OCE-PRF Track 1: Dissecting the physiological and molecular responses of marine picoeukaryotes to the interactive effects of P deficiency and ocean acidification

微微型真核生物是一种生态学上重要但研究不足的微微型浮游植物，对海洋初级生产和全球碳循环有重要贡献。在这个博士后研究项目中，研究员将研究三种微微真核生物对二氧化碳浓度升高和营养物质可用性变化的生理和分子反应。这是一个重要和及时的议题，有助于更好地了解海洋生态系统对全球气候变化的反应。这个为期两年的奖学金由毕格罗海洋科学实验室的迈克尔·洛马斯主持，将推动在微生物研究方面具有强大背景的研究员的职业生涯，这是一个在海洋学中越来越重要的领域。扩大参与的活动包括对自索马里内战以来居住在缅因州的索马里当地社区的青年进行教育和宣传。在这个项目中，研究员将研究微小单胞菌，牛链球菌和深海球菌prasinos，在贫营养区常见的微微真核生物，对未来海洋的代表性条件的反应，特别是海洋酸化和磷限制。生理测量和全细胞转录组学分析将被用来表征这一生态上重要的picophytoplankton组的细胞反应，磷的可用性和不断上升的环境二氧化碳的变化。此外，细胞丰度和基因表达模式将使用物种特异性分子测定在现场样品中进行研究，以了解自然picoeukaryotic种群如何响应环境条件中的区域梯度。这项研究将深入了解气候变化如何影响微真核生物的生长，从而影响贫营养环流中的碳循环。关于速率过程和基本细胞机制的数据和信息对于未来发展生态驱动的预测性海洋生态系统模型至关重要。

Picoeukaryotes are an ecologically important, but understudied group of picophytoplankton that are significant contributors to oceanic primary production and global carbon cycling. In this postdoctoral research project, the fellow will examine the physiological and molecular response of three picoeukaryotes to elevated carbon dioxide and changes in nutrient availability. This is an important and timely topic for improved understanding of marine ecosystem responses to global climate changes. This two year fellowship hosted by Michael Lomas, Bigelow Laboratory for Ocean Sciences, will advance the career of the fellow who has strong background in microbial research, a field that is of increasing importance in oceanography. The broadening participation activities include education and outreach to youths from a local Somalian community residing in Maine since the Somalian civil war.In this project, the fellow will study the response of Micromonas pusilla, Ostreococcus tauri, and Bathycoccus prasinos, picoeukaryotes commonly found in oligotrophic regions, to conditions representative of future oceans, specifically ocean acidification and phosphorus limitation. Physiological measurements and whole-cell transcriptomic profiling will be used to characterize the cellular response of this ecologically important group of picophytoplankton to changes in phosphorus availability and rising ambient carbon dioxide. In addition, cell abundance and gene expression patterns will be investigated in field samples using species-specific molecular assays to understand how natural picoeukaryotic populations respond to regional gradients in environmental conditions. The study will provide insight into how climate change may impact picoeukaryote growth and thus carbon cycling in oligotrophic gyres. Data and information about rate processes and underlying cellular mechanisms are critical for future development of ecologically-driven, predictive ocean ecosystem models.