Origin of resistance against desiccation and cryoinjuries in biological soil crust microalgae of High Arctic

该国际项目旨在了解生物土壤结皮（BSC）微藻对与北极恶劣条件相关的压力的抵抗力的复杂生态生理和分子遗传机制。这一专题与最紧迫的全球问题-气候变化有关，而气候变化在北极地区尤为重要。我们通常认为，硬化和/或饥饿的BSC微藻将更耐北极冬季，融冻循环，低温胁迫和干燥，相比那些在更有利的条件下生长。这些生理差异将伴随着形态学修饰和改变的宏基因组和/或（元）转录组谱和代谢途径。该项目将结合联合收割机的实地观察和操作研究，与实验室实验和分析，在捷克和德国的合作伙伴密切合作。南波希米亚大学（USB）和植物学研究所（IB CAS）将在一年的时间内提供关于了解斯瓦尔巴群岛BSC微藻生态生理学（硬化，饥饿，冷冻损伤和干燥胁迫）的专业知识。科隆大学植物科学研究所（IfP UC）将提供专业知识，通过宏基因组和（元）转录组分析来研究相同的BSC微藻，描述其硬化、饥饿、冻伤和干燥应激抗性的分子遗传学原理。分子生物学和藻类生理学方法的独特组合以及实地研究将使BSC微藻从亚细胞到社区水平的生存策略得到复杂的洞察。

This international project aims to understand the complex eco-physiological and molecular-genetic mechanisms of resistance of biological soil crusts (BSC) microalgae to stresses associated with the harsh Arctic conditions. The topic is relevant to the most urgent global problem, climate change, which is of particular importance in the Arctic. We generally expect that hardened and/or starved BSC microalgae will be more resistant to Arctic winter, melt-freeze cycles, cryostress and desiccation, compared to those growing under more favourable conditions. These physiological differences will be accompanied by morphological modifications and altered metagenomic and/or (meta)transcriptomic profiles, and metabolic pathways. The project will combine field observations and manipulation studies together with laboratory experiments and analyses in close co-operation of Czech and German partners. University of South Bohemia (USB) and Institute of Botany CAS (IB CAS) will provide the expertise on understanding the eco-physiology (hardening, starvation, cryoinjuries and desiccation stresses) of BSC microalgae on Svalbard over the whole period of a year. Insitut for Plant Sciences, University of Cologne (IfP UC) will provide the expertise to study the same BSCs microalgae with respect to description of molecular genetic principles of their hardening, starvation, cryoinjuries and desiccation stresses resistances through metagenomic and (meta)transcriptomic analyses. Unique combination of molecular biology and algal physiology methods together with field studies will allow complex insight into survival strategies of BSC microalgae, from sub-cellular to community levels.