CAREER: Investigating the relationship between giant sulfur bacteria and microfossil-bearing phosphorites.

职业：研究巨型硫细菌与含有微化石的磷矿之间的关系。

• 批准号: 1057119
• 负责人: Jake Bailey
• 金额: $ 46万
• 依托单位: University of Minnesota-Twin Cities
• 依托单位国家: 美国
• 项目类别: Standard Grant
• 财政年份: 2011
• 资助国家: 美国
• 起止时间: 2011-09-15 至 2017-08-31
• 项目状态: 已结题
• 来源: https://www.nsf.gov/awardsearch/showAward?AWD_ID=1057119&HistoricalAwards=false
• 关键词: CAREER; Investigating; relationship; between; giant

Phosphatic mineral deposits are well known for their exquisite preservation of soft tissue ? including fossilized cells. Large septate filaments interpreted as the oldest eukaryotes are preserved in 1.6 billion-year-old phosphorites from the Vindhyan Basin in Central India, and the oldest putative metazoans are preserved as phosphatized symmetrical cell clusters in the 600-milion-year-old Doushantuo Formation in southern China. Interestingly, large vacuolate sulfur-oxidizing bacteria are thought to mediate modern phosphogenesis, and commonly possess morphologies that closely resemble both the Vindhyan filaments and the Doushantuo globular microfossils. Could the Vindhyan or Doushantuo microfossils represent vacuolated sulfur bacteria, rather than eukaryotes? Could these microfossils provide evidence of the ancient mediation of phosphorites by sulfur bacteria? In the case of the Doushantuo microbiota, some microfossils are clearly eukaryotic, and likely metazoan in origin, while others cannot be easily interpreted as animals ? but are the bacterial and animal interpretations mutually exclusive? Other ancient and recent phosphorite deposits also possess structures that might well represent fossilized sulfur bacteria, but criteria for their recognition are not yet established. The PI?s research group will: 1) investigate newly-discovered modern sulfur bacteria that are partially entombed in phosphatic minerals; 2) perform phosphatization experiments with modern sulfur bacteria to investigate the taphonomy of phosphatized bacteria; 3) compare modern phosphatized sulfur bacteria with ancient microfossils from Proterozoic and Phanerozoic phosphorites; and 4) use observations of modern sulfur bacteria to develop new criteria for differentiating fossils of giant sulfur bacteria from those of microbial eukaryotes - including embryonic metazoans.The research component of this proposal is tied closely to an education and outreach plan that develops new undergraduate and graduate courses as the foundation of a geobiology curriculum at the University of Minnesota. A graduate student who will work on the projects describer herein will also be supported and mentored throughout the grant period. The education and outreach plan also increases research opportunities for military veterans through the establishment of a summer research experience for student veterans, as well as providing outreach to high school students and underrepresented minorities through participation in the NSF-funded North Star STEM Alliance, the UMN Exploring Careers in Engineering and Physical Science Program, and the annual meeting of the Society for the Advancement of Chicanos and Native Americans in Sciences.

磷酸矿物质沉积物以其精美的软组织保存而闻名？包括化石细胞。从印度中部的Vindhyan盆地中保存了16亿年历史的磷酸盐中，被解释为最古老的真核生物的大型分隔细丝保存下来，并保存了最古老的假定后生动物，以保存为600英里长的磷酸化对称细胞簇，中国南部的磷酸化对称细胞簇。有趣的是，人们认为大型空泡的硫氧化细菌被认为可以介导现代的磷酸化，并且通常具有与Vindhyan丝和Doushantuo球形微化石相似的形态。 Vindhyan或Doushantuo微化石可以代表空白的硫细菌而不是真核生物吗？这些微化石能否提供硫细菌对磷酸盐古代介导的证据？在Doushantuo微生物群的情况下，有些微化石显然是真核的，并且可能起源，而其他微化石则不能轻易解释为动物？但是，细菌和动物解释是互斥的吗？其他古老和最近的磷矿沉积物也具有可能代表化石硫细菌的结构，但尚未确定其识别标准。 PI的研究小组将：1）研究新发现的现代硫细菌，这些硫细菌被部分吞噬于磷酸矿物质中； 2）用现代硫细菌进行磷酸化实验，以研究磷酸化细菌的taphonomy； 3）将现代磷化硫细菌与植物学和磷代磷酸盐的古代微化石进行比较； and 4) use observations of modern sulfur bacteria to develop new criteria for differentiating fossils of giant sulfur bacteria from those of microbial eukaryotes - including embryonic metazoans.The research component of this proposal is tied closely to an education and outreach plan that develops new undergraduate and graduate courses as the foundation of a geobiology curriculum at the University of Minnesota.将在整个赠款期间也将支持和指导此处描述的项目的研究生。教育和外展计划还通过为学生退伍军人建立夏季研究经验，并通过参加NSF资助的North Star STEM联盟，UMN探索工程和物理科学的年度会议，为Chice Antortans Antialans Acci of Chicans of Chicans of Chicans of Chiceans Incoss acci和Chice of Chice of Chiceans Scace of Chice Intercement和Socife of Chice of Chice of Chiceans coci coice of Chice Incateans coci cood of Chice Incoce和，从而为高中生和代表性少的少数群体提供了宣传，从而增加了教育和外展计划的研究机会。