Microbial Observatory: Metabolic Activity of Microorganisms in Alaskan Tundra and Permafrost

微生物观测站：阿拉斯加苔原和永久冻土中微生物的代谢活动

• 批准号: 0348681
• 负责人: Nicolai Panikov
• 金额: $ 20.98万
• 依托单位: Stevens Institute of Technology
• 依托单位国家: 美国
• 项目类别: Standard Grant
• 财政年份: 2004
• 资助国家: 美国
• 起止时间: 2004-07-01 至 2007-06-30
• 项目状态: 已结题
• 来源: https://www.nsf.gov/awardsearch/showAward?AWD_ID=0348681&HistoricalAwards=false
• 关键词: Microbial; Observatory; Metabolic; Activity; Microorganisms

A grant has been awarded to Drs. Nicolai S. Panikov (Stevens Institute of Technology, NJ) and Vladimir Romanovsky (University of Alaska Fairbanks) to establish a Microbial Observatory project in the Alaskan tundra. The long-term challenge is to identify, characterize and monitor over time and space the psychrophilic (ultracold-loving) microorganisms active in frozen ground likely to be responsible for recently discovered sizeable winter CO2 emissions in the Arctic. The particular goal of this 2-year 'proof-of-concept' project is to present convincing evidence that such microorganisms exist and can be studied by a combination of isolation and culture-independent molecular techniques. Growth and activity of psychrophilic microorganisms will be assessed from the in situ rates of carbon incorporation into cells and cellular constituents (DNA, phospholipids) in laboratory incubation studies. Testing of various substrates, temperatures (from 0 to -40 oC) and other growth conditions will allow the investigators to develop an optimized protocol for microbial enrichment, and to isolate 13C isotope-enriched DNA of microorganisms growing in frozen soil.Alaskan tundra was found to be an important trigger in recent global climatic changes: warming caused degradation of permafrost and stimulated microbial decomposition, converting the tundra from a 'sink' to a net source of carbon. The understanding, prediction and mitigation of the observed climate and atmospheric changes critically depend on knowledge of permafrost microbiology. Broader impacts of the research include more reliable climate predictions, insights into life on other planets under ultracold temperatures and development of highly efficient biocatalysts functioning at below freezing temperatures. To facilitate dissemination of information about this exciting effort, a web site will be established for the project.

已向博士授予补助金。 Nicolai S. Panikov（新泽西州史蒂文斯理工学院）和 Vladimir Romanovsky（阿拉斯加费尔班克斯大学）在阿拉斯加苔原建立微生物观测站项目。长期的挑战是随着时间和空间的推移识别、表征和监测冻土中活跃的嗜冷（喜超冷）微生物，这些微生物可能是最近发现的北极冬季大量二氧化碳排放的原因。这个为期两年的“概念验证”项目的具体目标是提供令人信服的证据，证明此类微生物存在，并且可以通过分离和独立于培养的分子技术相结合进行研究。嗜冷微生物的生长和活性将通过实验室孵化研究中碳原位掺入细胞和细胞成分（DNA、磷脂）的速率进行评估。对各种底物、温度（0 至 -40 oC）和其他生长条件的测试将使研究人员能够开发微生物富集的优化方案，并分离生长在冻土中的微生物的 13C 同位素富集 DNA。发现了阿拉斯加苔原成为近期全球气候变化的一个重要触发因素：变暖导致永久冻土退化并刺激微生物分解，将苔原从“水槽”转变为净水源 碳。对观测到的气候和大气变化的理解、预测和缓解在很大程度上取决于永久冻土微生物学的知识。该研究的更广泛影响包括更可靠的气候预测、对超冷温度下其他行星上生命的洞察以及开发在冰点以下发挥作用的高效生物催化剂。为了促进有关这一令人兴奋的努力的信息传播，将为该项目建立一个网站。