Stream Ecosystem "Harshness" and Microbial Endemism in the McMurdo Dry Valleys

该奖项是根据2009年美国复苏和再投资法案（公法111-5）资助的。该研究项目将研究麦克默多干谷溪流中物理驱动因素、生物地球化学过程和微生物群落组成之间的关系。研究人员将使用分子系统发育技术、基因组网络建模和基于培养的方法，并将进一步开发南极淡水硅藻数据库。研究的核心问题是：(1)在严酷的水流条件下，在微生物垫中发现的硅藻群落与在不那么严酷的水流中发现的硅藻群落在系统发育上有何不同？(2)不同垫子群落的整体微生物群落结构和基因组潜力是如何变化的？(3)地方性硅藻物种是否比“世界性”（地理上广泛分布的）硅藻更能忍受低湿度条件？探索微生物群落结构与功能之间关系的新技术的发展将广泛适用于不同的环境。该奖项将促进一名初级科学家的职业生涯，资助两名研究生，并进一步发展针对普通公众和高危高中生的既定外展活动。

This award is funded under the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (Public Law 111-5).The research project will examine the relationship between physical drivers, biogeochemical processes, and microbial community composition in streams in the McMurdo Dry Valleys. The investigators will use molecular phylogenetic techniques, genomic network modeling, and culture-based approaches, and will further develop the Antarctic Freshwater Diatoms database. The central research questions are (1) How do the diatom communities found in microbial mats experiencing harsher flow conditions differ phylogenetically from those found in less harsh streams? (2) How does the structure and genomic potential of the overall microbial community vary among mat communities? (3) Are endemic diatom species more tolerant of conditions occurring during low moisture availability than 'cosmopolitan' (geographically widespread) diatoms? The development of new techniques to explore the relationships between microbial community structure and function will be broadly applicable to diverse environments. The award will promote the career of a junior scientist, fund two graduate students and further develop well-established outreach activities targeted to the general public and at-risk high school students.