2020 Fiscal Year Research-status Report
Microbial Communities in the Sea Surface Microlayer as a Potential Source of Biogenic Ice Nuclei in Oceanic Regions
| Project/Area Number |
18K14787
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| Research Institution | National Institute of Polar Research |
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Principal Investigator |
WONG SHUKUAN 国立極地研究所, 国際北極環境研究センター, 特任研究員 (60808400)
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| Project Period (FY) |
2018-04-01 – 2022-03-31
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| Keywords | Ice Nucleation Activity / Sea Surface Microlayer |
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| Outline of Annual Research Achievements |
Ice-nucleating bacteria have the ability to freeze at warmer temperatures with some as warm as -2 Celsius. We had isolated 157 bacterial strains from the sea surface microlayer, seawater and seafoam. The ice nucleation activity of the isolated bacterial strains was tested using the dropdown freezing assay. A total of 67 bacterial isolates had been tested for their ice nucleating activities using the freeze-drop test. 57 isolates showed no ice-nucleation potential; 54 isolates froze at -20 Celsius, the temperatures where the negative control started to freeze while three isolates froze at temperatures lower than the negative control. Three isolates were ice-nucleation positive at temperatures of -10to-11 Celsius.
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| Current Status of Research Progress |
Current Status of Research Progress
3: Progress in research has been slightly delayed.
Reason
Due to maternity/childcare leave and current coronavirus conditions, this research had been left/stalled at the stage it was during the last report.
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| Strategy for Future Research Activity |
As mentioned in the previous report, we will continue to test the ice nucleating ability of the remaining 90 isolates. Once, we have identified and obtained positive ice nucleating bacterial strains from our environmental samples, we will be able to proceed with the next step in streamlining the PCR primers and conditions for use with environmental DNA samples. If we succeed in amplifying the environmental samples using the PCR primers and conditions tested above, the amplified environmental samples will be sequenced using next generation sequencer to identify the INA bacteria more efficiently at a larger scale.
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| Causes of Carryover |
Continuation of research after Maternity/Childcare Leave.
The funding will be used to streamline the ice nucleating PCR primers and conditions for use with environmental DNA sample
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