Dimensions: Biodiversity of the Gut Microbiome of Herbivorous Rodents

促进哺乳动物生活的一些最关键的相互作用发生在哺乳动物和肠道内的各种微生物群落之间。食草哺乳动物拥有最多样化的微生物群落。这些微生物中有许多在纤维的降解中很重要；然而，肠道微生物也可能在解毒植物中常见的天然毒素方面发挥重要作用。该项目将研究宿主进化史和饮食毒素如何塑造草食性哺乳动物肠道微生物群的多样性，重点研究一组专门食用对其他动物有毒的植物的啮齿动物。木鼠有一种不同寻常的毒性饮食，它的食性比大多数物种都要广泛。这使它们成为一个潜在的模型系统，可以深入了解生物多样性在使动物应对植物防御方面的作用，这一作用鲜为人知，但显然很重要。该项目的目标是：1)识别和比较啮齿动物肠道各腔的微生物群落，以了解它们的功能；2)研究进化史和饮食毒素对塑造微生物多样性和功能的影响；3)确定多样性如何与宿主肝脏相互作用以促进解毒。这个项目将为野生食草动物的微生物多样性和植物毒素在形成多样性中所起的作用提供一些初步的见解。这项工作将促进我们对微生物多样性的理解，并可能揭示对人类益生菌有益的新微生物。预计将发现与解毒有关的新微生物和基因；这种生物材料对希望改善畜牧业实践的农业科学家非常感兴趣。每年将为中学生提供为期一周的暑期工作坊，通过开发交互式计算机模拟和游戏来教授微生物多样性的概念。

Some of the most critical interactions facilitating mammalian life occur between mammals and the diverse communities of microbes that reside within their guts. Plant-eating mammals harbor the most diverse microbial communities. Many of these microbes are important in the degradation of fiber; however, gut microbes may also play an essential role in detoxifying the natural toxins common in plants. This project will investigate how host evolutionary history and dietary toxins shape the diversity of the gut microbiome of herbivorous mammals by focusing on a group of rodents that specialize in eating plants that are toxic to other animals. Woodrats have an unusually toxic diet spanning a broader array of plants than most species. This makes them a potential model system for insight into this poorly understood but clearly important role of biodiversity in allowing animals to cope with plant defenses. The objectives of this project are to 1) identify and compare the microbial communities across chambers of the rodent gut to understand their function 2) investigate the influences of evolutionary history and dietary toxins in sculpting microbial diversity and function; 3) determine how diversity interacts with the liver of the host to facilitate detoxification. This project will provide some of the first insights into the microbial diversity of wild herbivores and the role that plant toxins play in shaping diversity. This work will advance our understanding of microbial diversity and may reveal new microbes useful for human probiotics. The discovery of novel microbes and genes associated with detoxification is anticipated; such biological material is of great interest to agricultural scientists wishing to improve husbandry practices in livestock. A one-week summer workshop will be offered annually to middle school students to teach concepts of microbial diversity through the development of interactive computer simulations and games.