MSB: Genomics of Ecologically Defined Bacterial Populations

微生物是生物多样性无可争议的捍卫者。它们数量众多，在生物化学上具有多样性，并且在几乎所有生物相关的元素循环中发挥重要作用。但这种多样性使得一些基本问题难以解决：共存的微生物如何分配生态功能，生态多样性的进化机制是什么？ 本项目以弧菌科的沿海海洋细菌为模型来解决这些问题。将开发新的统计工具，以确定共存微生物中生态上不同的种群，并将分析约70个完整的基因组序列，以确定导致种群差异的基因。细菌种群内部和之间的基因交换的作用将被量化，并用于严格测试现有的细菌种群遗传学理论。 种群是在不断变化的环境中发挥功能的基本生态和进化单位，该项目促进了对细菌种群的理解。这些结果将有助于预测微生物群落（包括病原体以及参与元素循环的微生物）在不断变化的环境中的行为和反应。一名博士后研究员和研究生及本科生将参与这项研究。该项目将创造重要的遗传和分析资源，并将开发视觉工具，以更好地向公众介绍微生物及其在重要生态系统功能中的重要作用。

Microorganisms are undisputed champions of biological diversity. They are both numerous and biochemically diverse, and they play significant roles in nearly all biologically relevant element cycles. But this diversity has made some fundamental questions difficult to solve: How do co-existing microbes partition ecological functions, and what are the evolutionary mechanisms of ecological diversification? This project addresses these questions using coastal ocean bacteria of the Vibrionaceae as a model. New statistical tools will be developed to identify ecologically distinct populations among co-existing microbes, and ~70 complete genome sequences will be analyzed to identify the genes responsible for differences among populations. The role of gene exchange within and between bacterial populations will be quantified and used to critically test existing theories of bacterial population genetics. Populations are the fundamental ecological and evolutionary units of function in changing environments, and this project advances understanding of bacterial populations. The results will contribute to prediction of how microbial communities (including pathogens, as well as microbes involved in element cycles) will act and react in changing environments. A postdoctoral researcher and graduate and undergraduate students will participate in the research. The project will create significant genetic and analytical resources and will develop visual tools to better inform the public about microbes and their important roles in vital ecosystem functions.