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

位于塔斯卡卢萨的亚拉巴马大学的朱莉·奥尔森博士和位于伯明翰的亚拉巴马大学的罗伯特·萨克尔博士获得了一笔赠款，用于研究与淡水海绵有关的微生物群落。 几个物种的淡水海绵从移动的河流域，亚拉巴马，将进行检查，以确定它们是否主机独特的微生物类群，没有发现在周围的河流环境。 本测定将采用细菌培养研究和分子遗传学分析相结合的方法。 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。 淡水海绵的粗提物将在实验室试验中测试其抑制从淡水环境中分离的细菌生长的能力。 活性化合物将被分离和表征，具有鉴定新型抗生素化合物的强大潜力。 这一研究项目将提供急需的关于移动的河流域淡水海绵多样性和丰富性的文献资料，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能提供一个模型系统，整合生态学，进化和药物发现的研究。 除了为一名研究生和一名本科生提供研究机会外，研究人员还将把这些研究的方案和结果纳入研究生和本科生课程。 这些结果也将分发给当地社区，以提高对水质问题的认识，包括富营养化、沉积和污染。

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.