PAPM EAGER: Introducing Gulliver - an autonomous device to grow and study microorganisms in situ.

这项提案的主要目标是创建一个新的技术平台，以发现和研究我们星球上以及更远的地方的微生物生命。这个平台叫做格列佛。它将使我们能够前所未有地进入地球上最大的生物和化学新事物的宝库；到目前为止，微生物物种还没有尝试利用它们的潜力。这将有可能改变微生物生物学的知识，彻底改变生物活性化合物的发现，甚至发现我们星球以外的生命。完全开发后，格列佛将是一个非常简单的发现设备，它不需要特殊的技能来研究新物种的特性，为高中和大学实验室的教育和研究工具开辟了一条道路。它的发展将为本科生、研究生和研究生在生物学、材料科学和纳米技术的交叉领域的培训创造机会。在这个项目中，研究人员将建立一个格列佛的原型，这代表了最终设备开发的第一阶段。在这个阶段，格列佛将是一个具有膜状壁的腔室，具有纳米大小的（喂料）孔。标准的聚碳酸酯膜非常适合这一用途，而且是现成的。一个“进入”孔将是不同的，其直径接近细菌的大小（0.6-1.5µm）。该孔将使用离子枪技术定制研磨，备选技术也可作为备选方案b。一旦Gulliver被部署到环境中，进入孔将允许单个微生物细胞进入腔室的内部空间，阻止进入。喂养孔将允许扩散带来自然产生的营养物质和生长因子，使细胞繁殖，在腔室中定植，并在其中形成一个纯菌落。通过这种方式，格列佛将能够培养和分离具有未知营养需求的物种，这是生物圈中的大多数微生物。这个第一阶段的项目将测试格列佛从环境中自主“取样”单细胞的概念，使它们能够作为纯培养物生长。在未来的第二和第三阶段，研究人员将为格列佛配备各种纳米传感器，以监测和测量微生物生长的各个方面，从而首次实现对自然界中生长的单个微生物种群的代谢研究。请注意，格列佛在微生物分离/生长的任何阶段都不需要任何人类参与。该设备可以预先制作并部署到任何栖息地，无论是深海，动物肠道还是外星身体。

The main goal of this proposal is to create a new technology platform to discover and study microbial life on our planet and beyond. The platform is called Gulliver. It will allow unprecedented access to the largest reservoir of biological and chemical novelty on the planet; microbial species that have so far evaded attempts to utilize their potential. This will open up a possibility to transform the knowledge of microbial biology, revolutionize discovery of bioactive compounds and even detect life outside of our planet. Fully developed, Gulliver will be a discovery device so simple it will require no special skills to study properties of new species, opening a way to serve as an educational and research tool in high schools and undergraduate labs. Its development will create opportunities for undergraduate, graduate, and post graduate training at a cross-section of biology, material science and nanotechnology. In this project the investigators will build a prototype of Gulliver, which represents Stage 1 of the development of the ultimate device. At this stage, Gulliver will be a chamber with membranous walls, with nanometer-sized (?feeding?) pores. Standard polycarbonate membranes are excellent for the purpose and are available off-the-shelf. One "entry" pore will be different, with a diameter close to the size of a bacterium (0.6-1.5 µm). This pore will be custom milled using ion gun technology, with alternative technologies available as Plan B. Once Gulliver is deployed to an environment, the entry pore will allow a single microbial cell to enter the inner space of the chamber, blocking the entry. Feeding pores will allow diffusion to bring in the naturally occurring nutrients and growth factors, enabling that cell to multiply, colonize the chamber and form a pure colony inside it. In this way, Gulliver will be able to grow and isolate species with unknown nutrient requirements, which is the majority of microbes in the biosphere. This Stage 1 project will test the concept of Gulliver autonomously "sampling" single cells from the environment, enabling their growth as pure cultures. In future Stages 2 and 3, the investigators will equip Gulliver with various nanosensors that will monitor and measure aspects of microbial growth, enabling for the first time metabolic studies of individual microbial populations as they grow in nature. Note that Gulliver does not require any human participation at any stage of microbial isolation/growth. The device can be pre-made and deployment into an essentially any habitat, be it deep ocean, animal gut, or extraterrestrial bodies.