Genomics of Terrestrial Microbial Communities Associated with the Production and Consumption of Greenhouse Gases

土壤中微生物的进化多样性和代谢多样性是惊人的：一克土壤含有超过10亿个微生物，可能代表数百万种物种。虽然对这些复杂的微生物群落的了解相对较少，但人们认识到，将原生土地转化为农业用途会影响这些群落的组成及其在温室气体生产和消费方面的功能。该研究项目将通过宏基因组方法对土壤中的大部分遗传多样性进行编目，并解决土壤中微生物群落的遗传结构与两种温室气体（一氧化二氮和甲烷）的产生和消耗之间关系的具体问题。这项研究将在凯洛格生物站长期生态研究站点（http://lter.kbs.msu.edu）进行，该站点的建立部分是为了促进对农业生态系统生态影响的理解。随着农业管理下的土地面积的扩大，加强对农业对土壤微生物影响的认识将为今后减轻与土地管理战略有关的负面后果的战略提供基础。除了推进对地球健康至关重要的元素循环的遗传基础的理解之外，这个项目还提供了一个诱人的希望，即戏剧性地扩大对生命遗传景观的看法。博士后研究人员、研究生和本科生将有机会在实验设计和结果解释方面进行创造性和批判性思考，特别是当他们适用于对宏基因组序列数据分析产生的假设进行现场测试时。

The evolutionary diversity and metabolic versatility of microbes in soil is stunning: a gram of soil contains more than a billion microbes that may represent millions of species. Although relatively little is known about these complex microbial communities, it is recognized that conversion of native lands to agricultural uses impacts the composition of the communities and their functioning in terms of the production and consumption of greenhouse gases. This research project will catalog a large fraction of the genetic diversity in soil through metagenomic approaches and address specific questions about the relationships between the genetic structure of microbial communities in soil and the production and consumption of two greenhouse gases - nitrous oxide and methane. The research will be conducted at the Kellogg Biological Station Long Term Ecological Research site (http://lter.kbs.msu.edu) that was established in part to advance understanding of the ecological impacts of agroecosystems.As the acreage of land brought under agricultural management expands, enhanced knowledge of the effects of agriculture on the microbiology of soils will provide a fundamental underpinning for future strategies to mitigate the negative consequences associated with land management strategies. In addition to advancing understanding of the genetic basis for elemental cycles that are key to the health of the planet, this project offers the tantalizing promise of dramatically expanding the view of the genetic landscape of life. Opportunities will be available for post doctoral researchers, graduate and under-graduate students to think creatively and critically in the design of experiments and interpretation of results, especially as they apply to developing field tests of hypotheses resulting from analyses of metagenomic sequence data.