The role of microbial diversity in the dynamics and stability of global methane consumption: microbial methane oxidation as a model-system for microbial ecology (METHECO) (EuroDIVERSITY 018)

甲烷氧化细菌（MOB）及其在良好定义的环境条件和栖息地中的功能将被用作模型系统，以了解微生物生态学的基本问题，并深入了解这种对环境非常重要的功能群的功能。CRP的总体目标是研究微生物和植物多样性如何影响与环境高度相关的甲烷氧化过程，以及生物多样性的变化如何影响这一功能及其对环境扰动的恢复能力。在具有代表性的欧洲栖息地以高度标准化的方式收集大型数据集（多样性和功能），将为将来评估或预测微生物群落对近期可预见的环境扰动的功能稳定性提供“蓝图”。关注这一生态系统功能和这一功能群的细菌将有可能回答与生物多样性在稳定和维持甲烷氧化中的作用以及微生物多样性和生态学的一般问题有关的问题。检讨计划的目标是：(i)确定有意义的分类单位，以描述一组选定生境中的微生物多样性；（ii）评估自然和人为扰动对多样性和功能稳定性的影响；（iii）确定植物和微生物（原生动物和非MOB原核生物）多样性在前一目标中的作用（iv）标准化方法和解释，以便将获得的数据集用作环境微生物生态学的模型。

Methane oxidising bacteria (MOB) and their functioning in a well defined set of environmental conditions and habitats will be used as a model system to understand basic questions in microbial ecology as well as to gain deeper insight into the function of this environmentally very important functional group. The overall aim of the CRP is to investigate how microbial and plant diversity influences the environmentally highly relevant process of methane oxidation and how changes in biodiversity affect this function and its resilience against environmental perturbations. Collecting a large dataset (diversity as well as function) in a highly standardised manner in a representative European set of habitats will yield a ¿blue print¿ for any future assessment or predictions of functional stability of microbial communities to environmental perturbation foreseen in the near future. Focusing on this ecosystem function and on this functional group of bacteria will make it possible to answer questions pertaining to both the role of biodiversity in stabilising and maintaining methane oxidation and to general issues of microbial diversity and ecology. The objectives of the CRP are to: (i) define meaningful taxonomic units which describe microbial diversity in a selected set of habitats (ii) assess the effects of natural and anthropogenic perturbations on diversity, functional stability, recovery and re-colonization of these habitats by MOB (iii) determine the role of plant and microbial (protozoa and non-MOB prokaryotes) diversity in the former objective (iv) standardise methodology and interpretation in order to use the dataset obtained as a model for environmental microbial ecology.