Exploration of Eukaryotic Microbes in Sulfide-Enriched Sedimets at Redox Boundaries in the Black Sea

黑海是地球上已知的最大的贫氧、富硫化物盆地。虽然硫化氢通常是有毒的，但富含硫化氢的贫氧海水中可能存在密度高得惊人的真核微生物（如有孔虫）。这笔数额不大的国家科学基金会奖金将支持在黑海西南部进行一次单一的研究收集巡航，以探索沉积物/水界面与水柱中氧气消失相交的地方的微生物群落。真核微生物的种群将被量化和表征，以及检查共生细菌的存在。环境条件将通过使用从相同样品中收集的化学数据来确定（作为其他NSF项目的一部分，G. Luther，特拉华大学）。结果将提供一个非常独特的黑海海底微生物群落的观点，其中许多生物以前不为科学所知，从而为未来在该地区进行更多多学科详细研究奠定基础。人类活动造成的缺氧在海水中越来越普遍。描述黑海微生物群落的特征可能会使我们更好地了解这些群落在其他不太理想的水域中的作用，并可能提出新的补救措施。该项目的其他更广泛的影响包括来自EPSCoR州的机构的本科生的参与，以及PI与可能的外国合作者之间的互动。结果将被整合到南卡罗来纳大学未来的课程中。

The Black Sea is the largest known oxygen-depleted, sulfide-enriched basin on Earth. Although hydrogen sulfide is usually toxic, oxygen-depleted marine waters rich in sulfide can have surprisingly high densities of eukaryotic microorganisms (e.g., foraminiferans). This modest NSF award will support work on a single research collecting cruise in the southwestern Black Sea to explore microbial communities at points where the sediment/water interface intersects with the disappearance of oxygen in the water column. Populations of eukaryotic microbes will be quantified and characterized, as well as examined for the presence of symbiotic bacteria. Environmental conditions will be determined by using chemical data that will be collected from the same samples (as part of other NSF projects, G. Luther, University of Delaware). Results will provide a view of what may be a very unique bottom-dwelling Black Sea microbial community, with many organisms previously unknown to science, thereby providing a foundation for future, more multidisciplinary detailed studies in the area. Oxygen depletion caused by human activities is becoming more widespread in marine waters. Characterizing microbial consortia in the Black Sea may lead to a better understanding of the role of these communities in other waters where the process is less desirable, and could suggest new remedies. Other broader impacts of this project include the involvement of an undergraduate student from an institution in an EPSCoR state, and interaction between the PI and possible foreign collaborators. Results will be integrated into coursework taught in future classes at the University of South Carolina.