International Collaboration in Chemistry: Mechanisms of Iron Uptake and Storage in Marine Macroalgae-An Integrated Bioinorganic Approach

该奖项是根据NSF 08-602：美国研究人员及其国外同行（ICC）的化学国际合作招标提交的。美国国家科学基金会和合作的国际资助机构共同审查并对该提案作出联合资助决定。美国国家科学基金会将支持美国研究者的研究，而合作的国际资助机构将支持合作的外国研究者的研究。这项由无机、生物无机和有机金属化学项目和国际科学与工程办公室颁发的研究奖支持圣地亚哥州立大学的Carl J. Carrano教授及其德国合作者Berthold Matzanke（由Deutsche Forschunsgemeinschaft支持）的工作，他们将对海洋大型藻类的铁吸收和储存机制进行基础研究。铁是所有植物物种，包括与海洋环境有关的植物物种的关键微量营养素。事实上，在所有海洋的大片区域中，铁已被发现是限制浮游植物生长的营养物。因此，这种元素如何获得、储存和加工的化学和生物化学对于了解海洋沿海环境至关重要，在这些环境中，大型藻类通常是生物量方面的优势生物，经常形成广泛的海藻森林。海带林的关键作用是有效地构成海洋、大气和陆地之间的界面，影响海洋初级生产力、替代能源和全球碳封存等不同领域。利用各种复杂的化学、分子和生物工具，该项目将增加我们对这类具有重要环境意义的海洋生物的了解。海洋巨藻（海藻）是一种重要的资源，在食品、化妆品和肥料工业中有着广泛的用途，估计每年全球价值约为40亿美元。它们作为一种不与陆地植物竞争粮食生产的生物燃料来源，也吸引了越来越多的关注。这项工作还为研究生（包括硕士和博士）和本科生提供了广泛的重要技术培训。由于圣地亚哥州立大学拥有大量的少数族裔人口（美国第十大少数族裔学士学位授予机构），预计这将影响少数族裔在科学领域的招聘和培训。研究团队的国际性质和拟议的学生交流也将促进国际科学合作。

The award was submitted in response to solicitation NSF 08-602: International Collaboration in Chemistry between US Investigators and their Counterparts Abroad (ICC). The NSF and the partnering international funding agency co-reviewed and made a joint funding decision on this proposal. NSF will support the research of the U.S. investigators while the partnering international funding agency will support the research of the collaborating foreign investigators.This research award by the Inorganic, Bioinorganic and Organometallic Chemistry Program and the Office of International Science and Engineering supports work by Professor Carl J. Carrano at San Diego State University who, with his German collaborator Berthold Matzanke (supported by the Deutsche Forschunsgemeinschaft), will conduct fundamental studies on the Iron Uptake and Storage Mechanisms in Marine Macroalgae. Iron is a critical micronutrient for all plant species including those associated with the marine environment. Indeed iron has been found to be the growth limiting nutrient with respect to the growth of phytoplankton in large areas of all the oceans. Thus the chemistry and biochemistry of how this element is acquired, stored and processed is of critical importance to an understanding of the marine coastal environments in which macroalgae are usually the dominant organisms in terms of biomass, often forming extensive kelp forests. The key role of kelp forests, effectively constituting an interface between the ocean, the atmosphere and land masses, impacts such diverse areas as oceanic primary productivity, alternate energy sources and global carbon sequestration. Using a variety of sophisticated chemical, molecular and biological tools this project will increase our understanding of this environmentally important class of marine organisms. Marine macroalgae (seaweeds) represent an important resource with a wide range of uses in the food, cosmetic, and fertilizer industries with an estimated annual global value of about 4 billion dollars. They are also attracting increasing attention as a source for biofuels that do not compete with terrestrial plants for food production. This work also provides for the training of graduate (both MS and PhD) and undergraduate students in a wide range of important techniques. Because San Diego State University has a high minority population (10th largest grantor of minority bachelor's degrees in the USA) it is expected to impact minority recruitment and training in the sciences. The international nature of the research team and the proposed student exchanges will also promote international cooperation in science.