Landscape approach to evaluating microbial genetic resources associated with seafloor massive sulphide deposits

评估与海底块状硫化物矿床相关的微生物遗传资源的景观方法

• 批准号: RGPIN-2022-05053
• 负责人: Juniper, Stanley
• 金额: $ 2.4万
• 依托单位: University of Victoria
• 依托单位国家: 加拿大
• 项目类别: Discovery Grants Program - Individual
• 财政年份: 2022
• 资助国家: 加拿大
• 起止时间: 2022-01-01 至 2023-12-31
• 项目状态: 已结题
• 来源: https://www.nserc-crsng.gc.ca/ase-oro/Details-Detailles_eng.asp?id=750978
• 关键词: Landscape; approach; evaluating; microbial; genetic

Microbes are often overlooked in environmental impact assessments despite their critical role in ecosystem function and mostly unexplored potential as a source of genetic novelty for pharmaceutical and biotechnological applications. Funds are requested to pioneer landscape-scale evaluations of the genetic resource potential of microbes associated with seafloor massive sulphide (SMS) deposits in the deep ocean. Results will help build a broader view of the environmental and societal consequences of deep-sea mining. The current debate opposes mining interests against the legitimate concerns of biodiversity conservation that mostly focus on benthic fauna. Our research will inform discussions that weigh the value to society of the potential microbial genetic resources associated with SMS deposits, against the market value of the contained metals. SMS deposits, which have horizontal dimensions of 10s to 100s of metres, are formed by the precipitation of sulphide minerals at seafloor hydrothermal vents, and occur in association with seafloor volcanism on mid-ocean ridges. These deposits host a hitherto unquantified diversity of microorganisms, many of them extremophiles, many certainly unique, that are of high potential interest for the biotechnology and pharmaceutical sectors. Microbial diversity and novelty at active vents vary with habitat conditions such as temperature and rates of fluid discharge. When hydrothermally activity ceases, the deposited minerals themselves become the chemosynthetic energy source for microbial growth. Microbes colonizing inactive and weathering SMS deposits are less studied but appear taxonomically distinct from those at active vents and the surrounding deep sea, and may represent a separate genetic resource. Inactive deposits are the favoured target for future mining operations. Single purpose exploitation of SMS deposits for their metals would severely impact or even eliminate associated genetic resources. We will combine microbial biodiversity surveys, metagenomics and genome mining, with 3D modelling and geospatial mapping to develop quantitative, landscape-scale assessments of the genetic resource potential of entire SMS deposits. We will begin by using results of meta-barcoding (16S rRNA genes) for an initial assessment of the taxonomic diversity and novelty of samples collected from individual SMS deposits. We will then use genome mining tools to document the novelty of reconstructed microbial genomes from these deposits, and then evaluate the number and novelty of biosynthetic gene clusters (BGCs) at each site. BGCs encode the biosynthetic assembly of secondary metabolites that often have anti-microbial and anti-tumour properties, of great interest to the pharmaceutical industry.  Understanding relationships between 'biosprospecting metrics' and habitat types will enable future researchers and environmental managers to use habitat maps to evaluate the genetic resource potential of entire SMS deposits.

尽管微生物在生态系统功能中发挥着关键作用，并且作为制药和生物技术应用的遗传新颖性来源的潜力大多尚未开发，但微生物在环境影响方面经常被忽视。需要资金来对与海底块体相关的微生物遗传资源潜力进行景观规模评估。深海硫化物（SMS）沉积物的研究结果将有助于对深海采矿的环境和社会后果建立更广泛的认识。当前的辩论反对采矿利益与生物多样性保护的合理关注。我们的研究将为权衡与 SMS 矿床相关的潜在微生物遗传资源的社会价值以及所含金属的市场价值提供信息，这些金属的水平尺寸为数十米至数百米。硫化物矿物在海底热液喷口的沉淀，并与洋中脊的海底火山活动有关。这些矿床拥有迄今为止无法量化的多样性。微生物，其中许多是极端微生物，许多肯定是独特的，对生物技术和制药领域具有很高的潜在兴趣。活跃喷口的微生物多样性和新颖性随着栖息地条件（例如温度和液体排放速率）的变化而变化。沉积的矿物本身成为微生物生长的化学合成能源。对定殖在不活跃和风化 SMS 沉积物中的微生物的研究较少，但在分类学上与活跃喷口及其周围的微生物不同。深海，并且可能代表一种单独的遗传资源。不活跃的矿床是未来采矿作业的首选目标，这将严重影响甚至消除相关的遗传资源。基因组挖掘，通过 3D 建模和地理空间测绘对整个 SMS 沉积物的遗传资源潜力进行定量开发、景观规模评估。我们将首先使用元条形码（16S rRNA 基因）的结果进行分析。对从单个 SMS 沉积物中收集的样本的分类多样性和新颖性进行初步评估，然后我们将使用基因组挖掘工具记录从这些沉积物中重建的微生物基因组的新颖性，然后评估生物合成基因簇 (BGC) 的数量和新颖性。 BGC 编码次级代谢物的生物合成组装，这些次级代谢物通常具有抗微生物和抗肿瘤特性，这对于制药行业来说非常重要。 “生物勘探指标”和栖息地类型将使未来的研究人员和环境管理者能够使用栖息地地图来评估整个 SMS 沉积物的遗传资源潜力。