OCE-PRF: Alkane-based metabolic coupling between phytoplankton and Marine Group II Euryarchaeota

该奖项全部或部分由2021年美国救援计划法案（公法117-2）资助。石油碳氢化合物通过自然途径（如地质层渗漏）以及人为来源（如与石油开采、运输和消费相关的工业溢油）进入海洋。生物源碳氢化合物（或神秘微生物碳氢化合物）以长链烷烃和烯烃的形式源自浮游植物（蓝细菌和其他微藻），并以大规模和快速的循环释放到海洋中，大大超过所有其他海洋石油输入。海洋中缺乏生物碳氢化合物积累，表明它们被微生物网络有效消耗。然而，目前有一个主要的知识差距，这些化合物在阳光照射的海洋，其中大部分生物烃消费发生的命运。这项工作旨在为理解对比海洋环境中生物烃的生产和生物降解奠定科学基础，并告知生物烷烃循环如何在构建海洋对破坏性海洋溢油灾害的反应中发挥作用。这里提出的具体研究来自最近的发现，即发现一个普遍的生物碳氢化合物循环在海洋中，如上所述，和发现海洋第二组（MGII）Euryarchaeota广泛窝藏碳氢化合物降解酶机制的基因组能力，具体的基因，我们直接观察到丰富的自然。为了探索这些观察之间的联系，我已经开发了三个可检验的假设，重点是吸收生物烷烃的MGII，在何种程度上MGII人口反映周围的碳氢化合物供应，以及是否MGII是能够开花时，美联储作为基板的石油。这种方法包括与以前资助的探险队一起进行的实地研究，利用太平洋和墨西哥湾的天然石油渗漏，与两个当地海洋时间序列采样计划（Plumes and Blooms和圣佩德罗海洋时间序列）联系起来，并结合了以MGII动态与生物烷烃相关的实验室研究。为了更广泛的影响和教育机会，这项研究包括在整个项目期间对多名本科生进行培训，经验将包括以前资助的探险队的实地工作，同位素和微生物技术的实验室经验，该奖项反映了NSF的法定使命，并通过使用基金会的学术价值和更广泛的影响审查标准。

This award is funded in whole or in part under the American Rescue Plan Act of 2021 (Public Law 117-2).Petroleum hydrocarbons enter the ocean via natural means—such as seepage from geologic strata—as well as from anthropogenic sources, such as industrial oil spills associated with extraction, transportation, and consumption of petroleum. Biogenic hydrocarbons (or cryptic microbial hydrocarbons) originate from phytoplankton (cyanobacteria and other microalgae) in the form of long-chain alkanes and alkenes, and are also released into the ocean in a massive and rapid cycle that greatly exceeds all other marine petroleum inputs. The lack of biological hydrocarbon accumulation in the ocean points to their efficient consumption by networks of microorganisms. However, there is currently a major knowledge gap on the fate of these compounds in the sunlit ocean where the majority of biogenic hydrocarbon consumption occurs. This work seeks to lay a scientific foundation for understanding the production and biodegradation of biogenic hydrocarbons in contrasting oceanic environments, and to inform how biogenic alkane cycles play a role in structuring the ocean’s response to devastating marine oil spill disasters. The specific research proposed here derives from a combination of recent discoveries, namely the discovery of a pervasive biological hydrocarbon cycle in the ocean, described above, and the discovery that Marine Group II (MGII) Euryarchaeota broadly harbor the genomic capacity for hydrocarbon-degrading enzymatic machinery, specific genes which we directly observe abundant in nature. To explore the linkage between these observations, I have developed three testable hypotheses that focus on the uptake of biogenic alkanes by MGII, the extent to which MGII populations reflect ambient hydrocarbon supply, and whether MGII is capable of blooming when fed whole petroleum as substrate. This approach involves field studies conducted in tandem with a previously funded expedition, leverages access to natural oil seeps in the Pacific and Gulf of Mexico, ties-in to two local ocean time-series sampling programs (Plumes and Blooms and San Pedro Ocean Time Series), and incorporates laboratory studies centered on MGII dynamics in relation to biogenic alkanes. Toward broader impacts and educational opportunities, this research includes training of multiple undergraduate students over the entire duration of the project and the experience will include field work on a previously funded expedition, laboratory experience with isotopic and microbial techniques, and participation in a major ocean sciences meeting.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.