DISSERTATION RESEARCH: Isolating a Mechanism for Microbial-Host Local Adaptation

论文研究：分离微生物宿主局部适应机制

• 批准号: 1701788
• 负责人: Tony Wilson
• 金额: $ 2.03万
• 依托单位: CUNY Brooklyn College
• 依托单位国家: 美国
• 项目类别: Standard Grant
• 财政年份: 2017
• 资助国家: 美国
• 起止时间: 2017-09-01 至 2019-08-31
• 项目状态: 已结题
• 来源: https://www.nsf.gov/awardsearch/showAward?AWD_ID=1701788&HistoricalAwards=false
• 关键词: DISSERTATION; RESEARCH; Isolating; Mechanism; Microbial

This project investigates how the external environment shapes the immune system. Seahorses provide an ideal model for studying host-microbe interactions for three reasons. The genetic structure of their immune system is simple. Also, their dispersal capability is limited, and their geographic distribution is broad. Previous research on the pot-bellied seahorse across its range in New Zealand and southeastern Australia found striking differences between the pattern of genetic diversity in those parts of the genome related to immune response versus those parts of the genome that are not under selection. This proposal aims to experimentally test field observations of host-microbe associations. It will address a key question in host-microbial co-evolutionary theory: Are host-microbe associations in natural populations a type of local adaptation for immunity? Marine environments provide an essential economic engine for food, transportation, commerce and recreation, but we still have a poor understanding of how human activities impact resident organisms and influence ecosystem health. The results of this research will be incorporated into the NSF-funded Authentic Research Experience in Microbiology program serving students at ten City University of New York campuses, and will inform marine conservation planning and management through the Ministry of Primary Industries, FishServe Commercial Fisheries Services, and the National Institute of Water and Atmospheric Research.Host-microbe interactions are an underappreciated driver of adaptation. This project will evaluate a potential mechanism of local adaptation at the major histocompatibility class II locus (MHII) by testing the fitness consequences of host-microbe associations in the marine species Hippocampus abdominalis (the pot-bellied seahorse). Previous research on wild H. abdominalis across its geographic range detected enhanced levels of MHII variability at the population level relative to neutral loci. Sequencing of the host gut microbiome indicates that the local environment (urban, agricultural, or pristine) has a significant effect on the microbial composition of hosts collected from these sites. Experimental populations of H. abdominalis will be exposed to microbes showing positive, negative, or neutral associations with hosts in natural populations, and effects of MHII genotype on growth, condition, immune response and survival will be measured. The research proposed here represents an exciting opportunity to explicitly test field observations of host-microbe associations and targets a key evolutionary concept, microbe-mediated local adaptation, using an experimental protocol reflecting natural pathways of microbial exposure

该项目研究外部环境如何塑造免疫系统。海马为研究宿主-微生物相互作用提供了一个理想的模型，原因有三个。他们的免疫系统的遗传结构很简单。此外，它们的分散能力有限，而且地理分布广泛。此前对新西兰和澳大利亚东南部大腹海马分布范围的研究发现，与免疫反应相关的基因组部分与不受选择的基因组部分的遗传多样性模式存在显着差异。该提案旨在通过实验测试宿主-微生物关联的现场观察。它将解决宿主-微生物共同进化理论中的一个关键问题：自然群体中的宿主-微生物关联是否是免疫的局部适应类型？海洋环境为食品、交通、商业和娱乐提供了重要的经济引擎，但我们对人类活动如何影响居民生物和生态系统健康仍然知之甚少。这项研究的结果将被纳入 NSF 资助的微生物学真实研究经验项目，为纽约市立大学十个校区的学生提供服务，并将通过第一产业部、FishServe 商业渔业服务机构以及国家水和大气研究所为海洋保护规划和管理提供信息。宿主与微生物的相互作用是适应的一个未被充分认识的驱动因素。该项目将通过测试海洋物种腹部海马（大腹海马）宿主-微生物关联的适应性后果，评估主要组织相容性 II 类基因座 (MHII) 局部适应的潜在机制。先前对其地理范围内的野生腹腹鱼的研究发现，相对于中性位点，群体水平的 MHII 变异性水平有所提高。宿主肠道微生物组的测序表明，当地环境（城市、农业或原始）对从这些地点收集的宿主的微生物组成有显着影响。腹壁蠕虫的实验群体将暴露于与自然群体中的宿主表现出正相关、负相关或中性相关的微生物，并且将测量 MHII 基因型对生长、状况、免疫反应和存活的影响。这里提出的研究提供了一个令人兴奋的机会，可以使用反映微生物暴露自然途径的实验方案，明确测试宿主-微生物关联的现场观察，并针对一个关键的进化概念，即微生物介导的局部适应。