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

这项提议的主要目标是创建一个新的技术平台，以发现和研究地球上和其他地方的微生物生命。这个平台被称为格列佛。它将使人们能够史无前例地接触到地球上最大的生物和化学新鲜物储藏库；迄今为止一直逃避利用其潜力的尝试的微生物物种。这将为微生物生物学知识的转化、生物活性化合物的发现带来革命性的变化，甚至探测我们星球外的生命提供了可能性。完全开发出来的格列佛将是一个非常简单的发现设备，不需要特殊技能就可以研究新物种的特性，为在高中和本科实验室充当教育和研究工具开辟了一条道路。它的发展将为生物学、材料科学和纳米技术领域的本科生、研究生和研究生培训创造机会。在这个项目中，研究人员将建造格列佛的原型，这代表了最终设备开发的第一阶段。在这个阶段，格列佛将是一个有膜壁的房间，有纳米大小的(？喂食？)毛孔。标准的聚碳酸酯薄膜在这方面是很好的，并且可以现成。一个“入口”孔将是不同的，其直径接近细菌大小(0.6-1.5微米)。这个小孔将使用离子枪技术进行定制研磨，替代技术如计划B所示。一旦格列佛被部署到一个环境中，进入小孔将允许单个微生物细胞进入小室的内部空间，阻止进入。喂养毛孔将允许扩散带来自然产生的营养和生长因子，使细胞能够繁殖，在室内定居，并在其中形成一个纯粹的菌落。通过这种方式，格列佛将能够生长和分离出营养需求未知的物种，这些物种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自主地从环境中“采样”单个细胞的概念，使它们能够作为纯培养物生长。在未来的第二阶段和第三阶段，研究人员将为格列佛配备各种纳米传感器，这些传感器将监测和测量微生物生长的各个方面，首次能够对单个微生物种群在自然界中生长时的代谢进行研究。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的参与。该装置可以预先制造并部署到基本上任何栖息地，无论是深海、动物内脏还是外星天体。

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.