GCR: Microbial Response to a Changing Planet: The Role of Microbes in Mineral Precipitation Resulting in Exceptional Fossil Preservation and CO2 Sequestration

这一日益趋同的研究项目将测试以下假设：有机物质的特殊保存在一定程度上受到微生物介导的碳酸盐矿物的快速沉积的影响，以响应大气中二氧化碳分压的升高，这些微生物将大气中的二氧化碳作为碳酸盐矿物隔离的机制可以被识别和利用，以减轻大气中这种温室气体浓度的上升。为了有效地研究这些假设，一个横跨微生物学、蛋白质组学、古免疫学、沉积学/地球化学、古生物学和工程学的研究团队成立了。该项目的结果将增进对以下方面的理解：（i)特殊保存机制及其潜在应用，（ii）二氧化碳水平与微生物进化之间的关系，（iii）温室/高二氧化碳分压条件下环境的特征，以及iv）微生物参与碳固存。在这项工作中研究的微生物机制可能为开发经济和可扩展的方法来隔离二氧化碳提供一条途径。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。

This Growing Convergence Research project will test the overarching hypotheses that exceptional preservation of organic material was influenced, in part, by microbially mediated, rapid deposition of carbonate minerals in response to elevated atmospheric pCO2, and that the mechanisms by which these microbes sequestered atmospheric CO2 as carbonate minerals can be discerned and harnessed to mitigate rising atmospheric concentrations of this greenhouse gas. To effectively study these hypotheses, a research team spanning microbiology, proteomics, paleoimmunology, sedimentology/geochemistry, paleontology, and engineering was assembled. The results of this project will enhance understanding of: (i) mechanisms of exceptional preservation and their potential application, (ii) the relationship between CO2 levels and microbial evolution, (iii) characterization of environments under greenhouse/high-pCO2 conditions, and iv) microbial participation in carbon sequestration. Microbial mechanisms investigated within this proposed work may provide a route for the development of economical and scalable methods to sequester CO2.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.