MSB: Single Cell Ecology - Developing a new paradigm for the Microbial Diversity course of the Marine Biological Laboratory, Woods Hole, MA

该奖项由2009年美国复苏和再投资法案(公法111-5)资助。微生物多样性暑期课程自1971年以来一直在马萨诸塞州伍兹霍尔的海洋生物实验室教授，被国际公认为生物学领域最伟大的高级研究课程之一。该项目将开发和实施新的技术，并开发新的课程课程，促进应用单细胞生态学技术作为探索微生物多样性的范例，并将培训下一代科学家应用这一单细胞范例。微生物是地球上最多样和最普遍的生命形式，它们从根本上影响了我们生物圈的发展，它们今天仍在这样做，但我们仍然只是刚刚开始了解微生物世界的巨大生物多样性，以及这些生物如何调节和应对生物圈变化的原则。此外，微生物领域中包含的基因组信息库对于那些对天然产品发现感兴趣的人来说是一个宝库。自然系统中的绝大多数微生物尚未在实验室中培养和鉴定，它们的基因组显示出其他生命形式无与伦比的流动性。因此，个别栽培菌株可能只包含野生种群总遗传多样性的一小部分。因此，圈养微生物有时会表现出与野生微生物不同的特性或许就不足为奇了。生物学家仍在努力研究这些发现的含义，试图了解这些动态的进化机制如何影响微生物的生态及其提供生态系统服务的能力。单细胞方法使使用单细胞基因组扩增或使用二次离子质谱仪(Nano-SIMS)等技术检测单个细胞的基因类型成为可能。这些令人兴奋的发展为建立对各种微生物生态学的基本了解提供了所需的信息。微生物多样性课程是一个研究孵化器，为寻求对微生物多样性及其理论基础有基本了解的各种背景的个人提供高级培训。因此，课程中提供的培训具有独特的影响，涵盖了侧重于微生物生命多样性和生态的多个领域。该课程为研究生、博士后学者和来自微生物学、生态学、地球生物学、生物地球化学、海洋生物学、环境工程，甚至天体生物学和生物信息学等领域的知名研究人员提供了一个无与伦比的机会，接受关于探索自然界生物多样性的先进方法的培训。该课程还坚定地致力于提高妇女在科学领域的地位，并加强代表不足的少数群体的参与。这是一种身临其境的研究体验，包括6.5周的讲座、实验室练习和实地工作，最后是自我指导的研究项目，参与者使用他们的新知识和技能做出新的发现，其中一些已经成为职业研究项目。来自世界各地的最重要的研究人员每年夏天访问该课程，参加课程迷你研讨会，讲课，并在实验室和现场与学生互动。该课程具有身临其境、综合性、跨学科和国际性的特点，提供了美国其他地方目前无法提供的培训机会。这个项目的资金将帮助支持几个学生，资助许多著名的微生物学单细胞方法研究人员的访问，并为学生的实验室研究提供物质支持。

This award is funded under the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (Public Law 111-5).The Microbial Diversity Summer Course has been taught since 1971 at the Marine Biological Laboratory at Woods Hole, MA, and is internationally recognized as one of the great advanced research courses in biology. This project will develop and implement new techniques and develop a new course curriculum that fosters the application of single cell ecological techniques as a paradigm to explore the microbial diversity, and will train the next generation of scientists to apply this single cell paradigm. Microorganisms are the most diverse and ubiquitous form of life on the planet, they have fundamentally influenced the development of our biosphere, and they continue to do so today, yet we are still only beginning to understand the vast biodiversity of the microbial world and the principles that govern how these organisms mediate and respond to changes in the biosphere. In addition, the reservoir of genomic information contained within the microbial realm represents a treasure trove for those interested in natural product discovery. The vast majority of microorganisms in natural systems have yet to be cultivated in the laboratory and characterized, and their genomes exhibit a degree of fluidity unparalleled in other forms of life. As a result, individual cultivated isolates may contain only a fraction of the total genetic diversity present in wild populations. Perhaps it is not surprising then that microbes in captivity can at times demonstrate different properties from their wild counterparts. Biologists are still grappling with the implications of these discoveries, trying to understand how these dynamic evolutionary mechanisms impact the ecology of microorganisms and their ability to deliver ecosystem services. Single cell approaches make it possible to examine the genotypes of individual cells using single cell genome amplification or their activities using techniques like secondary ion mass spectrometry (Nano-SIMS). These exciting developments are providing information needed to build a fundamental understanding of the ecology of diverse microorganisms.The Microbial Diversity course is a research incubator that provides advanced training for individuals from a variety of backgrounds who seek a fundamental understanding of microbial diversity and its theoretical underpinnings. As such, the training provided in the course has a unique impact that spans multiple fields that focus on the diversity and ecology of microbial life. The course provides graduate students, postdoctoral scholars, and established investigators from fields such as microbiology, ecology, geobiology, biogeochemistry, marine biology, environmental engineering, and even astrobiology and bioinformatics, with an unequaled opportunity to receive training in advanced methods for exploring the biodiversity of the natural world. The course also has a strong commitment to the advancement of women in science and enhancing the participation of underrepresented minorities. It is an immersive research experience consisting of 6.5 weeks of lectures, laboratory exercises, field work, and it culminates with self-directed research projects in which participants use their new knowledge and skills to make novel discoveries, some of which have become career research projects. Foremost investigators from around the world visit the course every summer to participate in course mini-symposia, to lecture, and interact with students in the laboratory and in the field. The immersive, integrative, inter-disciplinary, and international nature of the course provides a training opportunity that is currently not provided elsewhere in the United States. The funding of this project will help support several students, fund visits by numerous renowned investigators in single cell approaches to microbiology, and provide material support for laboratory studies by the students.