MIP: Microbial Novelty: Symbiotic Interaction Between Microbes within the Oceanospirillales and a New Metazoan Genus

细菌和无脊椎动物的共生关系在维持许多海洋环境中观察到的高生产力方面发挥着关键作用。也许最不寻常的是共生伙伴关系，使生物体能够利用短暂的，不稳定的，有时有毒的水生环境。在这些环境中开发能源通常需要代谢和生理能力，而这些能力仅靠动物无法实现。其中一种共生关系包括一种新发现的多毛类蠕虫Osedax（拉丁语=食骨）和一种与海洋生物目有氧、烃降解成员有关的微生物之间的独特伙伴关系。这种不寻常的共生关系是唯一已知的能够利用沉没的海洋哺乳动物的腐烂骨头作为唯一营养来源的共生关系。共生微生物在高能化合物和蠕虫宿主之间提供了一个营养桥梁，但人们对这种新的生态策略的具体机制知之甚少。该项目的目标是了解Osedax蠕虫及其内共生体之间的特定营养整合，包括新型共生体的代谢能力和将碳底物转化为能量的途径。 这将使用培养技术进行研究，以分离共生体，沿着分子和生物化学方法，包括功能基因扩增和酶活性的措施，在双方的合作伙伴。这些蠕虫和它们的微生物共生体可能在海洋生物群落的有机化合物循环中发挥重要作用。有机碳的再矿化几乎完全由Osedax及其共生体促进，比碳输送到深海海底的典型途径快约2000年，深海海底是一个占地球表面约50%的栖息地。 该项目的目标是扩大公众对细菌/动物相互作用的兴趣。共生，或不同生物体的共同生活，极大地影响了地球上的生命。 推广计划，如拟议在太平洋长滩水族馆举办的展览，将展示这项研究，重点是一般海洋微生物学和微生物共生。

Symbiosis involving bacteria and invertebrates plays a critical role in sustaining the high productivity observed in many marine environments. Perhaps most unusual are symbiotic partnerships that have allowed organisms to exploit ephemeral, recalcitrant, and sometimes toxic aquatic environments. Exploitation of energy in these environments often requires metabolic and physiological capabilities that cannot be accomplished by animals alone. One such symbiosis includes a unique partnership between a newly discovered group of polychaete worm Osedax (Latin = bone-devouring) and a microbe related to aerobic, hydrocarbon-degrading members of the group Oceanospirillales. This unusual association is the only known symbiosis capable of using the decaying bones of sunken marine mammals as a sole source of nutrition. The symbiotic microbe provides a nutritional bridge between high-energy compounds and the worm host, yet very little is known about the specific mechanisms that enable this novel ecological strategy. The goal of this project is to understand the specific nutritional integration between Osedax worms and their endosymbionts, including the metabolic capabilities of the novel symbiont and the pathways for converting carbon substrates into energy. This will be investigated using culture techniques to isolate the symbionts, along with molecular and biochemical methods, including functional gene amplification and measures of enzyme activity in both partners. These worms and their microbial symbionts likely play substantial roles in the cycling of organic compounds in marine communities. Remineralization of organic carbon, facilitated almost entirely by Osedax and its symbiont, is approximately 2000 years faster than the typical avenue of carbon delivery to the deep seafloor, a habitat representing approximately 50% of the Earth's surface. This project includes the goal of expanding interest in bacterial/animal interactions to the general public. Symbiosis, or the living together of different organisms, has dramatically affected life on Earth. Outreach programs, such as a proposed exhibit at the Long Beach Aquarium of the Pacific will showcase this research, with emphasis on general marine microbiology and microbial symbioses.