CAREER: Analysis of Bacterial Catabolism of Plant Biomass- A Phenomenon with Special Relevance to Environmental Carbon Cycling and Alternative Energy

地球上的生命依赖于微生物对植物生物量的消耗。虽然土壤微生物会降解并消耗大量的植物生物量，但我们对它们是如何做到这一点知之甚少。这是一个重要的研究过程，对代谢的更好理解可以导致从低成本和丰富的植物生物量中生产高价值化学品和/或燃料的战略。这项职业计划致力于阐明细菌消耗植物生物量的机制。大多数已发表的关于植物生物质消耗的研究都集中在高等微生物(真菌)上，这个以细菌为重点的研究项目将为我们目前对微生物代谢的理解提供有趣和有用的对立面。更广泛的影响这个研究项目将为研究生和本科生提供教育和培训机会，他们与首席调查员一起工作。在他在布朗大学独立工作的头四年里，PI培养了6名研究生和20名本科生。将有类似数量的受训人员参与这一项目。除了布朗大学的活动，该项目的一个组成部分是与罗德岛州普罗维登斯高中的教师和不同种族的学生建立研究/教育伙伴关系，并参与布朗大学赞助的暑期项目。这位首席研究员还与他的母校莫尔豪斯学院建立了合作伙伴关系，莫尔豪斯学院是美国唯一一所全男性、历史上一直是黑人的大学，让更多来自代表性不足群体的个人参与该研究项目。这种合作关系包括每年前往莫尔豪斯学院进行指导活动，并为莫尔豪斯学院的学生提供在夏季到布朗大学进行研究的机会。除了培训未来的科学家外，该项目的外展活动还将提高公众的科学意识。该项目的发现将有助于环境科学和新的替代能源技术的开发。

Life on Earth depends on the consumption of plant biomass by microorganisms. While soil-dwelling microorganisms degrade and consume tremendous amounts of plant biomass, we know little about how they do it. This is an important process for study, and an improved understanding of the metabolism could lead to strategies for the production of high value chemicals and/or fuels from low cost and abundant plant biomass. This CAREER project is focused on elucidating mechanisms of plant biomass consumption by bacteria. Most of the published research on plant biomass consumption has been focused on higher microorganisms (fungi), and this bacterial-focused research project will provide interesting and useful counterpoints to our current understanding of microbial metabolism. Broader impactsThis research project will provide educational and training opportunities for graduate students and undergraduates who are working with the principal investigator. In the first four years of his independent career at Brown University, the PI trained six graduate students and twenty undergraduates. Similar numbers of trainees will be involved with this project. Beyond the activities at Brown, an integral component of the project is a research/education partnership with teachers and ethnically diverse students at high schools in Providence, Rhode Island and in Brown University-sponsored summer programs. The principal investigator has also formed a partnership with his alma mater, Morehouse College, America's only all male, historically black college to involve additional individuals from under-represented groups in the research project. This partnership involves annual trips to Morehouse College for mentoring activities and opportunities for Morehouse students to carry out research at Brown University during the summers. In addition to training future scientists, the outreach activities in this project will enhance public awareness of science. The findings of the project will contribute to environmental science and the development of new alternative energy technologies.