IDBR: TYPE A Nano-Constriction Devices for Isolation and Cultivation of Environmental Microbes

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An award is made to Northeastern University to develop a device whose purpose is to automatically isolate and cultivate new microbial species from the environment using recent advances in micro/nano-fabrication. Most bioactive compounds discovered to date have come from microbial sources. Yet over 99% of microbial biodiversity remains uncultivated using conventional laboratory approaches, and this pool is an enormous untapped source for bio-prospecting. The proposed work attempts to cultivate microbes in their own habitat, and employs an automated, high-throughput method. Applied at an appropriate scale, this method may be transformative for generating novel microbial biodiversity for industrial, ecological, and biomedical applications. This research will foster collaborations between engineers and biologists and prepare undergraduate and graduate students for dynamic multidisciplinary work environments. Hands on training in the laboratory will be provided for high school science teachers from Boston inner city schools to expose them to this and other emerging technologies. The overarching goal of this project is to create a novel platform technology to cultivate microbial species that have remained elusive in traditional isolation and cultivation methods. The technique being developed is a radical departure from traditional methodologies, cultivating microorganisms will be cultivated in situ, which will automatically provide cells with the required growth factors. The key feature of the technology is a growth chamber with a single sub-micrometer opening to the outside environment. The effectiveness of this novel device will be demonstrated by isolating novel strains and species from marine and soil habitats using a set of prototype devices. The developed devices will be disseminated to the community by organizing and hosting a new conference on cultivating microorganisms at Northeastern University. The conference attendees will be trained to use the new devices and provided with prototype devices to test. The technology will be presented at microbiology meetings that potential users attend. A website will be created that will list the new species that are cultivated using this technology and will allow the scientific community to acquire the species for further investigations. This award is being made jointly by two Programs- (1) Instrument Development for Biological Research, in the Division of Biological Infrastructure (Biological Sciences Directorate), and (2) Biotechnology, Biochemical and Biomass Engineering, in the Division of Chemical, Bioengineering, Environmental and Transport Systems (Engineering Directorate).