En-Gen: A Functional Genomics Approach to Organic Sulfur Cycling in the Ocean

En-Gen：海洋中有机硫循环的功能基因组学方法

• 批准号: 0724017
• 负责人: Mary Ann Moran
• 金额: $ 86.48万
• 依托单位: University of Georgia Research Foundation Inc
• 依托单位国家: 美国
• 项目类别: Standard Grant
• 财政年份: 2007
• 资助国家: 美国
• 起止时间: 2007-10-01 至 2012-09-30
• 项目状态: 已结题
• 来源: https://www.nsf.gov/awardsearch/showAward?AWD_ID=0724017&HistoricalAwards=false
• 关键词: En; Gen; Functional; Genomics; Approach

The recent discovery of key genes that mediate competing pathways at a critical juncture in the marine sulfur cycle has allowed biogeochemists to make rapid advances in understanding where and when sulfur transformations occur in the ocean, and most importantly, what factors regulate them. This project describes an environmental functional genomics project that will rapidly increase our knowledge of the role that bacterioplankton play in dimethylsulfoniopropionate (DMSP) cycling in ocean surface waters, focusing particularly on biological controls of volatile sulfur exchange across the ocean/atmosphere boundary. The investigators have asked three critical hypotheses to explain the regulation of bacterial DMSP degradation: that involve investigations on the energy constraints of DMSP cycling, the role that DMSP concentration in the oceans plays, and the sulfur requirements for bacterial growth. These research areas serve as the focus for hypothesis-driven laboratory and field studies using functional genomics approaches that will track patterns in gene expression in relation to sulfur metabolism. The hypotheses will be tested with: 1) chemostat systems with a model marine bacterium Silicibacter pomeroyi; 2) microcosm experiments with Gulf of Mexico seawater; and 3) field studies at various sites in the Gulf of Mexico. Marine bacterioplankton play a key role in regulating the flux of DMSP-derived sulfur to the atmosphere, a process of great importance for global climate regulation and marine productivity. The investigators will also be involved in graduate and undergraduate student education, and two post-doctoral associates will be trained to address multidisciplinary challenges in environmental microbiology. High school biology students in Athens, GA will participate in marine microbial biology research that includes bacterial diversity and discovery studies in coastal Georgia, follow-up training in molecular tools and bioinformatics in their own classroom, and summer internships at the University of Georgia and Dauphin Island Sea Laboratory.

最近发现的关键基因介导的竞争途径在海洋硫循环的关键时刻，使生物化学家在了解硫转化发生在海洋中的位置和时间，最重要的是，什么因素调节它们方面取得了快速进展。 该项目描述了一个环境功能基因组学项目，将迅速增加我们的知识的作用，浮游细菌发挥在海洋表面沃茨中的二甲基磺基丙酸盐（DMSP）循环，特别侧重于生物控制挥发性硫交换在海洋/大气边界。 研究人员提出了三个关键假设来解释细菌DMSP降解的调节：涉及对DMSP循环的能量约束、海洋中DMSP浓度所起的作用以及细菌生长的硫需求的研究。 这些研究领域作为假设驱动的实验室和现场研究的重点，使用功能基因组学方法，将跟踪与硫代谢相关的基因表达模式。这些假设将通过以下方式进行测试：1）具有模式海洋细菌Silicibacter pomeroyi的恒化器系统; 2）墨西哥湾海水的微观实验;以及3）在墨西哥湾各个地点的实地研究。 海洋浮游细菌在调节由DMSP产生的硫向大气的通量方面发挥着关键作用，这一过程对全球气候调节和海洋生产力具有重要意义。 研究人员还将参与研究生和本科生教育，两名博士后将接受培训，以应对环境微生物学的多学科挑战。 高中生物学学生在雅典，GA将参加海洋微生物生物学研究，包括细菌多样性和沿海发现研究格鲁吉亚，在分子工具和生物信息学在自己的教室后续培训，并在夏季实习格鲁吉亚和海豚岛海洋实验室的大学。