| Project/Area Number |
18K14368
|
|---|
| Research Category |
Grant-in-Aid for Early-Career Scientists
|
| Allocation Type | Multi-year Fund |
|---|
| Review Section |
Basic Section 38020:Applied microbiology-related
|
|---|
| Research Institution | Hokkaido University |
|---|
Principal Investigator |
寺島 美亜 北海道大学, 低温科学研究所, 客員教授 (00756801)
|
|---|
| Project Period (FY) |
2021-11-01 – 2025-03-31
|
| Project Status |
Granted (Fiscal Year 2023)
|
| Budget Amount *help |
¥4,290,000 (Direct Cost: ¥3,300,000、Indirect Cost: ¥990,000)
Fiscal Year 2019: ¥1,560,000 (Direct Cost: ¥1,200,000、Indirect Cost: ¥360,000)
Fiscal Year 2018: ¥2,730,000 (Direct Cost: ¥2,100,000、Indirect Cost: ¥630,000)
|
|---|
| Keywords | Psychrophiles / Microalgae / Algae bacteria syntrophy / Snow microbes / Algae biotechnology / Microbial syntrophy |
|---|
| Outline of Research at the Start |
Red snow on alpine snowfields is caused by microalgae blooms that support an abundant bacterial growth. Algal blooms are not well-understood, but bacteria living with snow algae and their metabolic interactions may play a key role. This project will explore this mutualistic microbial interactions.
|
| Outline of Annual Research Achievements |
Green-colored arctic snow samples that contained microalgae and bacteria were obtained for sequencing analyses and strain isolation. 16S rRNA and 18S rRNA sequencing revealed that the snow samples are dominated by chlorophyte algae species and bacteria stemming from the class Bacteroidia and Gammaproteobacteria. From these snow samples, over 20+ bacterial strains have been isolated and identified via Nanopore sequencing, with several potentially novel species being identified. Additionally, metagenome sequencing of these samples are completed and are currently being analyzed.
Additionally, datamining of the transcriptome of a cryophilic snow alga has been started. Preliminary findings suggest potentially biotechnologically interesting cold-adapted enzymes unique to microorganisms found in the snow environment.
|
| Current Status of Research Progress |
Current Status of Research Progress
2: Research has progressed on the whole more than it was originally planned.
Reason
Progress has been made due to isolation of novel strains and the analysis of the microbial community of snow samples. The metagenome data is expected to provide additional novel findings. Transcriptome analysis was attempted, but due to the bad quality of the samples, has so far not been successful.
|
| Strategy for Future Research Activity |
Data analysis for the metagenome sequencing and comparison of this data to the 16S rRNA and 18S rRNA data is planned. Additionally, further characterization of isolated bacterial strain is planned. This will provide valuable insights into the physiology of these snow algal strains that have an important impact in alpine and arctic ecosystems.
|
