TCUP SGR: Salish Kootenai College Life Sciences Hg(II) Methylating Microbiota and Methyl-Hg(II) Concentrations in Flathead Lake

部落学院和大学计划（TCUP）的一个目标是提高为美国土著学生服务的特定高等教育机构的科学、技术、工程和数学（STEM）教学和研究能力。扩大这些机构的研究能力，可以扩大学生在STEM领域追求具有挑战性、回报丰厚的职业的机会，为当地相关领域的研究提供机会，并鼓励教师群体超越传统课堂，寻求智力和专业发展。这个项目直接符合这一目标，而且可能被证明是其他小型社区学院类似参与的典范。该项目旨在确定Flathead湖的微生物群和甲基汞（II）浓度，以绘制气候变化可能对Flathead保留区和蒙大拿州更广泛的Flathead山谷产生的环境影响。单质汞（Hg）主要从燃煤和森林火灾等来源沉积到大气中。大气中汞（II）在大的水体中积累，如Flathead保护区的Flathead湖。湖床土壤沉积物中的汞（II）受甲基化微生物群（如产甲烷菌sp）的甲基化影响。一旦甲基化，汞（II）在环境中的生物积累/生物放大随着动物的大小和门的增加而增加，通常达到顶端捕食者和人类的毒性水平。Salish Kootenai学院的本科生进行的初步工作已经在Flathead湖下游两个地点的土壤床样本中发现了甲烷菌，并在水中发现了甲基汞（II）。萨利什库特奈学院将对平头湖进行取样，以检测湖床土壤中汞（II）甲基化微生物群和水中甲基汞（II）的浓度。实验程序将包括RNA分离和测序，以确定当地的微生物种群，并测量这些微生物所在地水中甲基汞（II）的浓度。进一步的采样将旨在为气候变化参考提供坚实的统计基础，因为它将影响Flathead山谷，气候变化将导致湖泊中汞（II）沉积增加，并促进汞（II）甲基化的微生物生长。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。

A goal of the Tribal Colleges and Universities Program (TCUP) is to increase the science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) instructional and research capacities of specific institutions of higher education that serve the Nation's indigenous students. Expanding the research capacity at these institutions expands the opportunities for students to pursue challenging, rewarding careers in STEM fields, provides for research studies in areas that may be locally relevant, and encourages a faculty community to look beyond the traditional classroom for intellectual and professional growth. This project aligns directly with that goal, and moreover may prove to be a model for similar engagement at other small community colleges.The project aims to identify microbiota and methyl-Hg(II) concentrations in Flathead Lake to map the environmental impacts climate change may be incurring on the Flathead reservation and in the wider Flathead valley in Montana. Elemental mercury (Hg) is deposited into the atmosphere primarily from sources including coal-burning and forest fires. Atmospheric Hg(II) accumulates in large water bodies, such as Flathead Lake on the Flathead reservation. Hg(II) in the lakebed soil sediments is subject to methylation by methylating microbiota, such as the methanogens sp. Once methylated, Hg(II) bioaccumulates/biomagnifies in the environment increasing with the size and phylum of animals reaching, often, toxic levels in apex predators and humans. Preliminary work by undergraduate students at the Salish Kootenai College has identified methanogen sp. in the soil-bed samples from two locations in the lower Flathead Lake and methyl-Hg(II) in the water. Salish Kootenai College will sample Flathead Lake for Hg(II)-methylating microbiota in the lakebed soil and for concentrations of methyl-Hg(II) in the water. Experimental procedures will include RNA isolation and sequencing to identify the local microbe population and to measure the concentration of methyl-Hg(II) in the water at those microbe sites. Further sampling will aim to provide a solid statistical basis for climate change reference as it will impact the Flathead valley where climate change will result in higher Hg(II) deposition in the lake and promote microbial growth for Hg(II) methylation.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.