Collaborative Research: The brood cell microbiome of solitary bees: origin, diversity, function, and vulnerability

合作研究：独居蜜蜂的巢细胞微生物组：起源、多样性、功能和脆弱性

基本信息

批准号：
1929572
负责人：
Quinn McFrederick
金额：
$ 17.16万
依托单位：
University of California-Riverside
依托单位国家：
美国
项目类别：
Standard Grant
财政年份：
2019
资助国家：
美国
起止时间：
2019-09-01 至 2024-08-31
项目状态：
已结题

来源：
https://www.nsf.gov/awardsearch/showAward?AWD_ID=1929572&HistoricalAwards=false
关键词：
Collaborative Research brood cell microbiome

项目摘要

Bees are the single most important pollinators of flowering plants worldwide. Over 85% of the 325,000 flowering plant species on earth depend on animals for pollination, and the vast majority of pollination is carried out by bees. Annually, bees are estimated to contribute $15 billion to US crop production and $170 billion to global crop production. High-value bee-pollinated crops include apple and other early spring tree fruits, strawberries, blueberries, cherries, cranberries, squash and pumpkins, tomatoes, almonds, and many others. The economic viability of US agricultural production is dependent on stable and healthy wild and domesticated bee populations. However, bee populations are threatened by a variety of factors, including habitat loss, pathogen spillover, invasive plants and animals, and pesticide use, which can disrupt the normal microbial symbionts essential for bee larval development (the "brood cell" microbiome). This research project focuses on understanding what role microbes play in the larval nutrition in a wide variety of bee species. Previous research has documented a diverse community of bacteria and yeasts in the pollen and nectar diet of bees. As larvae consume these pollen/nectar provisions they are ingesting microbes, and our preliminary results indicate that these microbes form an essential component of the larval diet. This project has the potential to significantly modify how we view the 120 million-year-old partnership between bees and flowering plants, and will provide essential information for developing long-term bee conservation efforts. Project outreach efforts include educational activities on solitary bees for K-12 students and interactive demonstrations of bee-microbe-flower interactions for broad audiences. The project will use cutting-edge methods to (1) document the microbial diversity in flowers and pollen provisions, (2) determine the nutritional role of microbes in larval development and health, and (3) understand how alterations in microbial community impact larval development. To document microbial diversity in both host-plant flowers and pollen provisions, the research team will use amplicon sequencing and microbial metagenomics. These methods will document the microbial species present in pollen provisions as well as the metabolic activities these microbes perform during pollen maturation. Screening the pollen and nectar of host-plant species will provide key insights into the source of the brood cell microbiome. To determine the nutritional role of the microbial community the research team will use two methods from trophic ecology: compound specific isotope analysis and neutral lipid fatty acid analysis. These analyses will permit the research team to track the origin (floral or microbial) of amino acids and fatty acids in the larval diet of 15 focal bee species. Finally, through manipulative laboratory experiments the research team will determine how modifications of the microbial communities impact larval development. Combining the results of these studies will provide a comprehensive understanding of how bees and flowering plants interact via their shared microbial partners. This project is jointly funded by the Systematics and Biodiversity Sciences Cluster (Division of Environmental Biology) and the Symbiosis, Defense and Self-recognition Program (Division of Integrative Organismal Systems).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.

蜜蜂是全球开花植物的最重要的传粉媒介。在地球上325,000种开花植物中，超过85％取决于动物进行授粉，绝大多数授粉是由蜜蜂进行的。据估计，蜜蜂每年为美国作物产量贡献150亿美元，并为全球作物产量贡献1700亿美元。高价值蜜蜂授粉的农作物包括苹果和其他早春树木水果，草莓，蓝莓，樱桃，蔓越莓，南瓜和南瓜，西红柿，杏仁等。美国农业生产的经济可行性取决于稳定，健康的野生和驯化的蜜蜂种群。但是，蜜蜂种群受到多种因素的威胁，包括栖息地丧失，病原体溢出，侵入性动植物以及使用农药，这可能会破坏对蜜蜂幼虫发育至关重要的正常微生物共生体（“育雏细胞”微生物组）。该研究项目的重点是了解微生物在各种蜜蜂物种中的幼体营养中的作用。先前的研究记录了蜜蜂花粉和花蜜饮食中多种细菌和酵母社区。由于幼虫消耗了这些花粉/花蜜的规定，因此它们正在摄取微生物，我们的初步结果表明，这些微生物构成了幼虫饮食的重要组成部分。该项目有可能显着修改我们如何看待蜜蜂和开花植物之间的1.2亿年历史的伙伴关系，并将为开发长期蜜蜂保护工作提供必不可少的信息。项目推广工作包括针对K-12学生孤独的蜜蜂的教育活动以及蜜蜂 - 微鸟互动的互动演示。该项目将使用最先进的方法来记录花和花粉规定的微生物多样性，（2）确定微生物在幼虫发展和健康中的营养作用，以及（3）了解微生物社区的变化如何影响幼虫的发展。为了记录宿主植物花和花粉规定中的微生物多样性，研究小组将使用扩增子测序和微生物元基因组学。这些方法将记录花粉条款中存在的微生物物种以及这些微生物在花粉成熟过程中执行的代谢活性。筛选宿主植物物种的花粉和花蜜将为育雏细胞微生物组的来源提供关键的见解。为了确定微生物社区的营养作用，研究团队将使用营养生态学的两种方法：复合特定的同位素分析和中性脂质脂肪酸分析。这些分析将使研究团队能够跟踪15种焦点蜜蜂幼虫饮食中氨基酸和脂肪酸的起源（花卉或微生物）。最后，通过操纵实验室实验，研究小组将确定微生物群落的修改如何影响幼虫发展。结合这些研究的结果将提供对蜜蜂和开花植物如何通过共享微生物伴侣相互作用的全面理解。该项目由系统和生物多样性科学集群（环境生物学系）和共生，国防和自我认可计划（综合有机体系统的部门）共同资助。该奖项反映了NSF的法定任务，并被认为是通过基金会的知识分子优点和广泛的范围来评估来评估的值得支持的。