Uncultivated microorganisms and their domestication

本研究以海洋不可培养微生物为研究对象。这些不可耕种的生物是海洋中最大的生物多样性储藏库之一。该项目将回答以下两个问题：1)不可培养的本质是什么，为什么不可培养的东西不能在实验室里生长？2)如何改变这种状况，驯化不可耕种的作物？回答这些问题是研究的长期目标，本项目是对这一目标的贡献。在NSF SGER的支持下，PI开发了一种在原位纯培养中培养不可培养微生物的新方法。目前的研究建立在这些结果的基础上，并有以下目标：目标1：解决选定微生物中不可培养的本质。使用他们的新技术，他们在原位纯培养中分离了几个联盟的单个成员，并在体外保持了它们的共同培养。利用一系列精细的化学工具，PI计划解决这些微生物协同作用中相互作用的化学性质。PIs设计了化学分析，无论这些微生物的相互作用是基于交叉喂养、抑制剂的去除、信号传递还是其他类型的化学交换，都将实现这一目标。目的2：选择不可培养的微生物进行驯化。一旦PI解决了微生物联盟成员之间的化学相互作用的性质，他们计划在化学上模拟培养皿中协同伙伴的存在。驯化过程可能被证明对每种微生物具有高度的特异性，或者它可能适用于更广泛的不同微生物。目的3：建立一种新的不可培养微生物的培养体系。私人投资公司将详细研究这些“不可培养”的微生物作为他们的长期目标，并在这一点上计划通过建立一个新的新微生物集合来利用新分离的菌株。私人投资机构计划将这一收藏向所有人开放，以便及时确定他们的特征。这项研究的更广泛影响包括培训两名研究生，让本科生通过勤工俭学和荣誉计划参与进来，以及通过与当地居民的会议向公众传播数据。

This research focuses on marine uncultivable microorganisms. The uncultivables represent one of the largest reservoirs of biological diversity in the ocean. The project will answer the following two questions: 1) what is the nature of uncultivability and why do the uncultivables not grow in the laboratory? and 2) how to change this and domesticate the uncultivables? Answering these questions is the long-term aim of the research and this project is a contribution towards this goal. With support from an NSF SGER, the PIs developed a novel approach for growing uncultivable microorganisms in pure culture in situ. The current research builds on these results and has the following objectives: Objective 1: to resolve the nature of uncultivability in selected microorganisms. Using their new technique, they isolated individual members of several consortia in pure culture in situ, and maintained their co-cultures in vitro. Using an array of fine chemical tools, the PIs plan to resolve the chemical nature of the interactions within these microbial synergisms. The PIs have designed the chemical analyses such that the objective will be achieved whether these microbial interactions are based on cross-feeding, removal of inhibitors, signaling, or other kinds of chemical exchange. Objective 2: to domesticate selected uncultivable microorganisms. Once the PIs have resolved the nature of chemical interactions between the members of microbial consortia, they plan to chemically mimic the presence of synergistic partners in Petri dish. The domestication process may prove highly specific to each microbe, or it may be applicable across a wider range of different microorganisms. Objective 3: to initiate a new culture collection of previously uncultivable microorganisms. The PIs see the detailed study of these "uncultivable" microorganisms as their long-term goal and, at this point, plan to make use of the newly isolated strains by building a new collection of novel microorganisms. The PIs plan to make this collection open to everyone so that their characterization will proceed in a timely manner. Broader impact of this research includes training of two graduate students, involvement of undergraduate students through work-study and honors programs, and data dissemination to the public at large through meetings with local residents.