Testing soil simulated environments to probe phosphorus contained in concentrated viral clusters
EMSL Project ID
60275
Abstract
By shunting phosphorus (P) to new viral particles during infection, soil viruses likely contribute substantially to soil P cycling. Like other viruses, soil viruses are presumed to be stoichiometrically P-enriched on account of the structural dominance of phosphate-rich nucleic acid genomes in viral particles. However, the complexity of the soil environment and the small size of viruses (typically < 80 nm in diameter) has made it difficult to characterize soil viral chemical composition. In this project, we will collaborate with EMSL to identify a sample preparation method that best facilitates clustering (concentration) of viral particles in a P-depleted mineral background, in order to enable downstream quantification of soil viral P content and speciation at the Stanford Synchrotron Radiation Lightsource (SSRL). Using established protocols in the Emerson group, viruses will be extracted from a wetland soil known to be high in viral biomass and low in natural P. We will then leverage EMSL’s novel mineral doped microfluidic devices (mineral micromodels) to concentrate the extracted soil viral particles into viral clusters. We will assess the extent of viral clustering in four of these micromodels (containing three different mineral preparations and a no-mineral control) by Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM) at EMSL. For each mineral preparation that yields sufficient viral clustering, a micromodel will be sent to SSRL to be imaged for P abundance (µ-XRF mapping) and P speciation (µ-XANES spectroscopy). Depending on SEM results from the different mineral preparations, up to seven micromodels would be analyzed in total for this project (four for SEM and up to three for SSRL). This limited scope ‘proof-of-concept’ project, if successful, will allow for the first P images of soil viruses and their interactions with simulated soil surfaces, expanding our limited knowledge on soil viral chemical composition and mineral interactions. In addition, the experimental set-up would likely be broadly applicable to future efforts to measure viral chemical composition and mineral interactions in soil.
Project Details
Project type
Limited Scope
Start Date
2022-03-01
End Date
2022-04-30
Status
Closed
Released Data Link
Team
Principal Investigator
Team Members