Collaborative Research: IntBIO: Rules for cell membranes in the extremes of the deep sea

合作研究：IntBIO：深海极端条件下细胞膜的规则

• 批准号: 2316456
• 负责人: Steven Haddock
• 金额: $ 68.07万
• 依托单位: Monterey Bay Aquarium Research Institute
• 依托单位国家: 美国
• 项目类别: Standard Grant
• 财政年份: 2023
• 资助国家: 美国
• 起止时间: 2023-07-15 至 2027-06-30
• 项目状态: 未结题
• 来源: https://www.nsf.gov/awardsearch/showAward?AWD_ID=2316456&HistoricalAwards=false
• 关键词: Collaborative; Research; IntBIO; Rules; cell

In this project, a cross-disciplinary team of scientists will uncover the mechanisms underlying how animals specialize for life in the deep ocean. The volume of the deep sea is vastly larger than all other habitats on earth combined, but only highly specialized organisms can survive its extreme conditions. How do deep-sea animals keep their cells functioning under freezing temperatures and crushing pressures -- hundreds of times that at the surface? In a surprising twist, once animals have adapted to the deep sea, surface conditions often turn extreme to them, and they fail to survive anywhere except in the deep sea. The researchers will focus on the cell membranes of deep-sea animals -- molecular structures that are very sensitive to pressure and temperature. The team will apply the latest methods in deep-ocean exploration, genomics, lipidomics, biophysics, synthetic biology, and computer modeling to uncover the molecular and cellular features that allow for survival in different marine environments. Success will lead to new knowledge about the biochemical limits of life and give insight into how environmental changes might affect diversity and abundance of marine animals. Broad preparation is an essential aspect of transformative research, because breakthroughs come when scientists integrate information from a variety of domains. Thus, this project will provide cross-disciplinary training for Ph.D. students to produce a new generation of diverse scientists who are trained in integrative approaches to biological research. The team's findings will also be incorporated into an integrative education curriculum for K-12 students in partnership with educators across the country.The project uses ctenophores -- commonly called comb jellies -- as a model system to discover rules that underlie an organism's ability to tolerate the extreme conditions found in the deep sea. Many scientists have never seen a live ctenophore, yet this phylum represents an excellent model system for the study of adaptation to extreme environmental conditions. Ctenophores inhabit a wide range of temperatures (-2°C to 30°C) and pressures (1 to 700 bar), and they have convergently adapted to these conditions, with closely related species also being found in very deep and very shallow habitats. Recently it has become possible to maintain them in lab culture for several generations, and there are high-quality transcriptomes and chromosome-scale genomes available. Thin layers of tissue are essentially all that distinguishes a ctenophore from the surrounding water, so adaptation must be focused at the cellular level. The overall hypothesis driving this project is that adaptations in lipid metabolism can be used to overcome the inhibition of cell-membrane dynamics by pressure. The project combines bioinformatics, whole-animal experiments, pressurized biochemical characterization, high-pressure small-angle x-ray scattering, molecular dynamics simulations, and synthetic biology to uncover the genetic and physicochemical mechanisms by which ctenophore membranes adapt to the deep ocean. Predictions that emerge from integrated observations will be tested by engineering lipid metabolism in microorganisms. The "rules" that emerge will be relevant to marine biology, biotechnology, food science, and the physiology of animals subjected to extreme conditions.This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.

在这个项目中，一个跨学科的科学家团队将揭示动物如何在深海中专门生命的基础机制。深海的体积比地球上的所有其他栖息地都大得多，但是只有高度专业的生物可以生存其极端条件。深海动物如何在冰冻温度和压力压力下保持其细胞的功能 - 表面上数百倍？令人惊讶的是，一旦动物适应了深海，表面条件通常会极大地转向它们，除了深海以外，它们无法生存。研究人员将专注于深海动物的细胞机制 - 对压力和温度非常敏感的分子结构。该团队将在深海洋探索，基因组学，脂质组学，生物物理学，合成生物学和计算机建模中应用最新方法，以揭示允许在不同海洋环境中生存的分子和细胞特征。成功将导致有关生命生物化学限制的新知识，并深入了解环境变化如何影响海洋动物的多样性和抽象。广泛的准备是变革性研究的重要方面，因为当科学家整合了各种领域的信息时，突破就会出现。这是该项目将为博士提供跨学科培训。学生生产新一代的多样性科学家，他们接受了综合性生物学研究方法的培训。该团队的调查结果还将与全国各地的教育工作者合作，为K-12学生提供综合教育课程。该项目使用CTENOPHORES（通常称为Comb Jellies）作为一种模型系统，以发现有机体能够容忍深海中极端条件的能力的规则。许多科学家从未见过现场cenophore，但是该门是研究适应极端环境条件的出色模型系统。 cenophores居住在广泛的温度（-2°C至30°C）和压力（1至700 bar），并且它们已互动地适应这些条件，并且在非常深，非常浅的栖息地也发现了密切相关的物种。最近，已经有可能在实验室文化中维持几代人，并且有高质量的转录组和染色体规模的基因组。本质上，薄的组织层是将c骨与周围水区分开的所有东西，因此必须将适应集中在细胞水平上。推动该项目的总体假设是，脂质代谢的适应性可用于克服压力抑制细胞膜动力学。该项目结合了生物信息学，全动物实验，加压生化特征，高压小角度X射线散射，分子动力学模拟和合成生物学，以揭示cto虫机制适应深海的遗传和物理机制。从综合观察中出现的预测将通过微生物的工程脂质代谢进行测试。出现的“规则”将与海洋生物学，生物技术，食品科学以及经历极端状况的动物的生理学有关。该奖项反映了NSF的法定任务，并被认为是通过基金会的智力优点和更广泛影响的审查标准通过评估来评估的。