Diversity and role of aerobic heterotrophic bacteria in the cycling of autochthonous and allochthonous organic carbon in marine microbial mats

该项目是对海洋微生物席中优势好氧化学营养微生物的种类分布、活性和生理的基础研究。好氧化学营养素主要负责维持垫子内的碳循环。然而，令人惊讶的是，对这一群体的研究很少，其降解能力在很大程度上也是未知的，可能是因为以前对垫子的科学兴趣集中在蓝藻的光合作用上。研究选择的系统是沙特阿拉伯墨西哥湾沿岸受石油影响的垫子。该项目将是德国和沙特的合作项目。这些垫子是丰富而独特的研究对象，因为它们(A)必须像任何其他垫子一样含有土著有机化合物的降解物，(B)还必须含有作为外部环境关切物质的石油化合物的降解物，以及(C)在季节性高温和盐度下发育，从而使降解物有望成为新型的耐极端好氧菌；从长远来看，它们的知识可能有助于在特定条件下制定生物修复战略。研究方法包括化学微区带测量、底物和代谢物分析、分子群落分析、菌株分离和生理特性。

The project is a basic study of the species distribution, activity and physiology of dominant aerobic chemotrophic microorganisms in marine micriobial mats. Aerobic chemotrophs are chiefly responsible for the maintenance of the carbon cycle within mats. Nevertheless, surprisingly little research has been done on this group and its degradative capabilities are largely unknown, probably because former scientific interest in mats was centered around cyanobacterial photosynthesis. The chosen system for the study are oil-impacted mats at the Gulf coast of Saudi Arabia. The project will be German-Saudi collaboration. These mats are rich and unique study subjects because they (a) must harbor degraders of the indigenous organic compounds as any other mat, (b) must harbor in addition degraders of oil compounds as external substances of environmental concern, and (c) develop at seasonally high temperature and salinity such that the degraders are expected tro represent novel extremotolerant aerobes; their knowledge may in the longer run contribute to the development of bioremediation strategies under the given conditions. Study approaches include measurement of the chemical micro-zonation, substrate and metabolite analyses, molecular community analyses, strain isolation and physiological characterization.