Collaborative Research: Genetic and Metabolic Signatures of Marine Microorganisms in Oxygen Depleted and Varying Geochemical Seascapes (MetaOmics in the Cariaco Basin)

合作研究：缺氧和变化的地球化学海景中海洋微生物的遗传和代谢特征（卡里亚科盆地的元组学）

• 批准号: 1336082
• 负责人: Virginia Edgcomb
• 金额: $ 68.31万
• 依托单位: Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution
• 依托单位国家: 美国
• 项目类别: Standard Grant
• 财政年份: 2013
• 资助国家: 美国
• 起止时间: 2013-08-01 至 2017-07-31
• 项目状态: 已结题
• 来源: https://www.nsf.gov/awardsearch/showAward?AWD_ID=1336082&HistoricalAwards=false
• 关键词: Collaborative; Research; Genetic; Metabolic; Signatures

Oxygen depleted water columns (ODWCs) appear to be expanding in response to global climate change. This alters trophic structure, compresses habitat and modifies geochemical cycles of major elements. Oxygen depletion can vary in intensity and duration from seasonal hypoxia to permanent anoxia. The focus of this study is a classic example of the anoxic end-member, the Cariaco Basin. The overall goal is to examine how microbial functional potential (metagenomic), activity (metatranscriptomic), taxonomic diversity (based on SSU rRNA) and the ecological/geochemical consequences (in terms of measured rates of key processes) relate along vertical oxygen/geochemical gradients and between seasons in the Cariaco Basin. This will reveal relationships between expression of particular sets of genes, environmental differences in nutrients, energy substrates and oxidant availabilities.The objectives are to: (1) Integrate hydrographic, geochemical and microbial ecological data with metagenomic and metatranscriptomic profiles to understand regulatory and metabolic networks defining microbial community responses to environmental forcing during high and low productivity periods. This will help to understand the importance of processes, such as anaerobic oxidation of methane, utilization of redox-sensitive metals, the cryptic sulfur cycle in this ODWC, and the impacts of oxygen depletion on nitrogen transformations. (2) Determine the importance of associations between microbial eukaryotes (mEuks) and prokaryotes in this ODWC. (3) Identify "indicator" genes of known or unknown function that may be relevant to major elemental and trace gas cycling as targets for further biochemical characterization and molecular probe development, and quantify a key subset of these genes and transcripts across redox gradients using qPCR. (4) Provide a basis for developing monitoring tools using expressed genes indicative of important elemental transformations and fluxes for diagnosing the health status of natural and human engineered ecosystems. (5) Compare results with recent and ongoing studies of other ODWCs to discern shared and unique attributes of these systems.Intellectual Merit: Previous studies of ODWCs have underscored the need for more data on microbial community structure and functionality in ODWCs, particularly biochemical rate measurements and other data on community responses to changing conditions. Better predictive models of responses of marine microbial communities and biogeochemical processes to global climate change are essential for informing future policy and management decisions. Data from an anoxic end-member ODWC like Cariaco Basin are critically needed to compare with data from other recent and ongoing studies of seasonally-depleted coastal systems and permanently-depleted deep basin and western boundary oxygen minimum zones (OMZs) to construct more skillful models. This study will advance the understanding of impacts of expanding ODWCs around the world, moving beyond assessments based only on taxonomic diversity, to yield new insights into the ecology and physiology of major microbial groups in these environments and interactions among Bacteria, Archaea and microbial eukaryotes.Broader Impacts: The PIs and their collaborators will train one Research Associate, one postdoctoral investigator, a graduate student, and numerous undergraduates from SBU. All personnel will be trained in various aspects of microbial ecology and oceanography, with an emphasis on both traditional (e.g., microscopy) and "cutting edge" (e.g. metagenomics/transcriptomics) techniques. The PIs will also involve the Zephyr Education Foundation's marine science literacy and education program, located in Woods Hole, MA. The PIs will work with this organization to educate inner city K-12 students using local boat field trips organized by Zephyr, and lectures, and classroom laboratory exercises designed by the PIs. Additionally, this project will have broad implications for understanding how ODWCs affect marine ecosystems, and may influence future management strategies and models describing the cycling of C and N between the ocean and atmosphere.

贫氧水柱（ODWCs）似乎正在扩大，以应对全球气候变化。这改变了营养结构，压缩了栖息地，改变了主要元素的地球化学循环。氧消耗的强度和持续时间从季节性缺氧到永久性缺氧不等。本研究的重点是一个典型的例子，缺氧端员，Cariaco盆地。总体目标是研究微生物功能潜力（宏基因组）、活性（元转录）、分类多样性（基于SSU rRNA）和生态/地球化学后果（根据关键过程的测量速率）如何沿着垂直氧气/地球化学梯度以及季节之间的关系。卡里亚科盆地。这将揭示特定基因组的表达，营养物质，能量底物和氧化剂availabilities的环境差异之间的关系，其目标是：（1）整合水文，地球化学和微生物生态数据与宏基因组和metatranscriptomic配置文件，以了解调控和代谢网络，定义微生物群落在高和低生产力时期对环境胁迫的反应。这将有助于理解过程的重要性，如甲烷的厌氧氧化，氧化还原敏感金属的利用，在这个ODWC中的神秘的硫循环，以及氧气消耗对氮转化的影响。(2)确定微生物真核生物（mEuks）和原核生物在这个ODWC之间的关联的重要性。(3)鉴定可能与主要元素和痕量气体循环相关的已知或未知功能的“指示”基因，作为进一步生物化学表征和分子探针开发的目标，并使用qPCR跨氧化还原梯度定量这些基因和转录物的关键子集。(4)提供一个基础，开发监测工具，使用表达的基因指示重要的元素转换和通量诊断自然和人类工程生态系统的健康状况。(5)比较结果与最近和正在进行的其他ODWCs的研究，以辨别这些systems.Intellectual Merit的共享和独特的属性：ODWCs以前的研究强调了需要更多的数据对微生物群落结构和功能的ODWCs，特别是生化速率测量和其他数据的社区对不断变化的条件的反应。更好的海洋微生物群落和生物地球化学过程对全球气候变化反应的预测模型对于为未来的政策和管理决策提供信息至关重要。从一个缺氧的端员ODWC像Cariaco盆地的数据是非常需要的，以比较从其他最近和正在进行的研究季节性枯竭的沿海系统和永久性枯竭的深盆地和西部边界氧最小区（OMZs）的数据，以构建更熟练的模型。这项研究将促进对世界各地扩大ODWC的影响的理解，超越仅基于分类多样性的评估，对这些环境中主要微生物群体的生态学和生理学以及细菌、微生物和微生物真核生物之间的相互作用产生新的见解。PI及其合作者将培训一名研究助理，一名博士后研究员，一名研究生和SBU的众多本科生。所有人员都将接受微生物生态学和海洋学各方面的培训，重点是传统的（例如，显微术）和“尖端”（例如宏基因组学/转录组学）技术。PI还将涉及Zephyr教育基金会位于马萨诸塞州伍兹霍尔的海洋科学素养和教育计划。PI将与该组织合作，利用Zephyr组织的当地船只实地考察，以及PI设计的讲座和课堂实验室练习，教育内城K-12学生。此外，该项目将对理解ODWCs如何影响海洋生态系统产生广泛影响，并可能影响未来的管理策略和描述海洋和大气之间C和N循环的模型。