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

该奖项的全部或部分资金来自《2021年美国救援计划法案》(公法117-2)。石油碳氢化合物通过自然方式(如地质地层的渗漏)和人为来源(如与石油开采、运输和消费相关的工业漏油)进入海洋。生物碳氢化合物(或隐蔽微生物碳氢化合物)来源于浮游植物(蓝藻和其他微藻)，以长链烷烃和烯烃的形式，并以巨大和快速的循环释放到海洋中，远远超过所有其他海洋石油投入。海洋中缺乏生物碳氢化合物，表明微生物网络有效地消耗了这些碳氢化合物。然而，对于这些化合物在阳光明媚的海洋中的命运，目前存在着重大的知识差距，而大部分生物来源的碳氢化合物消费发生在那里。这项工作旨在为了解不同海洋环境中生物碳氢化合物的产生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毁灭性海洋漏油灾难的反应中发挥作用。这里提出的具体研究源于最近的发现，即上文所述海洋中普遍存在的生物碳氢化合物循环的发现，以及海洋第二类(MGII)Eurya chaeota广泛拥有降解碳氢化合物的酶机械的基因组能力，我们直接观察到自然界中丰富的特定基因。为了探索这些观察之间的联系，我提出了三个可测试的假设，重点是MGII对生物源烷的吸收，MGII种群反映环境碳氢化合物供应的程度，以及MGII是否能够在以整个石油为底物时开花。这一方法涉及与以前资助的一次探险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，与当地的两个海洋时间序列采样计划(羽流和水华和圣佩德罗海洋时间序列)挂钩，并纳入以MGII生物成因烷烃动力学为中心的实验室研究。对于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，经验将包括先前资助的探险的实地工作，同位素和微生物技术的实验室经验，以及参加一个重要的海洋科学会议。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 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.