| NSF Org: |
MCB Division of Molecular and Cellular Biosciences |
| Recipient: |
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| Initial Amendment Date: | August 11, 2000 |
| Latest Amendment Date: | December 12, 2005 |
| Award Number: | 0084231 |
| Award Instrument: | Continuing Grant |
| Program Manager: |
Matthew Kane
mkane@nsf.gov (703)292-7186 MCB Division of Molecular and Cellular Biosciences BIO Directorate for Biological Sciences |
| Start Date: | September 1, 2000 |
| End Date: | August 31, 2006 (Estimated) |
| Total Intended Award Amount: | $1,259,667.00 |
| Total Awarded Amount to Date: | $1,049,290.00 |
| Funds Obligated to Date: |
FY 2001 = $507,647.00 FY 2003 = $247,579.00 FY 2006 = $49,636.00 |
| History of Investigator: |
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| Recipient Sponsored Research Office: |
3720 S FLOWER ST FL 3 LOS ANGELES CA US 90033 (213)740-7762 |
| Sponsor Congressional District: |
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| Primary Place of Performance: |
3720 S FLOWER ST FL 3 LOS ANGELES CA US 90033 |
| Primary Place of
Performance Congressional District: |
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| Unique Entity Identifier (UEI): |
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| Parent UEI: |
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| NSF Program(s): | MICRO OBS & MICRO INTER & PRO |
| Primary Program Source: |
01000102DB NSF RESEARCH & RELATED ACTIVIT app-0102 app-0103 app-0106 |
| Program Reference Code(s): |
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| Program Element Code(s): |
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| Award Agency Code: | 4900 |
| Fund Agency Code: | 4900 |
| Assistance Listing Number(s): | 47.074 |
ABSTRACT
This award establishes a microbial observatory at an ocean site located midway between Los Angeles and the University of Southern California's Wrigley Marine Science Center on Santa Catalina Island to discover and study previously undescribed microorganisms. Marine microorganisms play crucial roles in the biology and chemistry of the sea and thus have a strong influence on processes ranging from the development of toxic algal blooms to carbon cycling in the ecosystem, and thus ultimately on fisheries and other uses of the coastal ocean. The tiny size and lack of easily distinguishable morphological features, plus the difficulty and expense of cultivating microorganisms in the laboratory, have made it extremely difficult to identify most of these species until very recently. This situation has been particularly true of marine archaea, bacteria, and the smallest microalgae and protozoa. Therefore, important details are lacking regarding the kinds of microorganisms present in the water column, how they vary in time and space, and exactly what they might be doing. This project will apply newly developed molecular biological approaches that will permit us to discover and identify even the smallest microorganisms by their genetic characteristics, directly from field samples and without the need to grow them in laboratory culture. The different microbial types will also be quantified directly from field samples with state-of-the-art fluorescence probe technology, and a combined isotope-fluorescence probe technology will be applied to investigate the physiological characteristics of the dominant identified organisms within their mixed natural communities. Measurements will be taken biweekly for most of the 4-year project. Access to the study site will be facilitated by the USC Wrigley Institute for Environmental Studies which operates an oceanographic time series station with biweekly sampling, and also by boats traversing between LA and USC's marine laboratory twice weekly. The project will take full advantage of the physical, biological, and chemical data already being collected for the ocean time series. It is anticipated that this study will discover new species of microorganisms (based on previously unreported genetic signatures), indicate new approaches for bringing these newly discovered microbes into laboratory culture (based on phylogenetic analyses of their DNA sequences), and thus answer many questions concerning the composition and activities of one of the most abundant yet poorly understood groups of organisms on the face of the planet.
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