Northern aquatic microbiomes faced with rapid environmental change.

微生物是水生生态系统的重要组成部分，种类繁多。我的研究项目使用新的基于基因组学的分子方法来调查这些重要的水生微生物的生物多样性、代谢多样性和进化。正在调查的水生生态系统包括北部海洋、河口，以及最近季节性冰覆盖的北部湖泊。所有这些生态系统都不同程度地受到气候变化和其他人为干扰的影响。我的研究计划旨在为微生物的分布和活动可能如何受到这些环境压力的影响提供见解，长期目标是发展对水生态系统中微生物如何响应环境变异性的预测性理解。以前，我们使用先进的基因组学方法来发现和描述海岸和河口海洋系统中重要的碳、氮和硫循环代谢途径。*基于过去的成功，该研究计划正在扩大到调查快速变化的北冰洋和季节性冰盖的北方湖泊中的微生物。具体目标包括：(1)评估快速变化的AO中微生物群落结构和功能的年际变异性；(2)利用比较基因组学确定AO特有的微生物类群并表征其适应性特征；(3)评估北方湖泊在一年中无冰和覆冰期间微生物群落结构和功能的变异性。*项目目标将由一个研究小组负责，该小组将融入关于环境变化对水生生态系统的影响的大规模合作研究。作为正在进行的海洋监测计划的一部分，我们可以获得过去10年在整个北冰洋收集的微生物样本的独特档案。此外，我们还建立了一个多年的微生物样本档案，这些样本来自魁北克不同地区的三个湖泊观测站，这些样本是在无冰和有冰期间收集的。利用包括元基因组学和原位基因表达分析在内的各种与培养无关的分子方法，我们将对这些不断变化的北方生态系统中的微生物分布和活动提供前所未有的看法。*研究计划产生的见解将对预测微生物群落结构和功能与因气候变化而变化的物理和生物地球化学过程之间的关系的模型的开发至关重要。这项工作将通过揭示与加拿大北部水域不断变化的条件有关的微生物多样性和新陈代谢以前不为人知的模式，为微生物生态学和海洋学领域提供新的见解。

Microorganisms are a diverse and important component of aquatic ecosystems. My research program investigates the biodiversity, metabolic versatility, and evolution of these important aquatic microbes using novel genomics-based molecular approaches. Aquatic ecosystems under investigation include northern oceans, estuaries, and most recently, seasonally ice-covered northern lakes. All these ecosystems are impacted by climate change and other anthropogenic perturbations to varying degrees. My research program is coordinated to provide insights into how microbial distributions and activities may be influenced by these environmental pressures and the long-term objective is to develop a predictive understanding of how microorganisms respond to environmental variability in aquatic ecosystems. Previously, we employed advanced genomics approaches to discover and describe important carbon, nitrogen, and sulfur cycling metabolic pathways in coastal and estuarine marine systems. ****Based on past successes, the research program is expanding to investigate microbes in the rapidly changing Arctic Ocean and seasonally ice-covered northern lakes. Specific objectives include: (1) to assess the interannual variability of microbial community structure and function in the rapidly changing AO, (2) to identify microbial taxa that are endemic to the AO and characterize their adaptive traits using comparative genomics, (3) to assess the variability of microbial community structure and function in northern lakes during ice-free and ice-covered periods of the year. ****Program objectives will be addressed by a research team that is integrated into large-scale collaborative studies on the influence of environmental change on aquatic ecosystems. We have access to a unique archive of microbial samples collected throughout the Arctic Ocean over the past 10 years as part of an ongoing oceanographic monitoring program. In addition, we have generated a multi-year archive of microbial samples collected throughout the ice-free and ice-covered periods from three lake observatories located in different regions of Quebec. Using a variety of ‘cultivation-independent' molecular methods including metagenomics and in situ gene expression analysis, we will provide an unprecedented view of microbial distributions and activities in these changing northern ecosystems.****Insights generated by the research program will be essential in the development of models that predict the relationships between microbial community structure and function and the physical and biogeochemical processes that are shifting as a result of climate change. This work will provide novel insight in the fields of microbial ecology and oceanography by revealing previously unrecognized patterns in microbial diversity and metabolism associated with changing conditions in the Canadian northern waters.**