Collaborative Research: Artificial Coral

这个合作项目开发了珊瑚启发的人工细胞，并研究了这些人工宿主和活藻类之间的相互作用。珊瑚礁是活珊瑚生物体的矿物骨骼的积累。它们的颜色来自共生藻类，它们生活在珊瑚中，对它们的生存很重要。珊瑚白化是这些内在藻类的损失。为了预测和应对气候变化对珊瑚礁和相关渔业的影响，需要提高对珊瑚-藻类共生的基本认识，但生物共生系统的复杂性使研究变得复杂。该项目正在开发人工珊瑚，作为简单的非生命模型“生物体”，作为剖析珊瑚-藻类关系的生物化学的起点。该项目还召集不同群体的公众讨论，以更多地了解美国公众对在气候迅速变化的时期建造这种人造珊瑚所带来的社会和环境效益和风险的看法。这些讨论为科学家和工程师反思设计师细胞构建的影响以及设计师细胞科学家培训中的科学家，普通公众，K-12学生和政策制定者的社会教育提供了证据基础。两种类型的人工珊瑚细胞，旨在捕获珊瑚的关键功能，正在通过自下而上的组装从无生命的分子部分构建。第一个，灵感来自珊瑚的口腔胃胚层细胞，旨在参与与生活甲藻藻类的共生关系。第二个是用来存款矿物骨骼，就像珊瑚的钙基细胞一样。该项目有四个目标：1）捕获和维持人工共生体空泡内的活藻细胞; 2）构建具有矿化能力的人工成钙细胞室; 3）将目标1和2的人工细胞联合收割机结合，以获得结合光合作用和钙化的活藻共生体; 4）召集公共审议小组，同时探讨人工珊瑚，比较合成细胞，自下而上合成生物学和美国创新体系的看法。这些无生命的人工珊瑚细胞提供了一个新的平台，通过极大地简化宿主生物化学，探索珊瑚礁的珊瑚-藻类互惠共生的关键方面。该奖项反映了NSF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。

This collaborative project develops coral-inspired artificial cells and studies the interactions between these artificial hosts and living algae. Coral reefs are the accumulated mineral skeletons of living coral organisms. Their color comes from symbiotic algae that live inside the corals and are important to their survival. Coral bleaching is the loss of these internalized algae. Improved basic understanding of coral-algae symbioses is needed to predict and combat the effects of climate change on coral reefs and associated fisheries, but the complexity of living symbiotic systems complicates study. This project is developing artificial corals that serve as simple, nonliving model "organisms" as a beginning point to dissect the biological chemistry of the coral-algae relationship. The project also convenes public deliberations with diverse groups to learn more about the American public’s perceptions of the social and environmental benefits and risks posed by construction of such artificial coral in a time of rapid climate change. These deliberations provide an evidence base for reflection, among scientists and engineers, about the implications of designer cell construction and for science in society education of designer cell scientists-in-training, lay publics, K-12 students, and policymakers.Two types of artificial coral cells, designed to capture key functions of coral, are being constructed by bottom-up assembly from nonliving molecular parts. The first, inspired by coral's oral gastroderm cells, is designed to participate in a symbiotic relationship with living dinoflagellate algae. The second is designed to deposit mineral skeletons, as do the coral calicobastic cells. The project has four objectives: 1) Capture and maintenance of living algal cells within artificial symbiosome vacuoles; 2) Construct a mineralization-capable artificial calicoblastic compartment; 3) Combine the artificial cells of objectives 1 and 2 to obtain live algal symbiosis that combines photosynthesis and calcification; 4) Convene public deliberative groups that concurrently explore perceptions of artificial coral, comparative synthetic cells, bottom-up synthetic biology, and the US innovation system. These nonliving artificial coral cells provide a new platform for probing crucial aspects of the coral-algae mutualism responsible for coral reefs by greatly simplifying host biochemistry.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.