RII Track-2 FEC: Building Genome-to-Phenome Infrastructure for Regulating Methane in Deep and Extreme Environments (BuG ReMeDEE)

甲烷是一种温室气体，它将热量困在大气中，导致对气候不利的变化。最近甲烷排放量的激增激发了科学界探索活微生物对甲烷产生和分解的贡献的兴趣。为了更深入地了解这些过程，这项研究基础设施改进轨道2重点EPSCoR合作（RII Track-2 FEC）奖将由三个机构（南达科他州矿业与技术学院、蒙大拿州立大学和俄克拉荷马大学）组成一个新的合作联盟，进行综合研究和教育工作，重点研究极端环境中代谢甲烷的生物。桑福德地下研究设施和黄石国家公园将分别作为深层生物圈和热系统极端环境的试验台。此外，该联盟将利用极端环境中以前未开发的新型微生物，将大气中的甲烷生物转化为商业产品，包括液体生物燃料、生物聚合物和直流电。该项目将为12名早期职业教师提供职业指导，并为各种各样的初级研究人员、研究生、本科生和美国原住民高中生提供教育、培训和劳动力发展机会。联盟伙伴之间的互访和行业参与项目丰富了学生参与者的教育。该项目的总体目标是研究深层和极端环境中的甲烷循环，并开发将甲烷转化为增值产品的新生物途径。这些目标将通过以下综合目标来实现：(i)描述极端甲烷氧化微生物群落的特征；㈡研究新型甲烷氧化菌的代谢活动及其在甲烷通量中的作用；（iii）对这些社区中选定成员的关键互动进行建模；（iv）编辑选定的甲烷氧化菌基因组，以改善甲烷吸收和氧化的表型；(v)在南达科他州、蒙大拿州和俄克拉何马州的大学伙伴之间建立一个联盟，在极端环境下的甲烷调节领域开展持续合作。研究将包括：分析新型甲烷氧化菌之间的甲烷通量以及相互作用的微生物群落；过表达甲烷相关合成基因盒的基因组编辑分子研究及蛋白谱分析计算生物膜建模，负责甲烷氧化的调节蛋白活性位点的硅表征，以确定潜在的分子机制；生物电化学研究，阐明新的、极端嗜氧、甲烷氧化菌的电生活性，并评估它们在可控、催化甲烷氧化方面的潜力。将甲烷转化为增值产品的相关活动促进了行业参与，并为学生提供了潜在的就业机会。该项目包括指导12名初级教师，由高级教师指导他们的职业发展，并指导研究生。

Non-Technical DescriptionMethane is a greenhouse gas that traps heat in the atmosphere which results in undesirable changes to the climate. The recent surge in methane emissions has invigorated interest of the scientific community to explore the contributions of living microorganisms to both the production and the breakdown of methane. To more deeply understand these processes, this Research Infrastructure Improvement Track-2 Focused EPSCoR Collaborations (RII Track-2 FEC) award will form a new collaborative consortium of three institutions (South Dakota School of Mines and Technology, Montana State University and University of Oklahoma) for an integrated research and education effort that will focus on organisms that metabolize methane in extreme environments. Sanford Underground Research Facility and Yellowstone National Park will be used as testbeds for extreme environments in deep biosphere and thermal systems, respectively. Further, this consortium will enable the use of previously unexplored and novel microorganisms from extreme environments for biological conversion of atmospheric methane into commercial products including liquid biofuels, biopolymers, and direct current electricity. The project will provide career guidance for twelve early career faculty as well as education, training, and workforce development opportunities for a diverse cohort of junior researchers and graduate, undergraduate, and Native American high school students. Exchange visits among the consortium partners and industry engagement in the project enriches the educational of the student participants. Technical DescriptionThe overarching goals of this project are to investigate methane cycling in deep and extreme environments and develop new biological routes for converting methane into value-added products. These goals will be accomplished through the following integrated objectives: (i) characterize extreme methane oxidizing microbial communities; (ii) investigate the metabolic activities of novel methanotrophs and their roles in methane flux; (iii) model critical interactions of select members of these communities; (iv) edit genomes of select methanotrophs for phenotypic improvement in methane uptake and oxidation; and (v) establish a consortium for sustained collaborations among university partners in South Dakota, Montana, and Oklahoma in the field of methane regulation in extreme environments. The research will include: analysis of methane flux among novel methanotrophs individually as well as in interacting microbial communities; molecular investigations in genome editing to overexpress methane related synthetic gene cassettes and protein profiling; computational biofilm modeling, in-silico characterization of active sites of regulatory proteins responsible for methane oxidation to determine underlying molecular mechanisms; and bioelectrochemical investigations to elucidate electrogenic activity of new, extremophilic, methanotrophs and evaluate their potential for controllable, catalytic methane oxidation. Activities related to conversion of methane into value-added products facilitates industry engagement and potential career opportunities for students in industries. The program includes mentoring of twelve junior faculty by senior faculty in advancing through their careers and guiding graduate students.