RAPID: Initial Colonists of Freshly Emplaced Volcanic Rocks at High Latitude: A Case Study of the 2021 Volcanic Eruption on the Reykjanes Peninsula, Iceland

地质微生物学的一项基本任务是了解新形成的底物是如何被微生物群落定植的，这最终可能在岩石风化、土壤形成和生态系统发展中发挥作用。火山喷发提供了许多机会来增加我们对陆地生态系统形成的了解。然而，很少有团队能够在火山基质形成的早期阶段收集样本和数据。大多数研究都是在火山喷发几年后开始采样的，通常是在喷发后几十年到几百年(即在微生物群落建立之后很久)，只有一项研究能够在喷发三个月后收集数据。因此，人们对新沉积的火山岩的最初殖民者知之甚少，特别是在高纬度地区。2021年3月19日，位于冰岛西南部雷克扬斯半岛的Fagradalsfjall火山附近的新一轮火山喷发开始喷出新的熔岩流。研究新沉积的火山岩从形成之初的初始殖民者，是回答有关微生物演替和新生态系统群落建立的许多问题的独特机会。该项目将获得新生态系统形成的微生物、地球化学和物理化学特征的样本和数据。考虑到这一立即对新鲜熔岩流进行采样的难得机会，这项工作有可能将我们对微生物群落演替的理解从一个无菌的环境转变为一个成熟和有弹性的群落。该项目还将培训一名现场采样和实验室分析方面的研究生。这项工作的结果将在样本和数据收集后不久公布。研究生和调查员将就这项工作进行公开演讲。他们还将与美国驻冰岛大使馆和富布赖特-冰岛委员会协调，以促进美国研究人员在冰岛的快速反应。该项目试图回答有关新沉积火山岩最初殖民者的基本问题：1-最早的火山岩殖民者的分类多样性是什么，随着时间的推移它是如何变化的？2-殖民者的潜在来源是什么？3-这些早期殖民者的新陈代谢能力是什么？在Fagradalsfjall火山喷发之前、期间和之后至少5个月在冰岛，这为调查者提供了一个难得的机会来收集喷发前和喷发后的样本和数据来回答这些问题。将检验两个假设：(H1)火山岩的早期定居者将以低丰度、低分类多样性存在，并依赖于光和/或化学营养新陈代谢；(H2)仅几个月后，火山岩将在多样性和功能方面拥有日益复杂的微生物群落，包括有机异养物和光自养生物。该项目将获得新生态系统形成的微生物、地球化学和物理化学特征的样本和数据。这项研究产生的新发现将为进一步的研究奠定基础，这些研究将用测序和地球化学方法分析样品，并将研究延长到更长的时期(年)。这项研究将提供迫切需要的证据，以检查新形成的火山底物如何被微生物群落殖民，特别是研究早期殖民者的分类身份和功能能力，以及他们的外部来源。为了研究早期殖民者的起源，他们还将从水、岩石、土壤和生物气溶胶中收集样本，作为快速反应的一部分。在后续研究中，他们将使用基于下一代测序的微生物来源追踪来估计被发现占据新形成的熔岩流的微生物的来源。这些研究产品将对直接领域以外的许多其他领域感兴趣，特别是寻求从机制上理解微生物种群与其环境之间的相互作用以及复杂群落的新特性的领域。新的培养分离株还将提供早期殖民者在元素循环、地球生物学和生物化学中所扮演的角色的信息。该项目将资助一名研究生前往冰岛进行实地考察，并对样品进行处理，以便返回研究所。这项工作的结果将是他博士研究的重点。这一努力的结果将通过出版物、公共数据库和公共演讲传播。这一奖项反映了NSF的法定使命，并通过使用基金会的智力优势和更广泛的影响审查标准进行评估，被认为值得支持。

An essential task in geomicrobiology is to understand how newly formed substrates become colonized by microbial communities, which may ultimately play a role in rock weathering, soil formation and ecosystem development. Volcanic eruptions offer numerous opportunities to increase our understanding of terrestrial ecosystem formation. However, very few teams have been able to collect samples and data at early stages of volcanic substrate formation. Most studies have started their samplings years, often decades to hundreds of years after the eruption (i.e., well after the establishment of microbial communities), and only one study was able to gather data three months after the eruption. Therefore, very little is known about the initial colonists of freshly deposited volcanic rocks, particularly at high latitudes. On March 19th 2021, the new volcanic eruption near Mount Fagradalsfjall, on the Reykjanes Peninsula in Southwest Iceland, began extruding a fresh lava flow. Studying the initial colonists of the freshly deposited volcanic rock from the onset of its formation represents a unique opportunity to answer many questions about the microbial succession and community establishment of new ecosystems. This project will acquire samples and data for microbial, geochemical and physicochemical characterization of the new ecosystem formation. Considering this rare chance for an immediate sampling of a fresh lava flow, this work has the potential to transform our understanding of microbial community succession from a sterile environment to an established and resilient community. This project will also train one graduate student in field sampling and laboratory analyses. Results from this effort will be made publicly available shortly after sample and data collection. The graduate student and the investigator will give public lectures about the work. They will also coordinate with the U.S. Embassy in Iceland and Fulbright – Iceland Commission to promote the RAPID response by U.S. researchers in Iceland.The project seeks to answer fundamental questions about the initial colonists of freshly deposited volcanic rocks: 1-What is the taxonomic diversity of the earliest colonists of volcanic rocks and how does it change over time? 2-What are the potential sources of colonizers? 3-What are the metabolic capabilities of these early colonists? Being in Iceland before, during and at least 5 months after the start of the Fagradalsfjall volcanic eruption, affords the investigator a rare opportunity to collect pre-, and post-eruption samples and data to answer these questions. Two hypotheses will be tested: (H1) early colonizers of the volcanic rock will be present in low abundance, low taxonomic diversity and rely on photo- and/or chemolithotrophic metabolism and (H2) the volcanic rock will harbor an increasingly complex microbial community in terms of diversity and function over time, including organoheterophs and photoautotrophs, after only a few months. The project will acquire samples and data for microbial, geochemical and physicochemical characterization of the new ecosystem formation. The new discoveries resulting from this study would set the stage for further research that will analyze the samples with sequencing and geochemical approaches and extend the study over a longer period (years). The research will provide urgently needed evidence to examine how newly formed volcanic substrates become colonized by microbial communities, looking specifically at the taxonomic identity and functional capabilities of early colonists but also at their external sources. To examine the origin of early colonists they will also collect samples from water, rock, soil and bioaerosols as part of the RAPID response. In the follow up study, they will use next-generation sequencing-based microbial source tracking to estimate the source of microbes found to occupy the newly formed lava flows. The research products will be of interest to a number of other fields outside the immediate field, specifically fields seeking a mechanistic understanding of interactions between microbial populations and their environment, and the emergent properties of the complex community. The new culture isolates will also provide information on the roles of early colonizers in elemental cycles, geobiology, and biochemistry. This project will support the travel of a graduate student to perform field work in Iceland and to process samples for return to his Institution. Results from this work will be a key focus of his Ph.D. research. Results from this effort will be disseminated through publications, public databases, and public lectures.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.