CAREER: Mlcrobial Lipidomics in Changing Oceans (MILCO)

海洋生态系统对全球环境变化的响应是海洋科学家和公众关注的一个重要问题。拟议的研究重点是开发化学工具，以研究海洋微生物如何响应和适应周围环境的变化，如温度升高、海洋酸化、氧气损失和营养物质的可用性。存在于所有已知生命形式的细胞膜中的脂质（又称生物标记物或脂肪）的变化使生物体能够应对环境压力。该团队将使用“脂质组学”，这是一个新兴领域，涉及研究特定生物或整个生态系统产生的一整套脂质，以了解微生物如何适应影响海洋的全球范围的环境变化。他们会用中观和微观实验来做这个实验。Mesocosms是在半受控条件下检验自然环境的大型室外实验系统。微生态系统是一种小型室内实验系统，允许对单个生物或简化的生态系统进行一个或多个参数的控制实验。这些系统为水生生态系统的功能及其与物理和化学环境的相互作用提供了无与伦比的教学机会。在研究工作的同时，科罗拉多大学博尔德分校的团队将领导一项工作，加强双语（英语/西班牙语）海洋教育课程和活动，面向学校的儿童和教师，特别是来自贫困背景的儿童和教师，以及内陆科罗拉多州的公众。脂质组学的最新进展现在允许使用脂质作为微生物适应环境变化的指标。本CAREER项目采用综合实验和教育方法来研究：(a)通过大规模中尺度实验探索暴露于与不同上升流强度相关的多种环境压力源的天然微生物群落的脂质重塑；B)在微观和培养实验中，从上升流生态系统中分离出的关键浮游植物类群在特定环境胁迫下的脂质重塑；(c)新的双语（英语/西班牙语）教育单元和外联机会，提高海洋素养，目的是激励和增强公民促进海洋健康的能力。这项工作将测试一个重要的假设，即实验研究允许区分由不同生物来源（系统发育）和暴露于变化的物理化学条件下的来源生物的生理适应（脂质重塑）引起的脂质组变化。结果将阐明完整极地脂（ipl）在观测海洋学中的应用，以研究微生物对未来全球变化情景的适应，这一点迄今尚未得到严格的测试。此外，本研究将进一步解释海洋沉积物中保存的生物标志物作为过去微生物和生物地球化学过程的示踪剂。教育重点将通过海上学校实施，其中包括：(a)为5-8年级的学生开发教育模块（微型宇宙- mason -jar和mesocosmos -in-my-backyard实验），这些模块将在当地学校进行测试，然后在科罗拉多大学博尔德分校的既定教育和推广项目中传播；(b)促进高中学生以及少数民族和社区大学本科生对海洋的认识；(c)在促进海洋知识的活动中培训下一代科学教育者和志愿人员（海洋巡游者）。此外，本研究结果可作为全球变化与有机地球化学本科课程发展的基础。通过“女孩在博物馆探索科学”项目、“科学发现”项目、CIRES的教育和外联办公室以及内陆海洋联盟，与科罗拉多大学自然历史博物馆建立了重要的合作伙伴关系，将为向更广泛的学生和公众传播“海上学校”提供平台。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。

The response of ocean ecosystems to global environmental change is an important concern for ocean scientists and the public. The proposed research focuses on developing chemical tools to investigate how marine microbes respond and adapt to changes in their surrounding environment, such as increasing temperature, ocean acidification, oxygen loss, and availability of nutrients. Modifications in the lipids (a.k.a. biomarkers, or fats) present in the cell membranes of all known forms of life allow organisms to cope with environmental stress. The team will use “lipidomics,” an emerging field that involves studying the complete set of lipids produced by a given organism or an entire ecosystem, to understand how microbes can adapt to the global-scale changes in the environment impacting the ocean. They will do this using mesocosm and microcosm experiments. Mesocosms are large-scale outdoor experimental systems that examine the natural environment under semi-controlled conditions. Microcosms are small-scale indoor experimental systems that allow controlled experimentation of individual organisms or simplified ecosystems with one or more parameters. These systems offer unparalleled teaching opportunities about the functioning of aquatic ecosystems and their interaction with the physical and chemical environment. In parallel with the research efforts, the CU Boulder team will lead an effort to enhance bilingual (English/Spanish) ocean educational curriculum and activities for school children and teachers, particularly from underprivileged backgrounds, as well as the general public in the landlocked state of Colorado. Recent advances in lipidomics now allow the use of lipids as indicators of microbial adaptation to environmental change. This CAREER project uses an integrated experimental and educational approach to examine: (a) lipid remodeling in natural microbial communities exposed to multiple environmental stressors tied to varying upwelling intensity, explored through large scale mesocosm experiments; b) lipid remodeling in key phytoplankton groups isolated from upwelling ecosystems, subjected to selected environmental stressors in microcosm and culture experiments; and (c) new bilingual (English/Spanish) educational modules and outreach opportunities that will enhance ocean literacy with the aim of inspiring and empowering citizens to promote the health of our oceans. The work will test the overarching hypotheses that experimental studies allow the distinction between changes in lipidome caused by varying biological sources (phylogeny) and physiological adaptation (lipid remodeling) of source organisms exposed to changing physical-chemical conditions. Results will illuminate the application of intact polar lipids (IPLs) in observational oceanography for the study of microbial adaptation to future scenarios of global change—something that to date has not been rigorously tested. In addition, this study will further inform the interpretation of biomarkers preserved in marine sediments as tracers of past microbial and biogeochemical processes. The educational focus will be implemented through the School at Sea that includes: (a) development of educational modules (Microcosm-in-a-Mason-jar and Mesocosm-in-my-backyard experiments) for students in grades 5-8 that will be tested in local schools and then disseminated in stablished education and outreach programs at CU Boulder; (b) promotion of ocean literacy among high school students as well as minority and community college undergraduate students; (c) training of the next generation of science educators and volunteers (Sea Rangers) in activities that will promote ocean literacy. Furthermore, results from this study will serve as the basis for curriculum development for undergraduate courses in global change and organic geochemistry. Key partnerships with CU’s Museum of Natural History through the Girls At the Museum Exploring Science (GAMES) program, Science Discovery Program, and CIRES’s Education and Outreach Office, as well as the Inland Ocean Coalition will provide platforms for the dissemination of School at Sea to a broader audience of students and the general public.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.