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

这一行动为NSF 2020财年生物学博士后研究奖学金提供了资金，综合研究调查了基因组、环境和表型之间相互作用的生命规则。该奖学金支持研究员的研究和培训，这些研究员将以创新的方式为生活规则领域做出贡献。微生物代表着地球上生命的很大一部分，并在广泛的生境中负责一系列的活动。微生物在推动有助于塑造自然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(生命的关键组成部分)循环的了解，并可能有助于阐明生命跨越环境梯度的极限。将特定微生物与活跃的化学(代谢)过程实时直接联系起来的研究相对较少。这项研究将使用新技术将微生物类型与它们在深海海底环境中的功能作用直接联系起来。这将提供对微生物如何在极端环境中生存并对生态系统过程做出贡献的洞察。这位研究员将通过与当地的一所美洲原住民部落学院开发一个科学交流项目，并通过让不同的本科生参与环境研究来扩大对科学的参与。在地球上最大的生态系统之一中，沉积物生物圈支撑着地球生物量的很大一部分。微生物在深层生物圈的环境作用在很大程度上尚不清楚，但这个生态系统中的一系列氧化还原条件为探索微生物如何对环境刺激的变化做出反应提供了一个独特的机会。这项研究旨在描述深海生物圈中活跃的微生物种群的特征，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学、生理学和生态学。该研究员将使用双正交非典型氨基酸标记(BONCAT)、荧光激活细胞分类(FACS)、单细胞基因组学、元基因组和转录组测序、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新陈代谢的基因。确定代谢潜能和活动之间的联系将直接有助于理解支配代谢功能变化的生命规律。此外，该研究员旨在通过组织和实施一个科学交流计划来扩大科学参与，该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。该计划将专门设计为将来自当地美洲原住民部落学院的学生与尖端研究联系起来，从而增加科学领域中代表性不足的人群的纳入。该奖项反映了NSF的法定使命，并通过使用基金会的智力优势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.