CAREER: Fundamental cell-mineral-redox interactions in the sulfur system

职业：硫系统中基本的细胞-矿物质-氧化还原相互作用

• 批准号: 0955639
• 负责人: Gregory Druschel
• 金额: $ 40万
• 依托单位: University of Vermont & State Agricultural College
• 依托单位国家: 美国
• 项目类别: Continuing Grant
• 财政年份: 2010
• 资助国家: 美国
• 起止时间: 2010-06-15 至 2013-02-28
• 项目状态: 已结题
• 来源: https://www.nsf.gov/awardsearch/showAward?AWD_ID=0955639&HistoricalAwards=false
• 关键词: CAREER; Fundamental; cell; mineral; redox

Greater understanding of redox-active elements like sulfur and iron are key in the processes that affect problems such as ocean transitions through deep time, sour gas and oil evolution, hydrothermal chemistry and the origins of life, the supply of iron to the sea, industrial desulfurization, agricultural sulfur cycling, and metal mobility. Microorganisms have been a potentially important part of sulfur cycling for billions of years (Johnston et al., 2005; Mojzsis et al, 2007), yet many of the fundamental interactions between microorganisms and elemental sulfur are not understood. Advancing our understanding of how these systems behave requires delving into the detailed interactions between cells (bacterial, archaeal, and eukaryotic), minerals (especially nanoparticles), and water chemistry (especially redox speciation).Intellectual Merit: Elemental sulfur occurs as bulk and nanoparticulate phases and can be utilized by microorganisms for all 3 major catabolic paths through use as an electron acceptor, donor, or essentially both in the case of disproportionation. Dissolved sulfur species also interact with elemental sulfur, and those species can additionally react with metals, most importantly iron. Microorganisms must solubilize elemental sulfur in order to metabolize it, but this mineral is fundamentally different from other minerals where microbe-mineral interactions have been well studied, such as iron oxide minerals (for example Hernandez and Newman, 2001; Childers et al., 2002; Burgon et al., 2003; Lovley, 2008; Newman, 2008). Solubilizing elemental sulfur can be accomplished through interaction with organic ligands or through interactions with other sulfur species to form new soluble intermediates such as polysulfides. Investigator proposes to develop a combined in situ analytical capability to investigate sulfur speciation and elemental sulfur mineralogy in field and laboratory tests to address the following hypothesis: The size and surface character of elemental sulfur is a key component controlling sulfur cycling in biotic and abiotic reactions in many environments.Broader Impacts: Advances in fundamental cell-mineral-redox interactions in the sulfur system provide an opportunity to integrate some exciting educational experiences to engage stakeholders and professionals in health, policy, and legal fields with research goals that will yield transformative insights of value to the broad study of sulfur-based microorganisms and element cycling through time and in environmentally relevant systems. Sulfur species and minerals are importantly affected by a number of known organisms, but the level of detail proposed for elemental sulfur particle size/character and redox speciation has never been applied. When comparing the wealth of information that has come from years of investigating detailed iron oxide-microbe interactions (Newman, 2008), a detailed investigation of fundamental microbe-mineral-redox interactions involving sulfur may yield critical new insights. The application of the knowledge gained through these investigations of the sulfur system can be applied to broader thinking about similar cell-mineral-redox interactions that affect problems of human health. This opens an opportunity to advance the training of scientists to communicate results with the non-scientific public, and provide training to the medical professionals, policymakers, and legal professionals that utilize mineralogical, geochemical, and microbial information in addressing problems such as asbestos mineral exposure, groundwater arsenic contamination, and selenium toxicity. A series of classes and professional workshops will be developed, alongside a series of learning modules illustrating fundamental cell-mineral-redox interactions, to engage students and professionals in hands-on experiences of how geochemical, mineralogical, and microbial data is gathered, assessed, evaluated, and debated to arrive at reliable information. The participation of stakeholders in the practice of scientific data collection, evaluation, and debate integrated with the training of scientists with better communication skills represents not only an advance in the preparation of scientists, but an advance also in preparing professionals who will work with those scientists.

在影响问题的过程中，对氧化还原活性元素（如硫和铁）的更大了解是通过深度时间，酸气和油的进化，水热化学和生命的起源，对海洋供应，工业去硫化，农业硫磺循环和金属流动性等问题的关键。数十亿年来，微生物一直是硫循环的潜在重要组成部分（Johnston等，2005； Mojzsis等，2007），但是微生物与元素硫之间的许多基本相互作用尚不清楚。促进我们对这些系统如何行为方式的理解需要深入研究细胞（细菌，古细菌和真核）之间的详细相互作用，矿物质（尤其是纳米粒子）和水化学（尤其是氧化还原的形成）。智能优点：元素硫作为批量和纳尼诺普特阶段和纳尼诺普特式均可用的态度来实现Alsoron Syron Syron Subs san Alsroron 33受体，捐助者或基本上都是不成比例的。溶解的硫种也与元素硫相互作用，这些物种还可以与金属（最重要的是铁）反应。微生物必须溶解元素硫以代谢，但是这种矿物质与对微生物矿物质相互作用进行了充分研究的其他矿物质有根本不同，例如Hernandez and Newman和Newman，Newman，2001; Childers et al。，2002; Burgon et al。，Burgon et al。，2003; New。可以通过与有机配体的相互作用或与其他硫种类形成新的可溶性中间体（如多硫化物）来实现溶解的元素硫。研究者建议在现场和实验室测试中研究硫磺形象和元素硫矿物学的组合，以解决以下假设：元素硫的大小和表面特征是控制生物反应中硫的硫循环的关键组成部分。一些令人兴奋的教育经验，使利益相关者和专业人士参与健康，政策和法律领域，以研究目标，这些目标将对基于硫的微生物的广泛研究以及在时间和环境相关系统中的广泛研究产生价值的变革见解。硫种和矿物质受到许多已知生物的影响，但是从未应用针对元素硫粒径/特征和氧化还原物种的细节水平。在比较多年来调查详细的氧化铁微叶铁相互作用的信息时（Newman，2008），对涉及硫的基本微生物 - 矿物质 - 雷克斯相互作用的详细研究可能会产生关键的新见解。通过对硫系统的这些研究获得的知识的应用可以应用于对影响人类健康问题的类似细胞矿物 - 雷克斯相互作用的更广泛思考。这为进步科学家的培训提供了机会，以与非科学的公众交流结果，并为医学专业人员，决策者和法律专业人员提供培训，这些专业人员和法律专业人员利用矿物学，地球化学和微生物信息来解决诸如石棉矿物质暴露，地下水芳香芳烃的含量和质量的问题。将开发一系列课程和专业研讨会，以及一系列的学习模块，说明了基本的细胞 - 矿物质 - 雷克斯互动，以使学生和专业人员亲身体验如何收集，评估，评估，评估和辩论，以获取可靠的信息。利益相关者参与与具有更好沟通能力的科学家培训的科学数据收集，评估和辩论的实践，这不仅代表了科学家的准备，而且还可以提前准备与这些科学家合作的专业人员。