DISSERTATION RESEARCH: Metatranscriptomics links phenology with community dynamics and ecosystem function in wood decay fungi

论文研究：宏转录组学将木材腐烂真菌的物候学与群落动态和生态系统功能联系起来

• 批准号: 1601372
• 负责人: Amy Zanne
• 金额: $ 1.98万
• 依托单位: George Washington University
• 依托单位国家: 美国
• 项目类别: Standard Grant
• 财政年份: 2016
• 资助国家: 美国
• 起止时间: 2016-06-01 至 2018-05-31
• 项目状态: 已结题
• 来源: https://www.nsf.gov/awardsearch/showAward?AWD_ID=1601372&HistoricalAwards=false
• 关键词: DISSERTATION; RESEARCH; Metatranscriptomics; links; phenology

Forests contain half of the world's terrestrial carbon, much of which is stored over long time periods in forest trees. This carbon is typically released after tree death through the actions of fungi and other microorganisms that consume woody debris, breaking it down and releasing carbon into the soil and atmosphere (as carbon dioxide). Most of what is known about wood decay fungi comes from observations of reproductive fruiting bodies, such as mushrooms, but this is only one stage of the life cycle of these fungi. In this project, fungal activities will be studied over the course of the forest growing season and over the developmental life cycle of fungi to measure the amount of wood decay activity, and to determine the factors that control the process. These results will significantly improve our understanding of the role wood decay fungi play in releasing stored carbon now and under changing global conditions. This project will provide needed insight into the functioning of wood decay fungal communities by examining the phenology of extracellular enzyme production throughout the year. The researchers will use recent advances in sequencing methods to determine when fungi are actively expressing decay genes, and how decay activity is affected by community diversity, substrate quality, and environmental conditions. High throughput sequencing will be used to compare decay gene expression through time by capturing populations of messenger RNAs, and to identify shifts in the active fungal community using ribosomal RNA. Sequencing data will be complemented with extracellular enzyme assays and measurements of respiration, to quantify the activity levels of enzymes targeting specific wood components and rate of carbon dioxide released to the atmosphere, respectively. The drivers of decay activity and fungal community changes will be compared with those affecting fruiting body production.

森林含有世界陆地碳的一半，其中大部分长期储存在森林树木中。这种碳通常在树木死亡后通过真菌和其他微生物的作用释放，这些微生物消耗木质残体，将其分解并将碳释放到土壤和大气中（作为二氧化碳）。大多数关于木材腐烂真菌的知识来自于对繁殖子实体的观察，例如蘑菇，但这只是这些真菌生命周期的一个阶段。在该项目中，将研究森林生长季节和真菌发育生命周期中的真菌活动，以测量木材腐烂活动的数量，并确定控制这一过程的因素。这些结果将大大提高我们对木材腐烂真菌在释放储存的碳中所起作用的理解，以及在不断变化的全球条件下。该项目将提供所需的洞察木材腐朽真菌群落的功能，通过检查全年的细胞外酶生产的物候。研究人员将利用测序方法的最新进展来确定真菌何时积极表达衰变基因，以及衰变活动如何受到群落多样性，基质质量和环境条件的影响。高通量测序将用于通过捕获信使RNA群体来比较衰变基因表达随时间的变化，并使用核糖体RNA来鉴定活性真菌群落中的变化。测序数据将与胞外酶测定和呼吸测量相补充，以分别量化针对特定木材成分的酶的活性水平和二氧化碳释放到大气中的速率。腐烂活动和真菌群落变化的驱动因素将与影响子实体生产的驱动因素进行比较。