NSF Postdoctoral Fellowship in Biology FY 2020: Assessing Changes in Microbial Metabolisms Across Environmental Gradients in the Deep Biosphere

该行动资助了NSF 2020财年生物学博士后研究奖学金，研究基因组，环境和表型之间相互作用的生命规则的综合研究。该奖学金支持将以创新方式对生活规则领域作出贡献的研究员的研究和培训。微生物代表了地球上生命的重要组成部分，并在各种栖息地中负责一系列活动。微生物在推动有助于塑造自然世界的地质和环境过程中发挥着关键作用。了解微生物的功能能力可以促进对全球碳循环（生命的关键组成部分）的认识，并可能有助于阐明生命在不同环境梯度中的极限。相对较少的研究直接将特定微生物与活性化学（代谢）过程实时联系起来。这项研究将使用新技术直接将微生物类型与其在深海海底环境中的功能作用联系起来。这将提供深入了解微生物如何在极端环境中生存并为生态系统过程做出贡献。该奖学金获得者将通过与当地一所印第安部落学院开展科学交流项目，以及让不同类型的本科生参与环境研究，扩大科学参与。沉积物生物圈是地球上最大的生态系统之一，它支撑着地球上很大一部分生物量。微生物在深层生物圈中的环境作用在很大程度上是未知的，但这个生态系统中氧化还原条件的范围为探索微生物如何响应环境刺激的变化提供了一个独特的机会。本研究旨在描述深海生物圈中活跃的微生物种群，并将这些活跃的类群与跨环境梯度的代谢功能联系起来，以关联驱动深海碳流的遗传、生理和生态。该研究员将使用双正交非规范氨基酸标记（BONCAT）、荧光活化细胞分选（FACS）、单细胞基因组学、宏基因组学和宏转录组测序、直接活性测量和地球化学方法来识别活跃的微生物种群并破译参与其代谢的基因。表征代谢潜能和活动之间的联系将直接有助于理解控制代谢功能变化的生命规则。此外，该研究员旨在通过组织和实施科学交流计划，为来自不同背景的学生提供接触和参与深海研究的机会，从而扩大科学参与。该项目将专门为来自当地印第安部落学院的学生与尖端研究联系起来，从而增加在科学领域代表性不足的人群的包容性。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。

This action funds an NSF Postdoctoral Research Fellowship in Biology for FY 2020, Integrative Research Investigating the Rules of Life Governing Interactions Between Genomes, Environment and Phenotypes. The fellowship supports research and training of the fellow that will contribute to the area of Rules of Life in innovative ways. Microorganisms represent a significant portion of life on Earth and are responsible for an array of activities across a wide range of habitats. Microbes play a pivotal role in driving geological and environmental processes that help shape the natural world. Understanding the functional capabilities of microorganisms can advance knowledge about global carbon (a key building block of life) cycling and may help elucidate the limits of life across environmental gradients. Relatively few studies have been done that directly link specific microorganisms with active chemical (metabolic) processes in real time. This research will use new technology to directly link microbial types to their functional roles in deep subseafloor environments. This will provide insight into how microbes survive and contribute to ecosystem processes in extreme environments. The fellow will broaden participation in science by developing a science communication program with a local Native American tribal college and by engaging diverse undergraduate students in environmental research. The sediment biosphere supports a significant portion of Earth’s biomass in one of the largest ecosystems on the planet. The environmental roles of microbes in the deep biosphere are largely uncharacterized, but the range of redox conditions in this ecosystem presents a unique opportunity to explore how microbes respond to changes in environmental stimuli. This research aims to characterize the active microbial populations in the deep biosphere and link these active taxa with metabolic function across environmental gradients to correlate the genetics, physiology, and ecology that drive deep sea carbon flow. The fellow will use biorthogonal non-canonical amino acid tagging (BONCAT), fluorescence activated cell sorting (FACS), single cell genomics, metagenome and metatranscriptome sequencing, direct activity measurements, and geochemical approaches to identify active microbial populations and decipher the genes involved in their metabolisms. Characterizing linkages between metabolic potential and activity will contribute directly to the understanding of the Rules of Life governing changes in metabolic function. Additionally, the fellow aims to broaden science participation by organizing and implementing a science communication program that provides students from diverse backgrounds with opportunities to be exposed to and participate in deep sea research. This program will be designed specifically to connect students from a local Native American tribal college with cutting-edge research, thus increasing inclusion of a population underrepresented in science.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.