CAREER: Sources and fate of inositol phosphates in soils

磷是植物生命的基本元素，通过城市、郊区和农业来源进入水中，包括草坪肥料、化粪池系统和牲畜粪便。 作为一种污染物，这种营养物质在过去的几十年里影响了溪流、河流、湖泊、沿海沃茨和海湾--包括切萨皮克湾。 特别是，磷负荷可能导致富营养化-藻类过度生长以及死区-溶解在水中的氧气量减少。 由此产生了负面的经济影响和严重的环境和人类健康问题。 本研究将发展方法框架，以研究不同来源的肌醇磷酸化合物及其随后在土壤和沃茨中的降解产物。 本项目中有关磷的途径和处理的数据和信息将提供给切萨皮克湾项目、美国地质调查局和环境保护局，他们共同制定切萨皮克湾恢复计划。这项研究还将为开发环境法医学和社会课程提供信息，并加强当地社区学院和环境法医学夏令营的课程。 肌醇磷酸盐（IPx，其中x = 1至6），一种重要的有机磷来源于落叶和动物饲料和粪便，越来越多地认识到其多功能的作用，从细胞信号到环境意义。该研究项目将解决有关身份，不稳定性，生物利用度，转化和肌醇磷酸盐的降解途径的知识的基本差距，通过稳定同位素跟踪辅助一维和二维核磁共振（NMR），高效液相色谱（HPLC）和高效液相色谱-质谱（HPLC-MS）技术，无论是在受控实验室实验和现场实验中的切萨皮克湾流域。合成，同位素标记，和IPx化合物的官能团衍生化和多同位素工具的应用将用于区分降解产物。通过同位素特征和降解过程中的特定同位素效应将各种IPx化合物的来源和产物联系起来，将确定在土壤和沃茨中的准确停留时间，并解决长期存在的积累与降解及其环境影响问题。

Phosphorus, an essential element for plant life, gets into water through urban, suburban and agricultural sources, including lawn fertilizers, septic systems and livestock manure. As a pollutant, this nutrient has impacted streams, rivers, lakes, coastal waters and bays - including the Chesapeake Bay - for the past several decades. In particular, phosphorus loading may cause eutrophication--excessive algal growth as well as dead zone--a reduction in the amount oxygen dissolved in water. Negative economic impacts and serious environmental and human health issues result. This research will develop the methodological framework to study different sources of inositol phosphate compounds and their subsequent degradation products in soils and waters. Data and information on phosphorus pathways and processesing from this project will be provided to the Chesapeake Bay Program, U.S. Geological Survey and Environmental Protective Agency, who collectively develop Chesapeake Bay restoration plans. This research will also inform the development of an Environmental Forensics and Society course at UD and enhance curricula at the local community college and an environment forensics summer camp. Inositol phosphates (IPx where x = 1 to 6), an important type of organic phosphorus derived from leaf litter and animal feed and manure, are increasingly recognized for their multifunctional role from cellular signaling to environmental significance. This research project will address fundamental gaps in the knowledge regarding identity, lability, bioavailability, transformation, and degradation pathways of inositol phosphates by stable isotope tracking aided by 1D and 2D Nuclear Magnetic Resonance (NMR), High Performance Liquid Chromatography (HPLC) and HPLC-Mass Spectrometry (HPLC-MS) techniques both in controlled laboratory experiments and in field experiments in the Chesapeake Bay watershed. Synthesis, isotope labeling, and functional group derivatization of IPx compounds and application of a multi-isotope tool will be used to differentiate degradation products. Connecting sources and products of various IPx compounds through isotope signatures and particular isotope effects during degradation will identify accurate residence times in soils and waters and address longstanding question on accumulation versus degradation and their environmental impacts.