MSB: Community structure, genomic heterogeneity and metabolic diversity of the microbiome of the oldest and driest desert on Earth, the Atacama Desert in Northern Chile

生命可以适应极端环境，但有限度吗？生命能适应基本上没有水或营养物质的地方吗？智利北部的阿塔卡马沙漠是地球上最古老、最干燥的沙漠。其极度干旱的核心有机碳水平极低，降雨事件稀少，每10至50年发生一次。虽然微生物已经被证明生活在这种独特的环境中，但还没有进行大规模的研究来表征这种极端环境中的微生物群落。在这个项目中，我们将使用元基因组学方法来调查和表征阿塔卡马沙漠微生物土壤群落的结构、代谢多样性和基因组异质性。阿塔卡马沙漠非常适合进行这项调查，因为那里有长期存在的极端条件(1500万年)，水和养分的可用性很低。该项目还将提供有关大规模荒漠化发生时我们可能会发现的弹性微生物多样性的见解，大规模荒漠化可能会随着气候变化而发生。该项目将培养一名基因组学和生物信息学方面的博士生，几名本科生将通过NSF本科生研究体验计划参与其中。PIS将继续通过NSF项目和对社区的直接贡献来致力于K-12教育。该项目产生的元基因组数据将被整合到约翰·霍普金斯大学的微生物基因组课程中。

Life can adapt to extreme environments but are there limits? Can life adapt to places where there are essentially no water or nutrients? The Atacama Desert in Northern Chile is the oldest and driest desert on Earth. Its hyper-arid core has extremely low levels of organic carbon and rain events are sparse, occurring once every 10 to 50 years. While microorganisms have been shown to inhabit this unique environment, no large-scale study has been conducted to characterize the microbial community in this extreme environment. In this project, we will use a metagenomic approach to survey and characterize the structure, metabolic diversity, and genomic heterogeneity of the microbial soil community of the Atacama Desert. The Atacama Desert is well suited for this investigation because of the long-established extreme conditions (15 million years) with low water and nutrient availability. This project will also provide insights on the diversity of resilient microorganisms that we might find when large-scale desertification takes place, which can occur with climate change. The project will train a PhD student in genomics and bioinformatics, and several undergraduate students will be involved through the NSF Research Experience for Undergraduates program. The PIs will continue their commitment to K-12 education through NSF programs and direct contributions to the community. The metagenomic data generated by this project will be integrated into a microbial genomic class at Johns Hopkins University.