Collaborative Research: Hydrothermal Fungi in the Guaymas Basin Hydrocarbon Ecosystem

据报道，真菌可以从化学物质中获取能量，但也可以消耗其他生物或有机物质来获取碳，这些真菌来自不同的海洋地下样本，包括海底数百米以下的样本。有证据表明，真菌在全球海底沉积物中都很活跃，但人们对真菌在海底沉积物中的作用知之甚少，特别是它们在深海沉积物中碳氢化合物降解中的作用。该团队正在使用基于高通量培养的方法，从瓜伊马斯盆地受水热影响和富含碳氢化合物的渗透沉积物中分离出广泛的环境相关丝状真菌和酵母。他们的目标是揭示这些热液沉积物中真菌和细菌的多样性，温度和碳氢化合物组成如何影响它们的分布，以及真菌如何协同促进细菌对碳氢化合物的降解。该项目通过WHOI暑期学生研究员计划和伍兹霍尔合作伙伴教育计划接待了6名本科生，为来自弱势群体的有前途的本科生提供了机会，有助于增加海洋科学的多样性。高中学生参与暑期项目和密集的暑期讲习班。支持一名博士后、一名研究生和两名研究助理，并加强国际合作。博士后和研究生正在获得宝贵的邮轮经验。一个关于真菌及其在碳氢化合物生物降解中的作用的电子讲座将在项目结束时公开发布。真菌分离物及其相关信息将被保存在一个长期保存的参考培养集合中，并在整个项目中提供给任何感兴趣的研究人员。pi正在使用基于高通量培养的方法从Guaymas盆地受水热影响和富含碳氢化合物的渗透沉积物中分离出大量与环境相关的丝状真菌和酵母，目的是揭示它们在原位压力和温度下降解单个碳氢化合物的能力。不依赖培养的方法，标记基因分析用于描述真菌和细菌的原位多样性，并研究温度和碳氢化合物组成如何影响真菌群落的组成和分布。传统和全面的二维气相色谱分析用于检查沉积物岩心中碳氢化合物清单的复杂性和细微变化，并为单个碳氢化合物的原位微生物变化提供证据。培养实验用于测试真菌分离物在原位压力和温度下利用不同碳氢化合物作为唯一或辅助碳源的能力，以及它们刺激碳氢化合物降解细菌生物降解碳氢化合物的能力。在这些培养研究中表达的基因告诉我们真菌和细菌如何结合代谢来增加碳氢化合物的总体特异性和生物降解程度。该奖项反映了美国国家科学基金会的法定使命，并通过使用基金会的知识价值和更广泛的影响审查标准进行评估，被认为值得支持。

Fungi that can derive energy from chemicals, yet consume other organisms or organic material to obtain carbon have been reported from diverse marine subsurface samples, including from hundreds of meters below the seafloor. Evidence exists that Fungi are active in subsurface marine sediments globally, yet there is a dearth of knowledge on their role in the marine subsurface, and specifically on their role(s) in hydrocarbon degradation within deep-sea sediments. This team is isolating a broad collection of environmentally relevant filamentous Fungi and yeasts from hydrothermally-influenced and hydrocarbon-rich seep sediments of Guaymas Basin using high-throughput culture-based approaches. They aim to reveal the diversity of Fungi and Bacteria in these hydrothermal sediments, how temperature and hydrocarbon composition shape their distribution, and how Fungi cooperate to enhance the degradation of hydrocarbons by Bacteria. By hosting six undergraduates through the WHOI Summer Student Fellows program and the Woods Hole Partnership Education Program, the project contributes to increasing diversity in marine science by offering opportunities for promising undergraduates from disadvantaged populations. High school students are involved in summer projects and in intensive summer workshops. One postdoc, a graduate student, and two Research Associates are supported, and international collaborations are strengthened. The postdoc and graduate student are gaining valuable cruise-based experience. An e-lecture on Fungi and their role(s) in biodegradation of hydrocarbons will be made publicly available by the end of the project. Fungal isolates with accompanying information will be secured in a reference culture collection for long-term storage and are available to any interested researcher throughout the project.The PIs are isolating a broad collection of environmentally relevant filamentous Fungi and yeasts from hydrothermally-influenced and hydrocarbon-rich seep sediments of Guaymas Basin using high-throughput culture-based approaches, with the aim to reveal their ability to degrade individual hydrocarbons under in situ pressures and temperatures. Culture independent methods marker gene analyses are used to characterize in situ fungal and bacterial diversity and to examine how temperature and hydrocarbon composition shape fungal community composition and distribution. Traditional and comprehensive two-dimensional gas chromatographic analyses are used to examine the complexities and subtle changes in inventories of hydrocarbons within sediment cores, and provide evidence for in situ microbial alteration of individual hydrocarbons. Incubation experiments are used to test the ability of fungal isolates to utilize different hydrocarbons as a sole or auxiliary carbon source under in situ pressures and temperatures and their ability to stimulate biodegradation of hydrocarbons by hydrocarbon-degrading bacteria. Expressed genes within these incubation studies tell us how Fungi and Bacteria couple metabolisms to increase overall specificity and extent of biodegradation of hydrocarbons.This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.