Collaborative Research: Cyanate availability and utilization by marine microbial assemblages

来自伍兹霍尔海洋生物实验室和老道明大学的研究人员将继续开发一种高效液相色谱法来测量海水中的氰酸盐，并将使用这种方法来证明天然水样中氰酸盐的浓度是可测量的，并且与环境相关。据推测，对于光养和异养生物，氰酸盐可能是微生物氮(N)的重要来源，也可能是碳的重要来源。一旦该方法得到开发和测试，研究人员将在实验室进行实验，主要是为了检查氰酸盐作为微生物氮源的重要性，并证明氰酸盐本身而不是分解产物被吸收并结合到细胞物质中。这些研究还将包括沿海取样，重点是聚藻球菌和识别吸收氰酸盐的生物体，并检查相关基因的表达。这些初步研究将为今后更详细的研究奠定基础。这项研究将有助于提高对小分子量有机N化合物作为生物生长氮源的重要性的理解，并将建立在其他研究有机N化合物在海洋环境中的重要性的基础上。该项目将成为一名研究生研究的一部分，并资助其他研究人员，调查人员将把他们的发现纳入目前各级的推广工作中。

Researchers from the Marine Biological Laboratory at Woods Hole and from Old Dominion University will continue to develop a HPLC method for the measurement of cyante in seawater and will use this to demonstrate that cynate is present at measureable and environmentally relevant concentrations in natural water samples. It is hypothsized that cyanate could be an important source of nitrogen (N) to microbes and potentially also a source of carbon, for both phototrophic and heterotrophic organisms. Once the method is developed and tested the investigators will perform experiments in the laboratory primarily to examine the importance of cyante as a N source to microbes, and to demonstrate that cyanate itself rather than a breakdown product is assimialted and incorporated into cellular material. The studies will also involve coastal sampling focusing on Synechococcus and the identification of the organisms that assimilate cyanate, and examine the expression of the related genes. These preliminary studies will provide the foundation for more detailed future studies. This study will contribute to an improved understanding of the importance of small molecular weight organic N compounds as a source of N for organism growth and will build on other studies examining the importance of organic N compunds in the marine environment. The project will be part of the studies of a graduate student and fund other researchers and the investigators will incorporate their findings into current outreach efforts at all levels.