NSF Postdoctoral Fellowship in Biology FY 2019: The impact of transmission mode on symbiont evolution

这项行动资助了2019财年的NSF生物学博士后研究奖学金，扩大了生物学中代表性不足的群体的参与。该研究金支持研究员的一项研究和培训计划，该计划将增加在生物学领域代表性不足的群体的参与。宿主-微生物协会在自然界中很常见，该项目的目标是了解微生物如何进化以使其宿主受益。一种有益的微生物（称为共生体）要在宿主种群中持续存在许多代，它必须从父母传给后代（称为垂直传播），或者从不相关的宿主之间的环境中吸收（称为水平传播）。理论表明，传输模式在共生体如何进化方面起着关键作用。然而，很少有研究来验证这一想法。这个项目将使用一个实验系统来确定传输模式如何影响共生体的进化。由于微生物对其宿主有相当大的影响，了解共生体如何进化也将有助于深入了解宿主本身的进化。这项研究的组成部分将在中学和本科阶段实施，以促进代表性不足的群体对生物学的兴趣。在中学阶段，该研究员将向难民女孩教授基于微生物的模块，以提高对微生物（有益和有害）的认识。在本科阶段，该研究员将从少数民族服务项目中招募学生参加以课程为基础的本科研究体验（CURE），学生将根据研究员的项目进行自己的研究。细菌门多萨假单胞菌保护线虫秀丽隐杆线虫免受病原性细菌铜绿假单胞菌的侵害。该研究员将在存在或不存在铜绿假单胞菌的情况下在宿主之间通过门多萨假单胞菌，同时模拟垂直和水平传播。15次传代后，研究人员将测量门多萨沙门氏菌的生长速率和宿主存活率，并评估细菌的基因组和转录组变化。此外，该研究员将对当前文献进行荟萃分析，以确定实验结果是否与自然界中的系统一致。该研究员将接受微生物表征技术、序列分析和荟萃分析方面的培训。该研究员还将通过在当地中学建立CURE和实施科学模块来获得教学和沟通技能。该奖项反映了NSF的法定使命，并通过使用基金会的智力价值和更广泛的影响审查标准进行评估，被认为值得支持。

This action funds an NSF Postdoctoral Research Fellowship in Biology for FY 2019, Broadening Participation of Groups Underrepresented in Biology. The fellowship supports a research and training plan for the Fellow that will increase the participation of groups underrepresented in biology. Host-microbe associations are common in nature and the goal of the project is to understand how microbes evolve to benefit their hosts. For a beneficial microbe (called a symbiont) to persist in the host population for many generations, it has to be passed on from parent to offspring (called vertical transmission), or taken up from the environment between unrelated hosts (called horizontal transmission). Theory suggests that transmission mode has a critical role in how symbionts will evolve. However, there has been little research to test this idea. This project will determine how transmission mode affects symbiont evolution using an experimental system. Because microbes have considerable influence on their hosts, understanding how symbionts evolve will also provide insight into the evolution of hosts themselves. Components of this research will be implemented at the middle school and undergraduate levels to promote interest in biology in underrepresented groups. At the middle school level, the fellow will teach microbe-based modules to refugee girls to increase awareness of microbes (beneficial and harmful). At the undergraduate level, the fellow will recruit students from minority-serving programs to participate in a course-based undergraduate research experience (CURE), where students will conduct their own research based on the fellow's project. The bacterium Pseudomonas mendocina protects the nematode Caenorhabditis elegans from the pathogenic bacterium, P. aeruginosa. The fellow will passage P. mendocina between hosts in the presence or absence of P. aeruginosa while simulating vertical and horizontal transmission. After 15 passages, the fellow will measure P. mendocina growth rates and host survival, and assess genomic and transcriptomic changes in the bacterium. Additionally, the fellow will conduct a meta-analysis of the current literature to determine whether experimental findings align with systems in nature. The fellow will receive training in microbial characterization techniques, sequence analysis, and meta-analysis. The fellow will also gain teaching and communication skills through establishing a CURE and implementing science modules at a local middle school.This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.