Symbiotic microbial communities on amphibian skin and their role in disease resistance

两栖动物皮肤上的共生微生物群落及其在抗病性中的作用

• 批准号: 1146284
• 负责人: Valerie McKenzie
• 金额: $ 40万
• 依托单位: University of Colorado at Boulder
• 依托单位国家: 美国
• 项目类别: Standard Grant
• 财政年份: 2012
• 资助国家: 美国
• 起止时间: 2012-03-01 至 2014-12-31
• 项目状态: 已结题
• 来源: https://www.nsf.gov/awardsearch/showAward?AWD_ID=1146284&HistoricalAwards=false
• 关键词: Symbiotic; microbial; communities; amphibian; skin

All species of plants and animals harbor microbes (bacteria and fungi) that live symbiotically in and on them. How those microbes are related to the health of their host organisms is largely undetermined and, in particular, there is a limited understanding of how symbiotic microbes influence a host's ability to cope with disease-causing pathogens. The proposed research will use amphibians as a model system and a fungal skin pathogen that is linked to the decline of amphibian populations around the world. Different amphibian species are either highly susceptible or tolerant to disease caused by the fungal pathogen, and there is reasonable evidence to suggest that naturally occurring skin microbes may play an important role. This research will use both field observations from wild amphibian populations and a series of specific experiments that will be conducted in the laboratory. In the field, amphibians will be sampled for microbes to compare differences among species in pond habitats. In the lab, controlled experiments will examine how microbes on the skin respond to the pathogen over time and also how they respond to probiotic treatments (beneficial bacteria) in an effort to understand the ecology of the microorganisms that live on the skin. Novel high-throughput DNA sequencing techniques and innovative computer-based analysis tools will be used to examine the identity and composition of different bacterial and fungal groups in each sample.Broader Impacts: This research aims to advance our knowledge about the role of symbiotic skin microbes and how probiotic treatments can be developed for use in conservation of amphibians as well as a broad range of human and wildlife disease systems. The project will advance the research program of an early career scientist (PI) and support the training of a graduate student, a postdoctoral researcher, and undergraduates from under-represented backgrounds. All DNA sequence data and analytic tools produced during this project will be made available for use by other researchers. Boreal toads, an endangered amphibian species in Colorado, will serve as a focal species in this project and the PIs will build collaborations with the Boreal Toad Recovery Program in Colorado.

所有种类的植物和动物都含有微生物（细菌和真菌），它们在体内和体外共生。这些微生物如何与宿主生物体的健康相关在很大程度上是不确定的，特别是，对共生微生物如何影响宿主科普致病病原体的能力的理解有限。拟议的研究将使用两栖动物作为模型系统和真菌皮肤病原体，该病原体与世界各地两栖动物种群的减少有关。不同的两栖动物物种对真菌病原体引起的疾病高度敏感或耐受，并且有合理的证据表明自然存在的皮肤微生物可能起着重要作用。这项研究将使用野生两栖动物种群的实地观察和一系列将在实验室进行的具体实验。在野外，将对两栖动物进行微生物取样，以比较池塘栖息地物种之间的差异。在实验室中，对照实验将研究皮肤上的微生物如何随着时间的推移对病原体做出反应，以及它们如何对益生菌治疗（有益细菌）做出反应，以了解生活在皮肤上的微生物的生态学。新的高通量DNA测序技术和创新的基于计算机的分析工具将用于检查每个样本中不同细菌和真菌群体的身份和组成。更广泛的影响：这项研究旨在提高我们对共生皮肤微生物的作用以及如何开发益生菌治疗方法用于保护两栖动物以及广泛的人类和野生动物疾病系统的认识。该项目将推进早期职业科学家（PI）的研究计划，并支持研究生，博士后研究员和来自代表性不足背景的本科生的培训。在该项目期间产生的所有DNA序列数据和分析工具将可供其他研究人员使用。北方蟾蜍是科罗拉多的一种濒危两栖动物，将作为该项目的重点物种，PI将与科罗拉多的北方蟾蜍恢复计划建立合作关系。