A Genomics-enabled Microbial Observatory in the Monterey Bay National Marine Sanctuary

一笔赠款已授予爱德华·F博士。马萨诸塞州理工学院的DeLong开发和应用基因组技术来表征蒙特雷湾国家海洋保护区的浮游微生物的生物学、生态学和种群动态。 表征本地微生物物种，并监测其空间和时间变异性是微生物学家的一项具有挑战性的事业。 为了应对这一挑战，该项目将采用基因组技术来研究天然海洋微生物种群，并将设计DNA微阵列（又名DNA“芯片”），可以同时检测数百种特定的微生物物种。 在该项目的一个组成部分中，将回收土著浮游微生物基因组的大片段，对其DNA进行测序，并确定相关微生物的功能特性。 此外，基因组序列数据将用于设计基于DNA的微阵列（DNA芯片），以同时跟踪蒙特雷湾数百种微生物物种的空间和时间变异性。 微阵列将能够研究沿海浮游生物的种群动态，并协助确定影响其变异性的物理、化学、生物和人为因素。该项目的更广泛影响包括开发和应用先进技术来跟踪环境中与生态相关的微生物。 这些新方法将对海洋学家、微生物学家和生态学家等普遍有用。 产生的基因组序列数据将大大增加对地球上微生物生命的一般知识。 研究生，本科生和博士后学生将在这个项目的过程中进行培训。 麻省理工学院和蒙特雷湾国家海洋保护区维持的网站将有助于教育更广泛的公众了解沿海海洋中的微生物过程及其对海洋生态系统的影响。该项目产生的所有工具、分析和数据将免费提供给科学界和广大公众。

A grant has been awarded to Dr. Edward F. DeLong of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology to develop and apply genomic technologies for characterizing the biology, ecology, and population dynamics of planktonic microbes in the Monterey Bay National Marine Sanctuary. Characterization of native microbial species, and monitoring their spatial and temporal variability represents a challenging enterprise for microbiologists. To address this challenge, this project will employ genomic technologies to study natural marine microbial populations, and will design DNA microarrays (aka DNA "chips") that can simultaneously detect hundreds of specific microbial species. In one component of the project, large fragments of indigenous planktonic microbial genomes will be recovered, their DNA sequenced, and the functional properties of the associated microorganisms will be determined. In addition, the genome sequence data will be used to design DNA-based microarrays (DNA chips), to track the spatial and temporal variability of hundreds of microbial species simultaneously, in Monterey Bay. The microarrays will enable study of the population dynamics of coastal plankton, and assist in determining the physical, chemical, biotic, and anthropogenic factors that influence their variability. The broader impacts of this project include the development and application of advanced technologies to track ecologically relevant microbes in the environment. These new methods will be generically useful for oceanographers, microbiologists, and ecologists alike. The genome sequence data produced will add significantly to general knowledge of microbial life on Earth. Graduate, undergraduate and postdoctoral students will be trained in the course of this project. Websites, maintained at MIT and the Monterey Bay National Marine Sanctuary, will help to educate a broader public about microbial processes in the coastal oceans, and their influences on oceanic ecosystems. All the tools, analyses, and data generated in this project will be made freely accessible to the scientific community and public at large.