NSF Postdoctoral Fellowship in Biology FY 2020: Elucidating the diversity, prevalence, and stability of deep-sea RNA viruses

这一行动为NSF 2020财年生物学博士后研究奖学金提供了资金，综合研究调查了基因组、环境和表型之间相互作用的生命规则。该奖学金支持研究员的研究和培训，这些研究员将以创新的方式为生活规则领域做出贡献。病毒是世界上最流行的微生物，在与其相互作用的有机体的功能中发挥着至关重要的作用。这可能会产生全球影响，因为病毒感染导致的细胞死亡导致碳和营养物质释放回环境中，供其他有机体使用。随着病毒在环境中的重要性得到越来越广泛的认识，了解深海中发现的病毒的多样性是至关重要的，因为病毒与其宿主之间的相互作用尚未得到很好的研究。这项研究将识别和描述RNA病毒，这是在深海中发现的一组特定的病毒，目前对此知之甚少。这些结果将提供对病毒-宿主相互作用的洞察，这对于理解微生物的功能和碳循环将是重要的。为了扩大这项工作的https://www.ejacket.nsf.gov/ej/showContextStatementList.do?pageProposalId=2010963&amp；source=docsummaryimpact，研究员将采用体验式学习模块和导师制，以增加未被充分代表的中学生和社区大学生在科学领域的接触和参与。RNA病毒代表一组生物实体，在自然界中仍被广泛研究，在深海等海洋环境中更是如此。缺乏关于环境RNA病毒的知识，影响了对海洋微生物环路和病毒在推动微生物适应方面的重要性的了解。拟议的工作将探索深海环境中RNA病毒的多样性和流行率，深海环境是微生物适应和进化的重要场所。利用非培养测序方法和深海微生物分离株，这项工作的目的是1)鉴定新的RNA病毒，2)阐明驱动病毒与宿主相互作用的辅助代谢基因的存在，3)对深海环境中维持和稳定RNA病毒基因组所需的病毒基因进行分类。这项研究将是揭示RNA病毒在深海微生物适应、进化和生物地球化学循环中所起驱动作用的第一次深入的“组学”研究。总之，这项拟议的工作将为深海环境中RNA病毒及其宿主的共同进化提供新的见解，为深海生态系统概念框架中的病毒-宿主相互作用提供一个新的模型。这项研究的其他更广泛的影响旨在开发和实施与海洋、病毒和微生物生态系统研究相关的STEM模块，用于中学生和社区大学生的指导，以改善未被充分代表的个人的多样性和包容性。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 2020, Integrative Research Investigating the Rules of Life Governing Interactions Between Genomes, Environment and Phenotypes. The fellowship supports research and training of the fellow that will contribute to the area of Rules of Life in innovative ways. Viruses are the world’s most prevalent microbes and play a vital role in the function of the organisms with which they interact. This can have global effects, as cell death caused by viral infection leads to the release of carbon and nutrients back into the environment to be used by other organisms. As the importance of viruses in the environment becomes more widely recognized, it is critical to understand the diversity of viruses found in the deep ocean where the interplay between viruses and their hosts has not been well studied. This research will identify and characterize RNA viruses, a specific group of viruses found in the deep ocean about which little is currently known. The results will provide insights into virus-host interactions that will be important for understanding microbial function and carbon cycling. To broaden the https://www.ejacket.nsf.gov/ej/showContextStatementList.do?pageProposalId=2010963&source=docsummaryimpact of the work, the fellow will apply experiential learning modules and mentorship to increase exposure and participation of underrepresented middle-school and community college students in science.RNA viruses represent a group of biological entities that remain vastly understudied in the natural world and even more so in marine environments such as the deep sea. The lack of knowledge about environmental RNA viruses impacts understanding of the marine microbial loop and the importance of viruses in driving microbial adaptation. The proposed work will explore the diversity and prevalence of RNA viruses within deep-sea environments that represent important sites for microbial adaptation and evolution. Utilizing culture-independent sequencing approaches and deep-sea microbial isolates, this work aims to 1) identify novel RNA viruses, 2) elucidate the presence of auxiliary metabolic genes which drive virus-host interactions, and 3) classify viral genes required for maintenance and stability of RNA virus genomes in deep-sea environments. This research will be the first in-depth ‘omics’ study to uncover the role RNA viruses play as drivers of microbial adaptation, evolution, and biogeochemical cycling in the deep sea. Together this proposed work will provide novel insights into the co-evolution of RNA viruses and their hosts in deep-sea environments, providing a new model for virus-host interactions in the conceptual framework of deep-sea ecosystems. Additional broader impacts of this research are aimed towards development and implementation of STEM modules related to the study of marine, viral, and microbial ecosystems for mentorship of middle-school and community college students to improve the diversity and inclusion of underrepresented individuals.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.