Comprehensive Analysis of Physiological Capabilities, Ecological Functions and Ecological Niches of Acidophilic Microorganisms

在这里，我们打算对德国埃尔宾格罗德一个废弃的黄铁矿中的钟乳石状细菌群落进行调查。该群落完全由黄铁矿(FeS2)的分解提供燃料，并嵌入细胞外多糖和次生矿化事件产物的混合物中。在这个空间受限的环境中生活和建立的大多数细菌物种依赖于铁氧化和还原反应的催化。我们的建议旨在剖析有助于形成不同铁氧化还原细菌生态位的生物、地球化学和环境因素，以及一组迄今尚未发现的具有生理功能的新古生菌。我们努力了解这一特殊生物膜中的这些因素，因为它的空间位置高度有限，存在的微生物物种数量适中。这些属性使该社区成为大量依赖酸性岩石排水的联合体的典范。利用针对不同铁氧化还原生物和古生菌的探针进行荧光原位杂交(FISH)实验，将生物/地球化学特征、元基因组和元蛋白质组分析的结果整合在一起，将产生一个关于生物膜内生态位和潜在的物种间依赖的模型。这些模型将通过浓缩和分离实验进行测试，在这些实验中，我们将模拟不同细菌和古菌菌株的环境生态位，将它们从细菌群落中分离出来。

Here we propose to investigate a stalactite-like bacterial community from an abandoned pyrite mine in Elbingerode (Germany). The community is fueled exclusively by the decomposition of pyrite (FeS2) and is embedded in a mixture of extracellular polysaccharides and products of secondary mineraliza-tion events. The majority of bacterial species that live in and build up this spatially confined environ-ment are dependent on the catalysis of iron oxidation and reduction reactions. Our proposal aims at dissecting the biogeochemical and environmental factors that contribute to the formation of ecological niches for different iron oxidizing and reducing bacteria as well as a novel group of archaea with so far undiscovered physiological capabilities. We strive to understand these factors in this particular biofilm due to its spatially highly limited location and the moderate number of microbial species present. These attributes give the community a model character for a multitude of acid rock drainage dependent consortia. Integration of results from bio/geochemical characterization and metagenomic and metaproteomic analysis with fluorescent in situ hybridization (FISH) experiments using probes towards different iron oxidizing and reducing organisms and archaea will lead to a model for the ecological niches and the potential interspecies dependence within the biofilm. These models will be tested with enrichment and isolation experiments in which we will mimic the environmental niches of different bacterial and archaeal strains to isolate them from the bacterial community.