滇藏热泉微生物介导的碳氮循环及其环境适应机制

研究高温热泉微生物介导的碳氮循环及其环境适应机制，对于我国深度开发热泉微生物资源和探讨地球生命起源等科学问题具有重要意义。本申请将以滇藏高温热泉为研究载体，应用地球化学、分子生态学和微生物学相结合的综合技术手段，系统研究介导碳氮循环的功能微生物的种群和功能多样性及其对环境条件(如温度和pH等)的响应，建立高温微生物碳氮代谢过程与功能基因和环境条件的耦合关系，挖掘滇藏热泉中未培养功能微生物及其代谢潜能，探索其在热泉碳氮循环过程中所扮演的角色，并以实验室前期从热泉中获得的“绿弯菌-温单胞菌”促生共培养物为模型，揭示功能微生物对热泉极端环境的适应机制。该项研究可为深入理解热泉环境下微生物驱动生源元素地球化学循环的机制，特别是有关微生物参与的碳氮循环提供理论基础，还可为高科技开发利用热泉微生物资源提供技术支撑，促进地质微生物学交叉学科的研究队伍和相关学科进一步发展壮大。

Investigation on microbial biodiversity in high-temperature hot springs, mechanisms of thermo-tolerance and understanding of its carbon and nitrogen metabolisms is of immense importance for bio-prospecting of thermophilic microbial resources and for understanding the early evolution of life on the Earth. This project proposes to study the microbial community structures in hot springs of Yunnan and Tibet, China, mining the genes involved in carbon and nitrogen metabolisms and understanding its functions in correlation with environmental parameters (temperature and pH). This will further help in establishing the coupling between microbial genes and its ecological functions with the geochemical processes of carbon/nitrogen metabolisms, and thereby provide a necessary framework for exploring the potential novel carbon- and nitrogen-related metabolic pathways. We also investigate the mechanism involved in bacterial adaptation to high-temperature environments using a ‘Chloroflexus sp.-Tepidimonas sp.’ symbiosis co-culture system obtained from hot spring. An integrated approach will be employed including geochemistry, geomicrobiology and microbiology. The successful implementation of this project will 1) provide a theoretical framework for holistic understanding of microbial adaptability to high temperature; 2) offer technological support for bio-prospecting of thermophiles in hot springs; and 3) help in development of the inter-disciplinary geomicrobiology in China.