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

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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.