A Tropical Microbial Observatory: Collaborative Research on Microbial Diversity in Caterpillars.

MCB-0084224Anna-Louise ReysenbachLinda Amaral zettler博士领导的研究团队。Robert M. Goodman（威斯康星大学麦迪逊分校）、Anna-Louise Reysenbach（波特兰州立大学）和Greg Thorn（西安大ontario大学）获得了一笔赠款，用于建立一个热带微生物观测站，以合作研究与毛毛虫相关的微生物多样性（细菌、古生菌、真菌、原生生物）。该观测站将设在哥斯达黎加西北部的瓜纳卡斯特保护区（ACG），该地区已被确定为生物保护的“热点”。该项目的后勤基础是在整个ACG建立的生物站网络，在那里，另一个由nsf资助的团队正在进行一项大型的、长期的毛毛虫调查和盘点。微生物观察站的研究将集中在培养和非培养微生物群的检测、表征和清查上，后者预计将比传统培养方法单独揭示的微生物群更加多样化。长期目标是研究微生物（其中大部分对科学来说是新的）在草食性毛虫的摄食偏好、习性、发育和营养方面的动态和功能。简而言之，确定该热带森林系统中微生物多样性是否与动植物物种多样性相似。研究团队将使用环境微生物学的突破性方法来实现这些目标，包括宏基因组克隆和DNA微阵列等工具。分子研究将与以培养为基础的研究相结合，这两种方法将使人们更好地了解与天文台毛虫相关的微生物组合的性质和动态。这一结果有望使科学家们能够利用微生物的生化和遗传能力，从而发现潜在的新的有用的天然产物。这个观测站还将通过培训美国和哥斯达黎加的本科生和研究生、与美国和哥斯达黎加的保护生物学家密切合作、与哥斯达黎加国家生物多样性研究所（INBio）建立数据库联系以及与哥斯达黎加圣何塞大学的研究人员直接合作，促进美国和哥斯达黎加的合作。从该项目中获得的所有培养物和DNA将存储在美国和哥斯达黎加的收藏品中，这将为未来筛选新产品或基因提供有机和遗传基础。该研究将为这一物种丰富地区的微生物多样性调查建立框架，其结果有望在跨学科科学培训和公众宣传和教育方面产生广泛的本地和全球影响。

MCB-0084224Anna-Louise ReysenbachLinda Amaral ZettlerResearch teams headed by Drs. Robert M. Goodman (University of Wisconsin-Madison), Anna-Louise Reysenbach (Portland State University), and Greg Thorn (University of Western Ontario) have been awarded a grant to establish a tropical microbial observatory for collaborative research on microbial diversity (Bacteria, Archaea, Fungi, Protists) associated with caterpillars. The observatory will be based in the Area de Conservacion Guanacaste (ACG) in northwestern Costa Rica, which has been identified as a "hotspot" for biological conservation. The project is logistically based on the network of biological stations established throughout the ACG, where another NSF-funded team is conducting a large, long-term survey and inventory of caterpillars. Studies of the microbial observatory will focus on the detection, characterization, and inventory of cultured and non-cultured microbiota, the latter which is expected to be vastly more diverse than that revealed by traditional culturing methods alone. The long-term goal is to study the dynamics and function of microorganisms (most of which will be new to science) in the feeding preferences, habits, development, and nutrition of herbivorous caterpillars. In short, to determine if microbial diversity parallels animal and plant species diversity in this tropical forest system.The research teams will use groundbreaking methods in environmental microbiology to accomplish these goals, including metagenome cloning and tools such as DNA microarrays. The molecular studies will be integrated with the cultivation-based studies and, together, these two approaches will lead to a better understanding of the nature and dynamics of assemblages of microorganisms associated with caterpillars at the observatory. The results are expected to allow scientists to tap into the biochemical and genetic capabilities of the microorganisms that may lead to the discovery of potentially new and useful natural products. This observatory will also foster U.S.-Costa Rican collaboration through training of US and Costa Rican undergraduate and graduate students, close collaboration with US and Costa Rican conservation biologists, database linkages to the Instituto Nacional de Biodiversidad Costa Rica (INBio), and direct collaboration with researchers at the University of Costa Rica at San Jose. All cultures and DNA obtained from this project will be stored in both US and Costa Rican collections, which will provide an organismal and genetic foundation for future screening of novel products or genes. This study will set the framework for additional microbial diversity inventories in this species rich area, and its results are expected to have extensive local and global impacts for both cross-disciplinary scientific training and public outreach and education.