Study of the role of microbial networks on carbon cycling under controlled pressure and temperature conditions

该项目将监测压力和温度受控环境中的碳循环，该环境由不同营养状况下的土壤和微生物组成。我们将根据微生物代谢途径和环境条件研究系统的演变，并追踪其演变过程中碳的同位素差异。同时，我们将用CO2-、CO-和CH 4-传感器监测顶空中气体的演变。在这个项目中，候选人将研究和表征碳基气体的演变，以及随着系统的演变追踪同位素差异的营养物。 该研究将针对各种选定的微生物和不同的压力、温度和大气气体条件进行，使用UoA的Space-Q环境室1，并控制压力、温度、相对湿度和辐射。环境是可以创造的。候选人将使用UoA的Metabolt 2系统监测不同营养制度下土壤和微生物的环境变量的演变，并将使用QUB的Kumaresan博士使用的最先进的稳定同位素探测启用宏基因组测序来验证响应。该项目代表了阿伯丁大学（UoA）行星科学组和女王大学贝尔法斯特（QUB）环境微生物学组之间的新合作。该项目将涉及使用Space-Q环境室和Metabolt设备设计的教授。Zorzano和Martin-Torres以及Kumaresan小组设计的测序，生态和进化方法2。成功的候选人将在Zorzano教授的主要监督下在UoA地球科学学院工作，但也将在Kumaresan博士的主要监督下在QUB生物科学学院度过时间（每年2或3个月的访问）3。由于这是一个跨学科的项目，候选人将获得一系列备受追捧的技能：（一）地球和空间应用的受控加压系统实验设计;（二）最先进的现场监测和环境条件建模; ㈢分子生态学工具（即稳定同位素探测使宏基因组学/蛋白质组学成为可能）追踪微生物群落内的同位素以识别代谢网络;（iv）研究生态进化适应的基因组解析宏基因组学;以及（v）研究微生物相互作用的合成群落和CRISPR介导的基因组工程策略。作为培训的一部分，学生将学习在Space-Q室的受控加压系统下制备样品，Zorzano教授和Martin-Torres教授在UoA开发生物地球化学模型，以及Kumaresan博士在QUB开发环境分子生态学，微生物生理学，生物信息学和地球化学工具。

This project will monitor the carbon cycle in pressure- and temperature-controlled environments consisting of soil and microbes under different nutrient regimes. We will study the evolution of the systems depending on the microbial metabolic pathway and environmental conditions and will trace the isotopic differences of carbon during their evolution. In parallel, we will monitor the evolution of the gases in the head-space with CO2-, CO-, and CH4-sensors. In this project the candidate will study and characterize the evolution of carbon-base gases, and nutrients tracing isotopic differences as the systems evolve. The study will be performed for a variety of selected microorganisms and different pressure, temperature and atmospheric gas conditions, using the Space-Q environmental chamber1 at UoA, and where controlled pressure, temperature, relative humidity and radiation. environments can be created. The candidate will monitor the evolution of environmental variables of the soil and microbes under different nutrient regimes using the Metabolt2 system at UoA and will characterise the response using state of the art stable isotope probing enabled metagenomic sequencing used by Dr Kumaresan at QUB. This project represents a novel collaboration between the Planetary Sciences group in Aberdeen University (UoA), and the Environmental Microbiology group in Queen's University Belfast (QUB). The project will involve the use of the Space-Q environmental chamber and Metabolt device designed by Profs. Zorzano and Martin-Torres and the sequencing, ecological and evolutionary approaches designed in the Kumaresan's group2. The successful candidate will be based in the UoA School of Geosciences under the primary supervision of Prof Zorzano but will also spend time (a 2 or 3-months visit per year) in QUB School of Biological Sciences under the primary supervision of Dr Kumaresan3. As this is a cross-disciplinary project, the candidate will gain a repertoire of highly sought skills i: (i) the design of experiments in controlled pressurised systems for Earth and space applications; (ii) state-of-the-art in situ monitoring and modelling of environmental conditions; (iii) molecular ecology tools (i.e. stable isotope probing enabled metagenomics/proteomics) to track isotopes within the microbial communities to identify metabolic networks; (iv) genome-resolved metagenomics to study eco-evolutionary adaptations; and (v) synthetic communities and CRISPR-mediated genome engineering strategies to study microbial interactions. As part of the training, the student will learn to prepare of samples under controlled pressurised systems at the Space-Q chamber, the development of bio-geochemistry models at UoA by Prof. Zorzano and Prof. Martin-Torres, and environmental molecular ecology, microbial physiology, bioinformatics, and geochemistry tools at QUB by Dr Kumaresan.