DISSERTATION RESEARCH: Incorporating Metagenomics into Experimental Community Ecology: Tests with the Pitcher Plant Model System

论文研究：将宏基因组学纳入实验群落生态学：用猪笼草模型系统进行测试

• 批准号: 0909830
• 负责人: Dianna Padilla
• 金额: $ 1.5万
• 依托单位: SUNY at Stony Brook
• 依托单位国家: 美国
• 项目类别: Standard Grant
• 财政年份: 2009
• 资助国家: 美国
• 起止时间: 2009-07-01 至 2011-06-30
• 项目状态: 已结题
• 来源: https://www.nsf.gov/awardsearch/showAward?AWD_ID=0909830&HistoricalAwards=false
• 关键词: DISSERTATION; RESEARCH; Incorporating; Metagenomics; into

Microbial systems, including the community of microbes that form the aquatic food web within the leaves of the pitcher plant, Sarracenia purpurea, have been important models for ecological studies. This is because they are easily replicated in the laboratory and have rapid dynamics that allow questions to be addressed in a matter of days that would take weeks to years with other types of organisms. To date, studies of the community ecology of microbial systems have been limited to those bacterial species that can be grown in the lab (culturable on agar), which is estimated to be less than 1% of the diversity within a community. The use of molecular biology techniques has revolutionized this field; microbial systems can now be studied by examining the genomes of all of the bacteria within these systems (metagenomics). This project will use metagenomics as a tool to identify bacterial species in a series of experiments designed to test questions about the dynamics of the food web of the pitcher plant system, and how this system responds to different types of impacts, including invasion by novel species. This project will also test whether the results of prior work (with only culturable bacteria) on the interactions and diversity of this system are robust when all bacteria in the system are considered. This project will train a female graduate student and undergraduates in molecular biology, community ecology and experimental design. This cross-disciplinary training will prepare them for careers multiple areas of the sciences.

微生物系统，包括在猪笼草（瓶子草）叶子内形成水生食物网的微生物群落，一直是生态研究的重要模型。 这是因为它们很容易在实验室中复制，并且具有快速的动态性，可以在几天内解决问题，而其他类型的生物体则需要数周甚至数年的时间。 迄今为止，对微生物系统群落生态学的研究仅限于那些可以在实验室中生长的细菌物种（可在琼脂上培养），估计不到群落内多样性的 1%。 分子生物学技术的使用彻底改变了这一领域；现在可以通过检查这些系统内所有细菌的基因组来研究微生物系统（宏基因组学）。 该项目将使用宏基因组学作为工具，在一系列实验中识别细菌种类，这些实验旨在测试有关猪笼草系统食物网动态的问题，以及该系统如何应对不同类型的影响，包括新物种的入侵。 该项目还将测试当考虑系统中的所有细菌时，先前关于该系统的相互作用和多样性的工作结果（仅使用可培养的细菌）是否稳健。 该项目将在分子生物学、群落生态学和实验设计方面培训一名女研究生和本科生。 这种跨学科培训将为他们在多个科学领域的职业生涯做好准备。