Polar Microbial Ecology and Diversity

我的研究项目使用经典微生物学和基于基因组学的新型分子技术来研究微生物群落，研究极地生态系统中的微生物生物多样性和生态学。这些栖息地包括独特的冷盐泉、永久冻土和地面冰，以及最近出现的新的石膏隐形内石。这些研究探索了低温环境(零度以下的生境)中微生物群落的生物多样性、生态学、适应性和活动，这一新兴领域最适合描述为低温微生物学。最近有证据表明，在永久寒冷的环境中，微生物活动和细菌在超低温(-5至15°C)下生长，表明这些栖息地拥有活跃的微生物生态系统。这一领域目前知之甚少，但对于确定这种群落是否在零度以下的原地活动以及确定这种活动对全球生物地球化学循环的影响至关重要。例如，永久冻土约占陆地土壤生态系统的20%，但其生物学，主要是微生物学，仍未被探索。这项拟议的研究将有助于阐明全球变暖对变暖永久冻土中微生物生态系统的影响，重点是参与甲烷代谢的微生物种群及其在甲烷通量中的作用。拟议的研究将为北极微生物生物多样性和生态提供新的见解，特别是在识别和表征在环境条件下这些低温环境中代谢活跃的微生物方面。新的“基因组”、单细胞微生物学和创新的培养技术将被用来发现和表征新的微生物和基因组资源，其中一些将具有潜在的生物技术应用。我们将研究的极地地点，特别是阿克塞尔海贝格岛上独特的冷盐泉，被认为是重要的火星类似地点，特别是在理解非常冷的咸水液态水栖息地的生命方面，例如最近在火星上发现的含盐水再生性坡线(RSLs)以及木卫二和土卫二的冰冷卫星。这项提议的资金将支持4名研究生、1名本科生和1名PDF/年的北极研究培训，内容涉及极地微生物学、最先进的环境基因组学、单细胞微生物学、生物信息学、天体生物学/行星探索和北极气候变化，并提供维持加拿大北部研究所需的新一代HQP的培训。

My research program examines microbial biodiversity and ecology in polar ecosystems using both classical microbiology and novel genomics based molecular techniques for studying microbial communities. These habitats include unique cold saline springs, permafrost and ground ice, and more recently novel gypsum cryptoendoliths. These investigations explore the biodiversity, ecology, adaptations, and activity of microbial communities in cryoenvironments (subzero habitats) in an emerging field best described as cryomicrobiology. Recent evidence of microbial activity and bacterial growth at ultra-low temperatures (-5 to 15°C) in permanently cold environments suggest that these habitats harbor active microbial ecosystems. This area is presently very poorly understood but crucial for determining if such communities are active in situ at subzero temperatures and determining the impact of such activity on global biogeochemical cycling. For example, permafrost represents ~20% of terrestrial soil ecosystems yet its biology, essentially microbiology, remains unexplored. The proposed research will help elucidate the effects of global warming on microbial ecosystems in warming permafrost, focusing on microbial populations involve in methane metabolism and their roles in methane fluxes. The proposed research will provide new insights into Arctic microbial biodiversity and ecology, especially in terms of identifying and characterizing microbes that are metabolically active in these cryoenvironments under ambient conditions. Novel “omic”, single cell microbiology, and an innovative culturing techniquewill be employed to discover and characterize novel microorganisms and genomic resources, some of which will have potential biotechnology applications. The polar sites that we will study, especially the unique cold saline springs on Axel Heiberg Island, are considered significant Mars analogues sites especially in terms of understanding life in very cold salty liquid water habitats, such as brine-bearing reoccurring slope linea (RSLs) recentlly discovered on Mars as well as the icy moons of Europa and Enceladus. Funding for this proposal will support arctic research training of 4 graduate students, one undergraduate student, and a PDF / year in polar microbiology, state-of-the-art environmental genomics, single cell microbiology, bioinformatics, astrobiology/planetary exploration, and Arctic climate change as well as provide training of a new generation of HQP required to maintain northern research in Canada.