EAGER: Integrating host-associated microbes into trait-based community ecology frameworks

EAGER：将宿主相关微生物整合到基于性状的群落生态框架中

• 批准号: 1938302
• 负责人: Katherine Amato
• 金额: $ 29.96万
• 依托单位: Northwestern University
• 依托单位国家: 美国
• 项目类别: Standard Grant
• 财政年份: 2020
• 资助国家: 美国
• 起止时间: 2020-08-01 至 2024-07-31
• 项目状态: 已结题
• 来源: https://www.nsf.gov/awardsearch/showAward?AWD_ID=1938302&HistoricalAwards=false
• 关键词: EAGER; Integrating; host; associated; microbes

Knowledge of how communities of animals respond to environmental change is important for understanding patterns of biodiversity. Identifying the traits that allow a species to occupy a given environment also allows us to predict if that species will be able to persist in the face of environmental perturbation. Research over the past two decades has shown that microbes living in the gastrointestinal tracts of mammals, known as the gut microbiome, can shape host metabolism, immune function, and behavior. The composition and function of the gut microbiome also varies with host environmental factors, such as diet. Because of these interactions, the gut microbiome could be considered a host trait that responds to environmental shifts and helps determine whether host populations can persist. Nevertheless, the gut microbiome has generally not been integrated into models of host ecology. This project aims to determine the extent to which gut microbiomes influence host population dynamics and can therefore be considered a host trait that contributes to the improvement of models of host ecology.The study focuses on two populations of wild, black and gold howler monkeys (Alouatta caraya) in Argentina. Here, the climate is subtropical, with marked seasonal changes in temperature and plant community structure, which puts A. caraya at high risk for nutritional stress. Additionally, one of the two study populations experiences stronger seasonal climate shifts than the other. The research team will collect data describing climate and plant community structure as well as A. caraya diet for five groups of A. caraya in each population during three seasons. Fecal samples for describing the microbiome and its function, and urine for describing A. caraya energy balance and inflammation status, will also be collected along with demographic data. These data will be integrated to determine how the gut microbiome shifts in response to environmental variation, to identify physiological consequences for A. caraya, and to link these processes to A. caraya population dynamics. The results will be a critical first step toward integrating the gut microbiome into trait-based host ecological frameworks.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.

了解动物群落如何应对环境变化对于理解生物多样性的模式非常重要。识别允许一个物种占据给定环境的特征也使我们能够预测该物种是否能够在环境扰动面前坚持下去。过去二十年的研究表明，生活在哺乳动物胃肠道中的微生物（称为肠道微生物组）可以影响宿主的新陈代谢、免疫功能和行为。肠道微生物组的组成和功能也随宿主环境因素（如饮食）而变化。由于这些相互作用，肠道微生物组可以被认为是对环境变化做出反应的宿主特征，并有助于确定宿主种群是否可以持续存在。然而，肠道微生物组通常没有被整合到宿主生态学模型中。该项目旨在确定肠道微生物在多大程度上影响宿主种群动态，因此可以被认为是一个宿主性状，有助于改善宿主Ecology.The研究的模型侧重于两个种群的野生，黑色和金色吼猴（Alouatta caraya）在阿根廷。这里属亚热带气候，温度和植物群落结构有明显的季节变化，这使A。营养压力的高风险caraya。此外，两个研究人群中的一个比另一个经历了更强烈的季节性气候变化。研究小组将收集描述气候和植物群落结构的数据，以及A。五组A.在三个季节中，每个种群中的caraya。粪便样本用于描述微生物组及其功能，尿液用于描述A.还将收集沿着人口统计学数据的Caraya能量平衡和炎症状态。这些数据将被整合，以确定肠道微生物组如何响应环境变化而变化，以确定A. caraya，并将这些过程与A. Caraya种群动态该研究结果将是将肠道微生物组整合到基于特征的宿主生态框架中的关键第一步。该奖项反映了NSF的法定使命，并被认为值得通过使用基金会的知识价值和更广泛的影响审查标准进行评估来支持。