NOSASSO: N-OSmolytes Across the Surface Southern Ocean: Environmental Drivers and Bioinformatics

含氮化合物，包括甘氨酸甜菜碱(GBT)、胆碱和三甲胺N-氧化物(TMAO)广泛存在于海洋生物中。它们被海洋生物用作相容的溶质，以应对环境条件的变化，如盐度的增加，因为它们不会干扰细胞新陈代谢。在海洋环境中，由于环境条件的变化，如病毒溶解或放牧，这些化合物经常从这些生物直接释放到海水中。释放的含氮渗透分子是海洋微生物的重要营养物质，可作为碳源、氮源和能源利用。众所周知，这些含氮渗透分子的降解有助于释放气候活跃的气体，包括挥发性甲胺。甲胺是海洋大气中气溶胶的重要来源，有助于反射阳光并对气候产生降温作用。我们由NERC资助的研究开始了解这些化合物在沿海表层海水中的微生物新陈代谢及其季节循环，但我们对世界各地海洋的了解有限。对地球气候特别重要的是南大洋。南大洋是地球气候系统中的一个重要参与者，由于其与大陆排放和强烈的绕极大气环流隔绝，使其空气保持原始，因此是研究海洋-大气联系的理想区域。然而，研究南大洋的机会很少，与世界其他海洋相比，即使是进行最常规的测量，南大洋的样本也仍然不足。我们在南极环航探险(ACE)中有一个独特的机会，可以在整个南大洋和南极洲附近进行测量和收集样本。其他21个国际项目也将进行同一探险的研究，其中6个项目与我们的研究有很好的联系。不幸的是，在探险之后，没有计划让项目协作和集成数据，这确实是一个错失的机会。这项提议旨在开发一个新的国际网络，包括六个ACE项目，并利用巡航后的活动来利用产生的数据和知识，以利用我们由NERC资助的含氮渗透分子研究，并扩大其国际广度。

Nitrogen-containing compounds, including glycine betaine (GBT), choline and trimethylamine N-oxide (TMAO) are ubiquitous in marine organisms. They are used by marine organisms as compatible solutes in response to changes in environmental conditions, such as increasing salinity, because they do not interfere with cell metabolism. They also have beneficial effects in protecting proteins against denaturation due to chemical or physical damage.In the marine environment, these compounds are frequently released from these organisms directly into seawater due to changing environmental conditions, such as by viral lysis or grazing. The released nitrogenous osmolytes serve as important nutrients for marine microorganisms, which can use them as carbon, nitrogen and energy sources. It is well known that the degradation of these nitrogenous osmolytes contribute to the release of climate-active gases, including volatile methylamines. Methylamines are important sources of aerosols in the marine atmosphere, which help to reflect sunlight and cause a cooling effect on the climate. Our NERC-funded research is starting to understand the microbial metabolism of these compounds and their seasonal cycles in the coastal surface seawater, but our understanding across the world's oceans is limited.Of particular importance to the Earth's climate is the Southern Ocean. The Southern Ocean is an important player in the Earth climate system, and is an ideal region to study ocean-atmosphere connections because of its isolation from continental emissions and the strong circumpolar atmospheric circulation, rendering its air pristine. Opportunities to study the Southern Ocean are rare however, and it remains under sampled even for the most routine measurements compared to the rest of the World's oceans. We have a unique opportunity within the Antarctic Circumnavigation Expedition (ACE) to make measurements and collect samples around the entire Southern Ocean, and near Antarctica. Twenty one other international projects will also be conducting research from the same expedition, and six of these projects have excellent links to our research. Unfortunately, there are no plans for after the expedition for the projects to collaborate and integrate data, which is a real missed opportunity. This proposal aims to develop a new international network with six ACE projects and use post-cruise activities to exploit data and knowledge generated to capitalise on our NERC-funded research on nitrogenous osmolytes and to increase its international breadth.