NSF Postdoctoral Fellowship in Biology FY 2020: Diet and the microbiome as drivers of host tolerance and resistance to parasites

这项行动资助了2020财年的NSF生物学博士后研究奖学金，综合研究调查了基因组，环境和表型之间的生命相互作用的规则。该研究金支持研究员的研究和培训，以创新的方式为生活规则领域做出贡献。这项研究调查了饮食和肠道微生物组（在动物消化道中生活并发挥重要作用的微生物）如何影响宿主对寄生虫的防御。许多因素可以影响野生动物的饮食，包括由于季节性，栖息地改变和人类补充喂养造成的营养资源的变化。膳食营养素的变化，如蛋白质和脂肪，会影响免疫系统，影响动物抵御寄生虫的能力。饮食对免疫力的影响可以通过肠道微生物组的组成和功能的变化来介导。这项研究的目的是确定膳食营养素和肠道微生物组如何影响箱巢东方蓝知更鸟（Sialia sialis）和寄生巢蝇（Protocalliphora sialia）之间的相互作用。这项研究将揭示营养资源如何影响宿主免疫力，并将预测生物体及其寄生虫将如何应对饮食环境的变化。该项目还将通过研究和专业发展培训促进高中生和本科生的教育。箱巢鸟提供了一个理想的系统，以探索营养，免疫力，肠道微生物和寄生虫之间的关系，因为巢穴通常被寄生虫寄生，寄生虫负荷可以通过在后代羽化后收集巢穴进行非侵入性量化。该系统还在野外环境中提供了强大的实验能力，在野外环境中，可以通过喂养雏鸟来操纵雏鸟的饮食，并且用口服抗生素给后代服用可以在实验上破坏雏鸟肠道菌群。使用析因设计，饮食常量营养素含量和肠道微生物组将在雏鸟蓝知更鸟操纵，然后雏鸟免疫力，肠道微生物菌群和寄生虫丰度将被表征。此外，该研究还将确定肠道共生体是否产生免疫调节代谢物，从而影响宿主基因表达和宿主-寄生虫相互作用。该项目将促进研究员在转录组学和代谢组学方面的培训和成长。拟议的工作还将包括更广泛的影响，通过直接参与高中和本科生的学员在数据收集，公共教育计划，并与研究相关的K-12活动的发展。这个奖项反映了NSF的法定使命，并已被认为是值得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的支持。

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. This research investigates how diet and the gut microbiome (microbes that live and play essential roles in the digestive track of animals) influences host defenses against parasites. Many factors can influence the diet of wildlife, including shifts in nutritional resources due to seasonality, habitat alteration, and supplemental feeding by humans. Shifts in dietary nutrients, such as proteins and fats, can affect the immune system and influence an animal’s ability to defend against parasites. The effects of diet on immunity could be mediated by changes in the composition and function of the gut microbiome. The goal of this research is to determine how dietary nutrients and the gut microbiome affect interactions between box-nesting eastern bluebirds (Sialia sialis) and the parasitic nest fly (Protocalliphora sialia). This research will shed light on how nutritional resources influence host immunity and will yield predictive insight into how organisms and their parasites will respond to environmental shifts in diet. The project will also promote the education of high school and undergraduate students through training in research and professional development.Box-nesting birds offer an ideal system to explore relationships between nutrition, immunity, gut microflora, and parasitism as nests are commonly parasitized and parasite load can be non-invasively quantified through the collection of nests after offspring fledge. This system also offers strong experimental capabilities in a field setting, where nestling diet can be manipulated by feeding nestlings and dosing offspring with an oral antibiotic can experimentally disrupt nestling gut microflora. Using a factorial design, diet macronutrient content and the gut microbiome will be manipulated in nestling bluebirds and then nestling immunity, gut microflora, and parasite abundance will be characterized. Additionally, the research will determine whether gut symbionts produce immune-modulatory metabolites that shape host gene expression and host-parasite interactions. The project will facilitate the fellow’s training and growth in transcriptomics and metabolomics. The proposed work will also include broader impacts through the direct involvement of high school and undergraduate mentees in data collection, public educational programs, and the development of K-12 activities related to the research.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.