Proteomic profiling: A novel approach to understanding the biological causes of soil hydrophobicity

蛋白质组分析：了解土壤疏水性生物学原因的新方法

• 批准号: NE/H01277X/1
• 负责人: Geertje Van Keulen
• 金额: $ 5.91万
• 依托单位: Swansea University
• 依托单位国家: 英国
• 项目类别: Research Grant
• 财政年份: 2010
• 资助国家: 英国
• 起止时间: 2010 至 无数据
• 项目状态: 已结题
• 来源: https://gtr.ukri.org/projects?ref=NE%2FH01277X%2F1
• 关键词: Proteomic; profiling; novel; approach; understanding

This project will provide the foundation for understanding the relationship between the presence and/or absence of (hydrophobic) protein and soil hydrophobicity. The results will contribute to identifying the proteomic dynamics, which influence soil hydrology and structure, and ultimately the ability of soils to absorb water, support biomass growth, store carbon, and to capture and degrade pollutants. Soil hydrophobicity arises from the release of organic compounds by plants and soil microbes and it reduces or eliminates the ability of soils to absorb water. Depending on its severity, affected (environmental and agricultural) soil areas may not absorb water for periods ranging from minutes to months. After eventually wetting, soil hydrophobicity typically returns following dry periods, when soil moisture levels fall below a critical threshold. Its effects include reduced biomass production, inefficient use of irrigation water, preferential leaching of agri-chemicals and enhanced runoff. The latter contributes to increased flooding and soil erosion, which in turn can damage land. Also, soil water repellency is likely to affect microbial mobility and therefore the ability of soils to capture and degrade pollutants. Hydrophobicity is also relevant for carbon sequestration in soil, as it protects soil organic matter against decomposition. Despite these far reaching environmental and (agro-)economic consequences, the fundamental biological causes of soil hydrophobicity and its transient behaviour are not well understood. Addressing these research gaps is now possible through the application of novel experimental approaches in a crossdisciplinary project, bridging the fields of soil microbiology, environmental proteomics, and soil hydrology. The project will examine mainly UK grassland and dune soils with various characteristics and hydrophobicity, in order to determine and correlate (i) presence or accumulation of specific water-repellent proteins with the occurrence and fluctuations in soil hydrophobicity; (iii) temporal soil-derived protein profiles with the occurrence and fluctuations in soil hydrophobicity. It exploits novel analytical techniques, which include (a) hydrophobic protein extraction procedures under extreme conditions which have never been applied to environmental samples, including soils; and (b) novel general methods for extraction of proteins from soils. The project will lead to an understanding of the influence that soil protein have in determining the hydrophobicity of the soil around them and the manner in which hydrophobicity may change as protein profiles change reflecting varying environmental conditions. This knowledge is critical for accurate prediction of occurrence and effects of soil hydrophobicity, especially the transitions between wettable and non-wettable states, and development of optimum and sustainable natural resource management strategies for soil system functioning. The project is particularly relevant and timely in the context of climate predictions for the coming decades, which suggest more prolonged drought periods as well as more intense precipitation events for the UK and many other regions. Such changes in climatic conditions may induce more widespread development of hydrophobicity in soils, which in turn reduces infiltration and water storage and may increase the number of flooding events during intensely wet periods.

该项目将为理解（疏水）蛋白的存在和/或不存在与土壤疏水性之间的关系提供基础。研究结果将有助于确定影响土壤水文和结构的蛋白质组动态，并最终确定土壤吸收水分、支持生物量生长、储存碳以及捕获和降解污染物的能力。土壤疏水性是由植物和土壤微生物释放有机化合物引起的，它降低或消除了土壤吸收水分的能力。根据其严重程度，受影响的（环境和农业）土壤区域可能在几分钟到几个月的时间内不吸收水分。在最终润湿之后，土壤疏水性通常在干燥期之后恢复，此时土壤水分水平下降到临界阈值以下。其影响包括生物量生产减少、灌溉用水利用效率低下、农业化学品优先沥滤和径流增加。后者导致洪水和土壤侵蚀加剧，反过来又会破坏土地。此外，土壤的防水性可能会影响微生物的流动性，从而影响土壤捕获和降解污染物的能力。疏水性也与土壤中的碳固存有关，因为它保护土壤有机质不被分解。尽管这些深远的环境和（农业）经济后果，土壤疏水性和其瞬态行为的基本生物原因还没有很好地理解。通过在跨学科项目中应用新的实验方法，弥合土壤微生物学，环境蛋白质组学和土壤水文学领域，解决这些研究差距现在是可能的。该项目将主要研究具有各种特征和疏水性的英国草原和沙丘土壤，以确定和关联（i）特定防水蛋白的存在或积累与土壤疏水性的发生和波动;（iii）时间土壤衍生蛋白质谱与土壤疏水性的发生和波动。它利用了新的分析技术，其中包括（a）在极端条件下的疏水性蛋白质提取程序，这种程序从未应用于包括土壤在内的环境样品;（B）从土壤中提取蛋白质的新的一般方法。该项目将导致对土壤蛋白质在确定周围土壤疏水性方面的影响的理解，以及疏水性可能随着蛋白质谱的变化而变化的方式，反映了不同的环境条件。这些知识对于准确预测土壤疏水性的发生和影响，特别是疏水性和非疏水性状态之间的转换，以及制定土壤系统功能的最佳和可持续的自然资源管理策略至关重要。该项目在未来几十年的气候预测方面特别相关和及时，这表明英国和许多其他地区的干旱期更长，降水事件更强烈。气候条件的这种变化可能会导致土壤中疏水性的更广泛发展，这反过来又会减少渗透和水储存，并可能增加强潮湿时期洪水事件的数量。