Understanding Metal Accumulation and Tolerance Processes in Extremophile Microalgae for Bioremediation Potential

了解极端微生物微藻中的金属积累和耐受过程以实现生物修复潜力

• 批准号: 2899032
• 金额: --
• 依托单位: University of Manchester
• 依托单位国家: 英国
• 项目类别: Studentship
• 财政年份: 2023
• 资助国家: 英国
• 起止时间: 2023 至 无数据
• 项目状态: 未结题
• 来源: https://gtr.ukri.org/projects?ref=studentship-2899032
• 关键词: Understanding; Metal; Accumulation; Tolerance; Processes

Project Description: (maximum of 4,000 characters)Please make sure this description clearly indicates how the project sits within the BBSRC remit, how it enables new ways of working and how it aligns with the DTP themes (World Class Underpinning Biosciences, Industrial Biotechnology and Bioenergy or Agriculture and Food Security). If you have been awarded an in vivo skills supplement, please outline the in vivo skills the student will learn during the project. The potential for using extremophile microalgae for biotechnology applications is significant but the characterisation and validation of these organisms for biotechnological use is lacking. This multi-disciplinary PhD project will address this gap in this important research topic. Strains of extremophile microalgae were identified from a mine environment that can tolerate very high acidity and very high concentrations of toxic metals. Studying these organisms will allow better understanding of the mechanisms of adaptation to extreme environments and provide details of potentially novel mechanisms of stress tolerance at the cellular and molecular level. There are also many applications and uses of these organisms to industrial biotechnology, such as pollutant bioremediation, metal recovery (metal bio-mining) and potentially also as a source of novel high-value chemicals. This project will aim to investigate the adaptive responses of the microalgae strains to AMD environments in order to understand (1) the molecular adaptation mechanisms to allow both tolerance and sequestration of the metal ions within the cell, (2) the details of subcellular localisation and chemical speciation characteristics of metals within the algal cell, and (3) the validation of using microalgal biomass for metal removal from contaminated waters in small-scale cultivation experiments. The outcomes from this exciting project will enhance our fundamental knowledge of metal-tolerant extremophile microalgae, and provide new understanding of environmental stress adaptation and metal accumulation mechanisms, which may in turn give rise to novel biotechnological applications for metal pollutant clean up and metal recycling. The project will study fundamental biochemical and cellular processes underlying the response to metal and acidity stress for selected microorganisms that will provide fundamental understanding of microbial life processes but also will allow evaluation of novel biotechnological applications for sustainable metal pollutant bioremediation practices. The functions of microorganisms in natural and polluted systems are fundamental to ecosystem behaviour. New depth of understanding of microalgal processes in response to metal pollution stress will improve development of novel bioremediation options for metal extraction and processing industries. The project will enhance fundamental knowledge of extremophile organisms, and provide new understanding of environmental stress adaptation mechanisms. The project will provide training in research skills including microalgal physiology and biochemistry, imaging and spectroscopy techniques.

项目描述：（最多 4,000 个字符）请确保此描述清楚地表明该项目如何属于 BBSRC 的职权范围、如何实现新的工作方式以及如何与 DTP 主题（世界级基础生物科学、工业生物技术和生物能源）保持一致或农业和粮食安全）。如果您获得了体内技能补充，请概述学生在项目期间将学习的体内技能。将极端微生物微藻用于生物技术应用的潜力是巨大的，但缺乏对这些生物体用于生物技术用途的表征和验证。这个多学科博士项目将解决这一重要研究课题的这一空白。在矿井环境中鉴定出嗜极微藻菌株，它们可以耐受极高的酸度和极高浓度的有毒金属。研究这些生物体将有助于更好地了解适应极端环境的机制，并提供细胞和分子水平上潜在的新的应激耐受机制的细节。这些生物体在工业生物技术中也有许多应用和用途，例如污染物生物修复、金属回收（金属生物采矿），并且还可能作为新型高价值化学品的来源。该项目旨在研究微藻菌株对 AMD 环境的适应性反应，以便了解 (1) 允许细胞内金属离子耐受和隔离的分子适应机制，(2) 亚细胞定位的细节和藻细胞内金属的化学形态特征，以及（3）在小规模培养实验中验证使用微藻生物质从污染水中去除金属。这个令人兴奋的项目的成果将增强我们对耐金属极端微生物微藻的基础知识，并提供对环境应激适应和金属积累机制的新认识，这反过来可能会带来金属污染物清理和金属回收的新型生物技术应用。该项目将研究选定微生物对金属和酸性胁迫反应的基本生化和细胞过程，这将提供对微生物生命过程的基本了解，同时也将允许评估可持续金属污染物生物修复实践的新型生物技术应用。自然和污染系统中微生物的功能是生态系统行为的基础。对微藻应对金属污染胁迫过程的新的深入理解将促进金属提取和加工行业新型生物修复方案的开发。该项目将增强嗜极生物的基础知识，并提供对环境应激适应机制的新认识。该项目将提供研究技能培训，包括微藻生理学和生物化学、成像和光谱技术。