Application for an Early-concept Grant for Exploratory Reasearch (EAGER) to develop a Pathway/Genome Database (PGDB) for the Southern Ocean Haptophyte Phaeocystis Antarctica.

南极棕囊藻能够形成比南大洋浮游植物群落任何其他成员更密集、更广泛的水华。 使南极洲能够主宰其竞争对手的因素尚不清楚，但可能与其殖民生活方式有关。 该项目的目标是通过使用Pathway Tools软件开发途径/基因组数据库（PGDB）来绘制代谢途径中的所有反应，这些反应是定义Anaeocystis anaitica生态位的关键。 研究人员将为南极洲棕囊藻的关键途径分配蛋白质和酶，随着完整的棕囊藻基因组上线，不断改进和编辑数据库，并将数据库托管在BioCyc网页上。 最终产品将是真核浮游植物基因组的第一个数据库，研究人员可以在其中查询现存的代谢途径，并将新的蛋白质和感兴趣的酶放置在代谢网络中。 风险在于，相当大比例的催化酶可能属于表征不佳的途径。 科学的影响是将基因组与棕囊藻生活史背景下的代谢潜力联系起来，同时也与生命树中的其他生物相比较。 教育和推广包括与高中教师和实习生的合作以及课程开发。

Phaeocystis antarctica is capable of forming blooms that are denser and more extensive than any other member of the Southern Ocean phytoplankton community. The factors that enable P Antarctica to dominate its competitors are not clear but are likely related to its colonial lifestyle. The goal of the project is to map all the reactions in metabolic pathways that are key to defining the ecological niche of Phaeocystis antarctica by developing a Pathway/Genome Database (PGDB) using Pathway Tools software. The investigators will assign proteins and enzymes to key pathways in P. Antarctica, continually improve and edit the database as the full Phaeocystis genome comes online, and host the database on the BioCyc webpage. The end product will be the first database for a eukaryotic phytoplankton genome where researchers can query extant metabolic pathways and place new proteins and enzymes of interest within metabolic networks. The risk is that a substantial percentage of catalytic enzymes may belong to pathways that are poorly characterized. The science impact is to link genomes to metabolic potential in the context of Phaeocystis life history but also in comparison to other organisms across the tree of life. The education and outreach includes work with a high school teacher and intern and curriculum development.