MSB: Single Cell Ecology - Developing a new paradigm for the Microbial Diversity course of the Marine Biological Laboratory, Woods Hole, MA

该奖项是根据2009年美国复苏和再投资法案（公法111 - 5）资助的。自1971年以来，微生物多样性暑期课程一直在马萨诸塞州伍兹霍尔的海洋生物实验室教授，并被国际公认为生物学领域最伟大的高级研究课程之一。该项目将开发和实施新技术，并开发新的课程，促进单细胞生态技术的应用，作为探索微生物多样性的范例，并将培养下一代科学家应用这种单细胞范例。微生物是地球上最多样化和无处不在的生命形式，它们从根本上影响了我们生物圈的发展，并且今天仍在继续这样做，但我们仍然只是开始了解微生物世界的巨大生物多样性以及这些生物如何调节和应对生物圈变化的原则。此外，微生物领域中所包含的基因组信息库对于那些对天然产物发现感兴趣的人来说是一个宝库。自然系统中的绝大多数微生物尚未在实验室中培养和表征，它们的基因组表现出其他生命形式所无法比拟的流动性。因此，个别栽培菌株可能只含有野生种群中存在的总遗传多样性的一小部分。因此，圈养的微生物有时会表现出与野生微生物不同的特性，这也许并不奇怪。生物学家仍在努力解决这些发现的影响，试图了解这些动态进化机制如何影响微生物的生态及其提供生态系统服务的能力。单细胞方法使得可以使用单细胞基因组扩增来检查单个细胞的基因型或使用二次离子质谱（Nano-SIMS）等技术来检查它们的活性。这些令人兴奋的发展提供了所需的信息，以建立不同微生物的生态学的基本理解。微生物多样性课程是一个研究孵化器，为来自各种背景的人谁寻求微生物多样性及其理论基础的基本理解提供先进的培训。因此，在课程中提供的培训具有独特的影响，跨越多个领域，专注于微生物生命的多样性和生态。 该课程为研究生，博士后学者和来自微生物学，生态学，地球生物学，地球化学，海洋生物学，环境工程，甚至天体生物学和生物信息学等领域的研究人员提供了无与伦比的机会，以接受探索自然世界生物多样性的先进方法的培训。该课程还坚定地致力于提高妇女在科学领域的地位，并加强代表性不足的少数民族的参与。这是一个沉浸式的研究体验，包括6.5周的讲座，实验室练习，实地考察，并以自我指导的研究项目为高潮，参与者利用他们的新知识和技能进行新的发现，其中一些已经成为职业研究项目。每年夏天，来自世界各地的最重要的研究人员都会访问该课程，参加课程小型研讨会，演讲，并与实验室和现场的学生互动。该课程的沉浸式，综合性，跨学科和国际性提供了目前美国其他地方没有提供的培训机会。该项目的资金将帮助支持几名学生，资助众多着名的单细胞方法微生物学研究人员的访问，并为学生的实验室研究提供物质支持。

This award is funded under the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (Public Law 111-5).The Microbial Diversity Summer Course has been taught since 1971 at the Marine Biological Laboratory at Woods Hole, MA, and is internationally recognized as one of the great advanced research courses in biology. This project will develop and implement new techniques and develop a new course curriculum that fosters the application of single cell ecological techniques as a paradigm to explore the microbial diversity, and will train the next generation of scientists to apply this single cell paradigm. Microorganisms are the most diverse and ubiquitous form of life on the planet, they have fundamentally influenced the development of our biosphere, and they continue to do so today, yet we are still only beginning to understand the vast biodiversity of the microbial world and the principles that govern how these organisms mediate and respond to changes in the biosphere. In addition, the reservoir of genomic information contained within the microbial realm represents a treasure trove for those interested in natural product discovery. The vast majority of microorganisms in natural systems have yet to be cultivated in the laboratory and characterized, and their genomes exhibit a degree of fluidity unparalleled in other forms of life. As a result, individual cultivated isolates may contain only a fraction of the total genetic diversity present in wild populations. Perhaps it is not surprising then that microbes in captivity can at times demonstrate different properties from their wild counterparts. Biologists are still grappling with the implications of these discoveries, trying to understand how these dynamic evolutionary mechanisms impact the ecology of microorganisms and their ability to deliver ecosystem services. Single cell approaches make it possible to examine the genotypes of individual cells using single cell genome amplification or their activities using techniques like secondary ion mass spectrometry (Nano-SIMS). These exciting developments are providing information needed to build a fundamental understanding of the ecology of diverse microorganisms.The Microbial Diversity course is a research incubator that provides advanced training for individuals from a variety of backgrounds who seek a fundamental understanding of microbial diversity and its theoretical underpinnings. As such, the training provided in the course has a unique impact that spans multiple fields that focus on the diversity and ecology of microbial life. The course provides graduate students, postdoctoral scholars, and established investigators from fields such as microbiology, ecology, geobiology, biogeochemistry, marine biology, environmental engineering, and even astrobiology and bioinformatics, with an unequaled opportunity to receive training in advanced methods for exploring the biodiversity of the natural world. The course also has a strong commitment to the advancement of women in science and enhancing the participation of underrepresented minorities. It is an immersive research experience consisting of 6.5 weeks of lectures, laboratory exercises, field work, and it culminates with self-directed research projects in which participants use their new knowledge and skills to make novel discoveries, some of which have become career research projects. Foremost investigators from around the world visit the course every summer to participate in course mini-symposia, to lecture, and interact with students in the laboratory and in the field. The immersive, integrative, inter-disciplinary, and international nature of the course provides a training opportunity that is currently not provided elsewhere in the United States. The funding of this project will help support several students, fund visits by numerous renowned investigators in single cell approaches to microbiology, and provide material support for laboratory studies by the students.