DISSERTATION RESEARCH: Living on the Edge: Biodiversity and Metabolic Potential of Microbial Communities in Salt Crusts of the Hyperarid Atacama Desert

论文研究：生活在边缘：极度干旱的阿塔卡马沙漠盐壳中微生物群落的生物多样性和代谢潜力

基本信息

批准号：
1406956
负责人：
Ronald Amundson
金额：
$ 2.03万
依托单位：
University of California-Berkeley
依托单位国家：
美国
项目类别：
Standard Grant
财政年份：
2014
资助国家：
美国
起止时间：
2014-06-01 至 2016-05-31
项目状态：
已结题

来源：
https://www.nsf.gov/awardsearch/showAward?AWD_ID=1406956&HistoricalAwards=false
关键词：
DISSERTATION RESEARCH Living Edge Biodiversity

项目摘要

For decades, the hyperarid region of the Atacama Desert was considered to be the dry limit to life, too hostile to sustain any growth. However, microorganisms have recently been discovered colonizing salt crusts on the surface of soils. It is hypothesized that salt is the key to their survival because it is able to absorb moisture from the atmosphere and create a liquid solution in an otherwise totally dry environment. This project is the first in-depth examination of the microbial communities in this unique ecosystem, and is designed to achieve two objectives: 1) to analyze how microbial biodiversity is affected by water availability, and 2) to determine how small changes in the availability of water influence the metabolic potential of the microbial communities. This will be accomplished through the use of 16S rRNA gene sequencing, metagenomic analysis, and confocal laser scanning microscopy. This research examines how microbial biodiversity and metabolic potential vary with climate and moisture. The results will inform ecological theories that describe geographical patterns of life on earth. These theories are essential for proper management of ecosystems and for predicting biological response to global changes. Completion of the proposed research will also lay critical groundwork for future exploration of the desiccation and UV tolerance of the microorganisms, which is of great interest to a variety of fields including, biotechnology and renewable energy.

几十年来，阿塔卡马沙漠的Hyperarid地区被认为是生命的干旱限制，太敌对了，无法维持任何增长。然而，最近发现了微生物在土壤表面上定居于盐地壳。假设盐是其生存的关键，因为它能够从大气中吸收水分并在原本完全干燥的环境中创建液体溶液。该项目是对这个独特生态系统中微生物群落的第一次深入研究，旨在实现两个目标：1）分析微生物生物多样性如何受水的影响以及2）确定水的可用性如何影响微生物群落的代谢潜力。这将通过使用16S rRNA基因测序，元基因组分析和共聚焦激光扫描显微镜来实现。这项研究研究了微生物生物多样性和代谢潜力如何随气候和水分而变化。结果将为生态理论提供描述地球生活模式的生态理论。这些理论对于适当管理生态系统和预测对全球变化的生物学反应至关重要。拟议研究的完成还将为未来探索微生物的干燥和紫外线耐受性奠定重要基础，这对包括生物技术和可再生能源在内的各个领域都引起了极大的兴趣。