UNS: The role of bacteriophages in wetland functionality and sustainability by affecting bacterial community

1510255(果艾尔)。湿地通过去除污染物和支持不同的栖息地来提供环境可持续性。然而，湿地生态系统的正常运作有赖于生活在这些生态系统中的微生物群落的运作。影响湿地微生物群落组成的因素有很多。其中一个因素是噬菌体，即只感染细菌的病毒。几乎对湿地中细菌与噬菌体的相互作用知之甚少，尽管已知噬菌体通过杀死细菌、介导基因转移以及改变氮和碳循环来影响海洋环境中的细菌种群。这项研究是由一名环境工程师(Ramesh Goel博士)和一名噬菌体专家(Sherwood Casjens博士)合作完成的，将调查这一相对未被探索的区域。本项目旨在确定噬菌体是否在控制湿地细菌种群从而控制湿地微生物过程中发挥重要作用，进而控制湿地的生态功能。具体地说，目的是了解大盐湖湿地作为一个模式生态系统的噬菌体(数量和多样性)，并通过基因组学和实验了解噬菌体是否影响湿地中的细菌群落结构。初步结果表明，湿地细菌群落，特别是沉积物中的细菌群落，受到噬菌体的影响，从而质疑湿地去除污染物的功能的长期可持续性。本项目中的实验方法将评估噬菌体生命周期在影响湿地细菌群落中的作用。噬菌体元基因组学方法将揭示湿地沉积物中的噬菌体是否通过其众所周知的溶原性感染周期参与基因转移。在这项研究中获得的基本知识预计将适用于其他天然系统(即受污染的地下和河流沉积物)和工程系统(即饮用水分配系统中的生物膜)。结果不仅将通过同行评议的出版物传播，还将通过为当地湿地管理者举办的社区研讨会传播。该奖项由BIOMAPS下的CBET/ENG环境可持续发展项目和BIOMAPS下的MCB部门共同资助。

1510255 (Goel). Wetlands provide environmental sustainability by removing contaminants and supporting different habitats. However, the proper functioning of wetland ecosystems relies on the functioning of microbial communities living in these ecosystems. Several factors can affect the microbial community composition in wetlands. One such factor is bacteriophages, the viruses that infect bacteria only. Almost nothing is known about the bacteria-phage interactions in wetlands, although phages are known to affect bacterial populations in marine environments by killing bacteria, mediating gene transfers, and changing nitrogen and carbon cycles. This research, which is a collaborative effort between an environmental engineer (Dr. Ramesh Goel) and a phage expert (Dr. Sherwood Casjens), will investigate this relatively unexplored area. This project is intended to determine whether bacteriophages play significant roles in controlling bacterial populations in wetlands and thus in controlling wetland microbial processes, and, in turn, critically important wetland ecological functions.Specifically, the objectives are to understand bacteriophages (quantity and diversity) in the Great Salt Lake wetlands as a model ecosystem, and to understand, using genomics and experiments, whether bacteriophages are affecting the bacterial community structure in wetlands. Preliminary results show that the wetland bacterial community, especially in sediments, is affected by bacteriophages, thus questioning the long term sustainability of wetland functioning for contaminant removal. The experimental approach in this project will evaluate the role of bacteriophage life-cycles in affecting wetland bacterial communities. A phage metagenomic approach will shed light on whether phages in wetland sediments are participating in gene transfers through their well-known lysogenic infection cycle. Fundamental knowledge gained in this research is anticipated to be applicable in other natural (i.e., contaminated subsurface and river sediments) and engineered systems (i.e., biofilms in drinking water distribution systems). Results will be disseminated not only through peer reviewed publications but also community workshops for local wetland managers.This award is co-funded by the MCB Division of the BIO Directorate and the CBET/ENG Environmental Sustainability program under BIOMAPS.