Genomics of Terrestrial Microbial Communities Associated with the Production and Consumption of Greenhouse Gases

土壤中微生物的进化多样性和代谢多样性是惊人的：一克土壤含有超过10亿个微生物，可能代表数百万个物种。虽然对这些复杂的微生物群落知之甚少，但人们认识到，将原生土地转化为农业用途会影响群落的组成及其在温室气体生产和消费方面的功能。该研究项目将通过宏基因组方法对土壤中的大部分遗传多样性进行编目，并解决有关土壤中微生物群落的遗传结构与两种温室气体-一氧化二氮和甲烷的生产和消费之间关系的具体问题。 这项研究将在凯洛格生物站长期生态研究站（http：//www.example.com）进行，该研究站的建立部分是为了促进对农业生态系统的生态影响的了解，随着农业管理下土地面积的扩大，对农业对土壤微生物学影响的进一步了解将为今后减轻与土地管理战略有关的负面影响的战略提供基本的基础。lter.kbs.msu.edu除了推进对地球健康的关键元素周期的遗传基础的理解外，该项目还提供了极大地扩展生命遗传景观的诱人前景。博士后研究人员，研究生和本科生将有机会在实验设计和结果解释方面进行创造性和批判性的思考，特别是当他们应用于开发宏基因组序列数据分析所产生的假设的现场测试时。

The evolutionary diversity and metabolic versatility of microbes in soil is stunning: a gram of soil contains more than a billion microbes that may represent millions of species. Although relatively little is known about these complex microbial communities, it is recognized that conversion of native lands to agricultural uses impacts the composition of the communities and their functioning in terms of the production and consumption of greenhouse gases. This research project will catalog a large fraction of the genetic diversity in soil through metagenomic approaches and address specific questions about the relationships between the genetic structure of microbial communities in soil and the production and consumption of two greenhouse gases - nitrous oxide and methane. The research will be conducted at the Kellogg Biological Station Long Term Ecological Research site (http://lter.kbs.msu.edu) that was established in part to advance understanding of the ecological impacts of agroecosystems.As the acreage of land brought under agricultural management expands, enhanced knowledge of the effects of agriculture on the microbiology of soils will provide a fundamental underpinning for future strategies to mitigate the negative consequences associated with land management strategies. In addition to advancing understanding of the genetic basis for elemental cycles that are key to the health of the planet, this project offers the tantalizing promise of dramatically expanding the view of the genetic landscape of life. Opportunities will be available for post doctoral researchers, graduate and under-graduate students to think creatively and critically in the design of experiments and interpretation of results, especially as they apply to developing field tests of hypotheses resulting from analyses of metagenomic sequence data.