Collaborative Research: Molecular and Chemical Ecology of Freshwater Sponges: Impacts of Sponge Hosts on Symbiotic Microbial Communities

合作研究：淡水海绵的分子和化学生态学：海绵宿主对共生微生物群落的影响

• 批准号: 0343662
• 负责人: Julie Olson
• 金额: $ 6.03万
• 依托单位: University of Alabama Tuscaloosa
• 依托单位国家: 美国
• 项目类别: Standard Grant
• 财政年份: 2004
• 资助国家: 美国
• 起止时间: 2004-07-15 至 2007-06-30
• 项目状态: 已结题
• 来源: https://www.nsf.gov/awardsearch/showAward?AWD_ID=0343662&HistoricalAwards=false
• 关键词: Collaborative; Research; Molecular; Chemical; Ecology

A grant has been awarded to Dr. Julie Olson at the University of Alabama at Tuscaloosa and Dr. Robert Thacker at the University of Alabama at Birmingham to examine microbial communities associated with freshwater sponges. Several species of freshwater sponges from the Mobile River Basin, Alabama, will be examined to determine whether they host unique microbial taxa that are not found in the surrounding riverine environment. A combination of bacterial cultivation studies and molecular genetic analyses will be employed in this determination. These investigations will also assess whether bacterial symbionts are host-specific, and whether freshwater sponges produce chemical compounds that affect the composition of their internal microbial communities. Crude extracts of freshwater sponges will be tested in laboratory assays for their ability to inhibit growth of bacteria isolated from freshwater environments. Active compounds will be isolated and characterized, with a strong potential for the identification of novel antibiotic compounds. This research project will provide much-needed documentation of the diversity and abundance of freshwater sponges in the Mobile River Basin, since the ecological status of these sensitive indicators of water quality is currently unknown. Freshwater sponges and their symbiotic bacterial communities may provide a model system to integrate studies of ecology, evolution, and drug discovery. In addition to providing research opportunities for one graduate student and one undergraduate student, the investigators will incorporate protocols and results from these studies into graduate and undergraduate courses. These results will also be disseminated to the local community to enhance awareness of water quality issues, including eutrophication, sedimentation, and pollution.

塔斯卡卢萨阿拉巴马大学的朱莉·奥尔森博士和伯明翰阿拉巴马大学的罗伯特·塞克尔博士获得了一笔拨款，用于研究与淡水海绵有关的微生物群落。来自阿拉巴马州莫比尔河流域的几种淡水海绵将被检查，以确定它们是否拥有在周围河流环境中没有发现的独特微生物分类群。细菌培养研究和分子遗传分析的结合将用于这一测定。这些调查还将评估细菌共生体是否具有宿主特异性，以及淡水海绵是否会产生影响其内部微生物群落组成的化合物。淡水海绵的粗提取物将在实验室化验中测试其抑制从淡水环境中分离出来的细菌生长的能力。活性化合物将被分离和表征，在鉴定新型抗生素化合物方面具有很强的潜力。这个研究项目将提供关于莫比尔河流域淡水海绵的多样性和丰富性的急需文件，因为这些敏感的水质指标的生态状况目前尚不清楚。淡水海绵及其共生细菌群落可以为生态学、进化和药物发现研究提供一个模型系统。除了为一名研究生和一名本科生提供研究机会外，研究人员还将这些研究的方案和结果纳入研究生和本科生课程。这些结果也将向当地社区传播，以提高对水质问题的认识，包括富营养化、沉积和污染。