Frost flowers in Arctic winter: Sea-to-air transport of microbes and viruses

该奖项是根据2009年美国复苏和再投资法案(公共法律111-5)资助的。该计划的目标是通过野外(阿拉斯加巴罗附近)和实验室的对照实验，探索霜花的微生物学。霜花是冬季在新的海冰表面形成的具有高盐水含量的精致冰晶结构。工作假说是，霜花在生长过程中从海冰中吸出盐水，成为微生物和病毒的向上传播媒介，将它们集中在一些微生物和病毒活动可能在空中扩散之前或在雪下坍塌之后进行的结构中。在野外，实验田将能够对霜花和周围环境进行时序采样，以检验这些想法。实验室工作将跟踪1微米荧光珠(作为被动细菌模拟物)、活细菌和一种耐寒病毒，从来源海水到霜花。进一步的测试将解决由于胞外聚合物涂层而导致的选择性传输或冰保持问题。将使用呼吸染色CTC在现场和实验室中测试霜花盐水中的微生物活性，同时将使用DNA指纹方法(T-RFLP)评估特定类群(细菌和古生菌)的选择性运输、冰留或病毒介导的丧失。与拟议研究相关的外联和教育活动包括与NASA喷气推进实验室冰雪世界天体生物学项目协调实地工作，让巴罗居民参加实地工作，参加巴罗K-12课堂活动，以及培训本科生和研究生。

This award is funded under the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009(Public Law 111-5).The goal of this proposal is to explore the microbiology of frost flowers -- delicate ice crystal structures with high brine content that form on the surface of new sea ice in winter -- through controlled experiments in the field (near Barrow, Alaska) and in the laboratory. The working hypothesis is that frost flowers, as they wick brine from sea ice during growth, serve as upward vectors for microbes and viruses, concentrating them in structures where some microbial and viral activity may proceed prior to aerial dispersal or following collapse under snow. In the field, experimental plots will enable time-course sampling of frost flowers and environs to examine these ideas. Laboratory work will track 1-um fluorescent beads (as passive bacterial mimics), live bacteria, and a coldstable virus, singly and in combination, from source seawater into frost flowers. Further tests will address selective transport or ice retention due to exopolymer coatings. Microbial activity in frost flower brines will be tested both in situ and in the laboratory using the respiratory stain CTC, while selective transport, ice-retention or virally mediated loss of specific phylotypes (of Bacteria and Archaea) will be evaluated using a DNA fingerprinting approach (T-RFLP). Outreach and educational activities associated with proposed research include coordinating fieldwork with the NASA JPL project on the Astrobiology of Icy Worlds, involving residents of Barrow in fieldwork, participating in Barrow K-12 classroom activities, and training of undergraduate and graduate students.