Phenotyping bacterial microbiomes to identify physiological capacities and quantify heterotrophy in situ.

本研究项目的总体目标是获得海洋微生物异养生物如何在海洋中处理聚糖的表型理解。海洋异养活动是地球碳循环中最大和最具活力的组成部分之一。目前，微生物学家主要分析微生物的遗传含量（基因型）来推断生物体降解单个聚糖的潜力。然而，这些分析并不能确定在给定的时间和空间（表型）中是否正在执行潜在功能。为了真正识别和量化微生物的代谢能力，我们必须采取下一步，就地描述微生物的功能。因此，在这个项目中，我们将使用新的表型方法来1)确定单个海洋异养生物处理单个聚糖的机制，2)量化它们在原位的活性率，3)发现它们的行为是合作还是竞争，以及4)确定它们的觅食行为如何影响海洋中的有机物周转。此外，利用我们的发现，我们将研究影响微生物驱动的碳循环的两个核心因素：资源竞争和syntrophy（代谢交叉喂养）。该项目将结合新一代生理学方法、流式细胞术、糖生物学、微生物学和分子生态学方法等技术。这种多样化的组合将使我们能够根据其特定功能对微生物异养生物进行分类，并量化其在给定时间内给定生态系统内的代谢能力。该项目的科学发现将使我们能够了解单个微生物对微生物群落结构和功能的更广泛影响。这使我们能够理解有机物质的微生物周转，并更好地理解这是如何影响海洋中最大、最具活力的碳库的。

The overall goal of this research project is to acquire a phenotypic understanding of how marine microbial heterotrophs process glycans in the oceans. Marine heterotrophic activity is one of the largest and most dynamic components of the Earth's carbon cycle. Currently, microbiologists predominantly analyse the genetic content of microbes (genotype) to deduce the organism's potential to degrade individual glycans. However, these analyses do not determine if the potential functions are being performed in a given time and space (phenotype). To truly identify and quantify microbial metabolic capacities, we must take the next step and phenotypically describe microbial functions in situ. Therefore, in this project, we will use novel phenotypic approaches to 1) identify the mechanisms by which individual marine heterotrophs process individual glycans, 2) quantify their rate of activity in situ, 3) discover if they behave cooperatively or competitively, and 4) determine how their foraging behaviour affects organic matter turnover in the oceans. Additionally, using our discoveries, we will investigate two of the central elements influencing microbially driven carbon cycling: resource competition and syntrophy (metabolic cross-feeding). The project will combine techniques, including novel next-generation physiology approaches, flow cytometry, glycobiology, microbiology, and molecular ecological methods. This diverse combination will allow us to classify microbial heterotrophs by their specific function and quantify their metabolic capacity at a given time within a given ecosystem. The scientific discoveries of this project will enable us to understand the broader effects that individual microbes have on microbial community structure and functioning. This allows us to comprehend the microbial turnover of organic matter and to better understand how this affects the oceans' largest and most dynamic pool of carbon.