Understanding syntrophic hydrocarbon metabolism under methanogenic conditions

油气泄漏到地下环境，如地下水含水层，往往导致产甲烷条件的发展。许多研究表明，碳氢化合物可以被微生物生物降解为甲烷，这表明我们可以依靠这种微生物活动来清理污染场地。要做到这一点，我们必须更好地了解这种代谢是如何运作的，以便确定依赖产甲烷联合体进行修复的优点和局限性。Syntrophy，意思是“一起进食”，是一种微生物代谢模式，其中不同的物种必须合作（出于热力学原因）来进行代谢过程。共生微生物过程在废水处理等大规模有益工业过程中发挥着关键作用，对厌氧生态系统的碳循环做出了重要贡献。因此，对胞合作用的研究主要是利用代谢相对简单的碳源（如脂肪酸）的微生物。与脂肪酸一样，产甲烷碳氢化合物的代谢必须通过协同过程进行，其中需要微生物物种之间的合作来将给定的碳氢化合物分解为二氧化碳和甲烷。然而，人们对含烃产甲烷生态系统中海藻共生的生态学原理知之甚少。因此，本研究计划的长期目标是阐明在产甲烷条件下合成碳氢化合物代谢的基本科学原理，这将通过两个主要的短期目标来实现。目的1将改进和/或开发新的策略来培养合成烃降解产甲烷菌群，以减少滞后时间和提高代谢率，从而更有效地研究合成烃代谢。本目标将使用培养方法来测试使用各种培养基添加剂，固体支持和生长条件来提高代谢率。目的2将利用分子生物学方法鉴定和量化产甲烷烃类代谢过程中表达的关键合胞基因和烃类降解基因。这一信息目前尚不清楚。该研究将填补合成气和产甲烷烃代谢领域的主要空白，为污染场地修复提供基础科学发现和潜在应用。研究结果将对加拿大有很大的好处，有助于确保清洁的环境（如地下水资源）。通过该计划，许多高素质的人才将接受各种技术技能（从分析化学到基因组学）和软技能（领导能力、沟通能力）的培训，这些技能将使他们在学术界、工业界或政府工作中处于有利地位。

Hydrocarbon spills into subsurface environments such as groundwater aquifers frequently lead to the development of methanogenic conditions. Many studies have shown that hydrocarbons can be biodegraded to methane by microbes, suggesting that we may be able to rely on such microbial activity for contaminated site clean up. To do so, we must have a better understanding of how this metabolism operates in order to determine the advantages and limitations of relying on methanogenic consortia for remediation. Syntrophy, meaning `feeding together', is a mode of microbial metabolism wherein different species must cooperate (for thermodynamic reasons) to carry out metabolic processes. Syntrophic microbial processes play key roles in large-scale beneficial industrial processes such as waste water treatment and make significant contributions to carbon cycling in anaerobic ecosystems. As such, syntrophy has mainly been studied using microbes that metabolize relatively simple carbon sources (such as fatty acids). As with fatty acids, methanogenic hydrocarbon metabolism must occur via syntrophic processes wherein cooperation among microbial species is needed to break down a given hydrocarbon to carbon dioxide and methane. However, little is known about the ecological principles of syntrophy in hydrocarbon-containing methanogenic ecosystems. Thus, the long-term objective of this research program is to elucidate the fundamental scientific principles underlying syntrophic hydrocarbon metabolism under methanogenic conditions that will be accomplished via two major short-term objectives. Objective 1 will be to improve upon and/or develop new strategies for cultivating syntrophic hydrocarbon-degrading methanogenic consortia in order to decrease lag times and improve rates of metabolism to enable more efficient study of syntrophic hydrocarbon metabolism. This objective will use a cultivation approach to test the use of various medium additives, solid supports, and growth conditions to improve rates of metabolism. Objective 2 will be to identify and quantify the key syntrophy genes and hydrocarbon-degrading genes that are expressed during methanogenic hydrocarbon metabolism using molecular biology approaches. This information is currently unknown. The proposed research will address major gaps in the fields of syntrophy and methanogenic hydrocarbon metabolism, leading to fundamental scientific discoveries and potential applications for contaminated site remediation.  The outcome of the research will be of great benefit to Canada by helping to ensure clean environments (such as groundwater resources). Through the proposed program, many highly qualified personnel will be trained in diverse technical skills (ranging from analytical chemistry to genomics) and soft skills (leadership, communication) that will position them well for jobs in academia, industry, or government.