MIM: Deciphering and Optimizing Cross-Domain Interactions to Increase Productivity in High pH-High Alkalinity Microalgae Communities

MIM：破译和优化跨域相互作用以提高高 pH-高碱度微藻群落的生产力

• 批准号: 2125083
• 负责人: Robin Gerlach
• 金额: $ 119.17万
• 依托单位: Montana State University
• 依托单位国家: 美国
• 项目类别: Standard Grant
• 财政年份: 2021
• 资助国家: 美国
• 起止时间: 2021-09-01 至 2026-08-31
• 项目状态: 未结题
• 来源: https://www.nsf.gov/awardsearch/showAward?AWD_ID=2125083&HistoricalAwards=false
• 关键词: MIM; Deciphering; Optimizing; Cross; Domain

Microalgae are responsible for more than half of the carbon dioxide fixation worldwide and often have greater photosynthetic efficiencies than terrestrial plants. Microalgae can use this fixed carbon to produce compounds like lipids that have value as an alternative to crude oil for biofuel and chemical production. Furthermore, microalgae can be cultivated on marginal lands using waste water; thus, they their commercial cultivation does not compete directly with existing food and feed crops. A major challenge for the large-scale cultivation of microalgae is the lack of understanding about how microbial communities affect algae growth. This interdisciplinary research and training project will use microbiology and molecular biology approaches, combined with engineering and computer modeling approaches, to bridge gaps in the understanding of algal microbiome interactions to achieve maximum productivity and culture stability. The research approaches and results will be transferrable to other natural and industrial systems relevant to society such as wastewater treatment, nutrient cycling, and nutraceutical production. Broader societal outcomes will include improved algal cultivation strategies, the training of graduate and undergraduate students with an emphasis on integrating students from tribal colleges in Montana, and the development of educational outreach modules for K-12 classrooms. This research project will focus on understanding and ultimately controlling the microbiome of highly productive, high pH/high alkalinity algal cultures for stable and robust primary productivity. Physical and metabolic interactions will be identified and quantified in the algae’s natural habitat and in enrichment cultures. Mathematical models of organismal and community metabolisms will be developed and used to predict possible improvements in the microbiome and in interspecies interactions. These predictions will be tested using well-defined experiments including next generation sequencing and physiology studies enabling observation of carbon and nitrogen exchange at both the culture and single-cell levels. Iterative refinement of modeling and experiments will lead to an in-depth understanding and ultimately optimization of community productivity, robustness, and stability. On a broader, ecological level, this work will decipher interactions of organisms in high pH, high alkalinity environments, which are among the most productive ecosystems in the world. The results and approaches to be developed will be readily transferrable to other phototrophic-driven environments as well as to other multi-domain microbial communities such as fungal-bacterial co-cultures.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.

微藻对全球一半以上的二氧化碳固定负有责任，并且通常比陆生植物具有更高的光合效率。微藻可以利用这种固定碳来生产像脂类这样的化合物，这些化合物在生物燃料和化学生产中具有替代原油的价值。此外，微藻可以利用废水在边缘土地上种植；因此，它们的商业种植并不直接与现有的粮食和饲料作物竞争。大规模培养微藻的一个主要挑战是缺乏对微生物群落如何影响藻类生长的了解。这个跨学科的研究和培训项目将使用微生物学和分子生物学方法，结合工程和计算机建模方法，弥合对藻类微生物组相互作用的理解差距，以实现最大的生产力和培养稳定性。研究方法和成果将转移到与社会相关的其他自然和工业系统，如废水处理、营养循环和营养食品生产。更广泛的社会成果将包括改进藻类培养策略，培训研究生和本科生，重点是整合蒙大拿州部落学院的学生，以及为K-12教室开发教育推广模块。本研究项目将重点了解并最终控制高产、高pH/高碱度藻类培养物的微生物群，以实现稳定和强大的初级生产力。将在藻类的自然栖息地和富集培养中确定和量化物理和代谢相互作用。将开发生物和群落代谢的数学模型，并用于预测微生物组和种间相互作用的可能改善。这些预测将通过定义良好的实验进行验证，包括下一代测序和生理学研究，从而在培养和单细胞水平上观察碳和氮交换。建模和实验的迭代细化将导致对社区生产力、健壮性和稳定性的深入理解和最终优化。在更广泛的生态层面上，这项工作将破译生物在高pH、高碱度环境中的相互作用，这些环境是世界上最具生产力的生态系统之一。研究结果和开发的方法将很容易转移到其他光养驱动的环境以及其他多领域微生物群落，如真菌-细菌共培养。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。