RUI: Collaborative: The Predictive Nature of Microbial Biofilms for Cuing Larval Settlement at Deep-Sea Hydrothermal Vents

RUI：协作：微生物生物膜对深海热液喷口幼虫定居的预测性质

• 批准号: 1948580
• 负责人: Shawn Arellano
• 金额: $ 39.42万
• 依托单位: Western Washington University
• 依托单位国家: 美国
• 项目类别: Standard Grant
• 财政年份: 2020
• 资助国家: 美国
• 起止时间: 2020-05-01 至 2025-04-30
• 项目状态: 未结题
• 来源: https://www.nsf.gov/awardsearch/showAward?AWD_ID=1948580&HistoricalAwards=false
• 关键词: RUI; Collaborative; Predictive; Nature; Microbial

Over four decades of research have shown that tiny free-swimming offspring of the unique inhabitants of hydrothermal vents can disperse effectively between their specialized habitats. Yet, we know almost nothing about how these larval animals complete the journey by locating and settling down in suitable locations. This question remains one of the key unresolved puzzles in the ecology of the deep sea and is becoming increasingly important to solve as hydrothermal vents are becoming threatened by human impacts. The investigators suggest that the films of bacteria that first form at vents are good signposts for settlement of larvae because they indicate that the hydrothermal vents are suitable for life. This project uses a combined program of field experiments, cutting-edge molecular biology techniques, and shipboard experiments with hydrothermal-vent larvae and cultured bacterial films. The project also connects undergraduate research interns at a primarily undergraduate institution (Western Washington University) with undergraduate research interns at two research institutions (Rutgers and Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution) while working on the project at sea together. Finally, the team is producing a science-in-action documentary filled with ocean science and exploration intended for television distribution and museum screenings. The investigators are using footage of the deep-sea vents, shipboard and diving operations, and laboratory work to create a documentary that highlights the foundation of scientific research—hypothesis-driven research, the application of the scientific method, and the importance of critical thinking—all in the framework of the study of an exciting, but threatened, ecosystem.Hydrothermal vents are particularly tractable systems in which to study questions about the roles of biofilms in larval settlement because biofilms at vents are relatively low-complexity; vent animals are strictly dependent on vent microbes, often through symbiotic partnerships acquired after settlement; and environmental variations are present within the range of a common larval pool. Moreover, decades of research on settlement in model organisms give us good insight into biofilm cues; there is solid foundational understanding about colonization patterns at vents; we now have excellent tools to collect, identify, and culture vent larvae and microbes; and modern environmental "-omics" techniques are a good tool to characterize biological cues produced by biofilms. The project provides an unprecedented, quantitative look into the role of microbial biofilms in structuring larval settlement at hydrothermal vents, achieved only through the close collaboration of microbial and larval ecologists. The combined field program of short-term settlement experiments, microbial "-omics" work, and subsequent shipboard settlement experiments allows the investigative team to use field experiments to statistically model the factors that best predict larval settlement in the field, then test those predictions with shipboard experiments that decouple covarying conditions. This extensive characterization of putative larval settlement cues and their relationship to colonization success in heterogeneous vent habitat niches will contribute to a broader understanding of colonization success across diverse marine ecosystems. Understanding the role that the initial settlement of larvae plays in the recovery and resilience of hydrothermal-vent ecosystems is critical to developing informed management plans for deep-sea mining.This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.

四十多年来的研究表明，热液喷口独特居民的微小自由游泳后代可以有效地在它们专门的栖息地之间分散。然而，我们几乎不知道这些幼体动物是如何通过在合适的地方定位和定居来完成旅程的。这个问题仍然是深海生态学中未解决的关键难题之一，随着热液喷口受到人类影响的威胁，解决这个问题变得越来越重要。研究人员认为，首先在喷口形成的细菌膜是幼虫定居的良好标志，因为它们表明热液喷口适合生命生存。本项目采用现场实验、尖端分子生物学技术和船上热液喷口幼虫和培养细菌膜实验相结合的方案。该项目还将一个主要本科机构（西华盛顿大学）的本科生研究实习生与两个研究机构（罗格斯大学和伍兹霍尔海洋研究所）的本科生研究实习生联系起来，同时在海上共同开展项目。最后，该团队正在制作一部充满海洋科学和探索的行动科学纪录片，准备在电视上发行和博物馆放映。调查人员利用深海喷口、船上和潜水操作以及实验室工作的镜头制作了一部纪录片，突出了科学研究的基础——假设驱动的研究、科学方法的应用以及批判性思维的重要性——所有这些都是在研究一个令人兴奋但受到威胁的生态系统的框架内进行的。热液喷口是研究生物膜在幼虫定居过程中作用的特别容易处理的系统，因为喷口的生物膜相对较低复杂性；喷口动物严格依赖于喷口微生物，通常通过定居后获得的共生伙伴关系；在一个共同的幼虫池范围内，环境变化是存在的。此外，几十年来对模式生物沉降的研究使我们对生物膜线索有了很好的了解；对火山口的殖民模式有坚实的基础理解；我们现在有很好的工具来收集、鉴定和培养排气口的幼虫和微生物；现代环境“组学”技术是表征生物膜产生的生物信号的良好工具。该项目提供了一个前所未有的，定量研究微生物生物膜在热液喷口构建幼虫定居中的作用，只有通过微生物和幼虫生态学家的密切合作才能实现。短期沉降实验、微生物“组学”工作和随后的船上沉降实验相结合的实地项目，使调查小组能够利用实地实验对最能预测幼虫在实地沉降的因素进行统计建模，然后用解耦共变条件的船上实验对这些预测进行检验。这种对假定的幼虫定居线索及其与异质喷口生境中定植成功的关系的广泛表征，将有助于更广泛地了解不同海洋生态系统的定植成功。了解幼虫的初始沉降在热液喷口生态系统的恢复和恢复中所起的作用，对于制定明智的深海采矿管理计划至关重要。该奖项反映了美国国家科学基金会的法定使命，并通过使用基金会的知识价值和更广泛的影响审查标准进行评估，被认为值得支持。