Collaborative Research on Bacterioplankton Biology and Biogeochemistry at the Bermuda Atlantic Time-series Station: An Oceanic Microbial Observatory

这个合作微生物观测站项目的重点是地球上最大的微生物生态系统之一：海洋表层。海洋表层的微生物在从大气到深海的碳运输中起着不可或缺的作用。这种“生物碳泵”具有全球生物地球化学意义。百慕大大西洋时间序列研究站点（BATS）是一个亚热带环流，其特征是冬季水柱混合事件，春季浮游植物大量繁殖，夏季高度分层的极端表面营养不足。BATS一直是开发用于测量微生物多样性的先进分子技术的试验台，也是对地球上海洋变量进行最长时间序列研究的地点。本项目的总体目标是通过应用细胞培养与环境基因组学相结合的新技术，并通过加强对这些物种的长期监测技术，了解7个主要的非培养浮游细菌类群sar11、SAR86、SAR202和SAR116，海洋放线菌、SAR324和SAR406的细胞生物学和生物地球化学活性。该项目将支持俄勒冈州立大学（Stephen Giovannoni博士，获奖9977930）监测微生物多样性的试验技术向百慕大生物研究站（此奖项）的转移，并促进新技术的发展，以确定浮游细菌生物学。这项工作的首要目标将是通过采用新颖的高通量检测和遗传筛选方法，首次在培养基中培养这些微生物，这些方法旨在探索大量介质变量，并检测生物之间的积极和消极生物相互作用。关于这些物种的基因组学和群体遗传学的基本问题正在通过将大插入基因组DNA文库的研究与染色体绘制程序联系起来进行探索。该方法旨在建立在生物地球化学过程中起关键作用的基因之间的细胞连锁群，并为检测和计数细胞提供新的原位杂交策略。这些数据将帮助我们了解元素循环和能量流动是如何通过进化过程在物种之间分配的。这项工作将在BATS基地正在进行的生物地球化学研究的背景下进行，并将与每年的夏季课程、本科生研究经验计划以及由百慕大生物研究站支持的活跃的万维网活动联系起来。

This collaborative Microbial Observatory project focuses on one of the largest microbial ecosystems on the planet: the ocean surface layer. Microorganisms in the ocean surface layer play an integral role in carbon transport from the atmosphere to the deep ocean. This "biological carbon pump" has global biogeochemical significance. The Bermuda Atlantic Time series study Site (BATS) is a subtropical gyre characterized by winter water column mixing events, spring phytoplankton blooms, and highly stratified summer periods of extreme surface oligotrophy. BATS has been a testbed for the development of advanced molecular techniques for measuring microbial diversity, and is the site of the longest time-series study of oceanographic variables on the planet. The overall goal of this project is to understand the cell biology and biogeochemical activity of seven major uncultured bacterioplankton groups -SAR11, SAR86, SAR202 and SAR116, marine actinobacteria, SAR324, and SAR406, by applying new technologies that integrate cell culture and environmental genomics, and by enhancing technologies for the long term monitoring of these species. This program will support the transfer of tested technologies for monitoring microbial diversity from Oregon State University (Dr. Stephen Giovannoni, Award 9977930) to the Bermuda Biological Station for Research (this award), and promote the development of new technologies with the goal of defining bacterioplankton biology. The foremost objective of this effort will be to grow these microorganisms in culture for the first time by employing novel high-throughput detection and genetic screening approaches that were designed for exploring a large number of medium variables and for detecting positive and negative biological interactions among organisms. Fundamental questions about the genomics and population genetics of these species are being explored by linking studies of large-insert genomic DNA libraries with chromosomal painting procedures. This approach is designed to establish cellular linkage groups among genes that play key roles in biogeochemical processes, and to provide new in situ hybridization strategies for detecting and counting cells. These data will help us understand how elemental cycling and energy flux have been partitioned among species by evolutionary processes. The work will be conducted in the context of ongoing biogeochemical studies at the BATS site, and will be linked to an annual summer course, Research Experience for Undergraduates program, and active World Wide Web activities supported by the Bermuda Biological Station for Research.