抗性有关的蛋白质，与人类处理铜的蛋白质相似。研究细菌中的金属抗性蛋白可能会为一些疾病的病因提供洞察力，比如门克斯和威尔逊病，这些疾病是由于人类缺乏铜加工蛋白造成的。