Grant Details
Description
Project Summary
The goal of this Minority Research Planning Grant is to use non-cultivation based methods to
characterize the microbial populations associated with natural hydrocarbon seeps in Yellowstone
National Park. In addition to its well-known hot springs, Yellowstone has a few documented
areas that contain hydrocarbon seeps. These seeps are typically associated with thermal vents and
the best characterized ones occur in terrestrial areas. The proposed research will focus on soil
samples to be taken from the Calcite Springs area, where several hydrocarbon seeps exist. The
specific objectives of this planning grant are:
1. Evaluate soil microbial diversity in Calcite Springs soil containing naturally occurring
hydrocarbons.
2. Examine functional gene diversity and evolutionary relatedness to characterized genes
encoding hydrocarbon-degrading enzymes (PAH dioxygenases).
3. Characterize the abundance and types of hydrocarbons present in Calcite Springs soil
adjacent to hydrocarbon seeps.
Clone libraries of 16S rRNA genes and PAH dioxygenase gene fragments will be constructed
and sequenced to identify microorganisms and catabolic pathways present in hydrocarbon-
impacted soil. A thorough chemical analysis of soil samples (GC-MS) will also be performed to
identify and quantify the major hydrocarbons present. This study will provide the first
investigation into the phylogenetic diversity of soil microbial populations associated with
terrestrial hydrocarbon seeps in Yellowstone National Park. This information is of interest
primarily due the extended exposure to hydrocarbons that these microbial populations have
received. As such, novel microorganisms and/or metabolic pathways may have evolved in this
setting. As a planning grant targeting underrepresented minorities in science, this award will help
to increase the participation of a minority scientist in NSF-funded research. Furthermore, this
planning grant will be used to generate sufficient preliminary data for an NSF CAREER proposal
to combine research and teaching efforts focused on the microbial ecology of hydrocarbon seeps
in Yellowstone National Park.
Status | Finished |
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Effective start/end date | 09/15/02 → 08/31/05 |
Funding
- National Science Foundation: $30,997.00