PurSUit: Discovery, characterization, and elucidation of the global patterns and determinants of anaerobic fungal (Neocallimastigomycota) diversity in the herbivorous gut

食草动物依靠消化道中的微生物将摄入的草和其他原料分解成可溶性产物。这种转变是由细菌、古生菌、原生动物和真菌等高度多样化的微生物群落协同作用实现的。在如此复杂的组合中，厌氧肠道真菌（新callimstiomycota）的成员仍然是最神秘的。与它们在草食性肠道中的物理邻居或它们在真菌生命树中的系统发育邻居相比，Neocallimastigomycota的多样性、生态偏好和进化史尚不清楚。该项目旨在通过实施一项雄心勃勃的采样计划，覆盖广泛的野生和家养食草动物，发现和表征新calliastigomycota的新成员。该项目还将开发创新方法，利用基于培养和不依赖培养的策略相结合的方法来表征新海茅菌的多样性。除了发现新的微生物外，该提案还将阐明控制Neocallimastigomycota在草食性肠道中的发生，丰度和分布的因素。这项研究将通过让多名本科生和研究生参与研究活动，为劳动力培训做出贡献，特别强调招募在科学领域代表性不足的少数民族（美国原住民、西班牙裔和非洲裔美国人）的学生。研究人员将开展一项广泛的全球范围的食草动物多样性调查，这些食草动物拥有或假定拥有Neocallimastigomycota成员，以填补有关其自然多样性范围的重大知识空白。将实施广泛的空间、时间和重复采样工作，以在全球范围内充分表征Neocallimastigomycota的多样性。该项目将为Neocallimastigomycota提供一个最新的分类框架，对多个新分类群进行表征，建立分类群描述和命名的最小标准和推荐标准，建立新的系统发育标记在培养独立多样性评估中的应用，扩大Neocallimastigomycota培养收藏，并促进菌株的存储、共享和维护。此外，研究人员将利用广泛的数据集和相关的元数据来解决有关草食动物中形成Neocallimastigomycota多样性和群落结构的生态和进化驱动的具体问题和假设。具体而言，该项目将研究宿主系统发育、驯化、宿主年龄和生物地理对Neocallimstigomycota多样性的影响，以及支持Neocallimstigomycota多样性的进化考虑因素。该奖项反映了美国国家科学基金会的法定使命，并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，被认为值得支持。

Herbivores rely on microorganisms residing in their digestive tracts for breaking down ingested grasses and other feedstock into soluble products. This transformation is achieved by the concerted action of a highly diverse microbial community of bacteria, archaea, protozoa, and fungi. Within such intricate assemblages, members of the anaerobic gut fungi (Neocallimstigomycota) remain the most enigmatic. Compared to their physical neighbors in the herbivorous gut or their phylogenetic neighbors in the fungal tree of life, Neocallimastigomycota diversity, ecological preferences, and evolutionary history is poorly understood. This project aims to discover and characterize novel members of the Neocallimastigomycota by implementing an ambitious sampling scheme covering a broad range of wild and domesticated herbivores. The project will also develop innovative approaches for characterizing Neocallimastigomycota diversity using a combination of culture-based as well as culture-independent strategies. In addition to discovering novel microorganisms, the proposal will elucidate factors controlling the occurrence, abundance, and distribution of the Neocallimastigomycota in the herbivorous gut. The research will contribute to workforce training by involving multiple undergraduates and graduate students in research activities, with special emphasis on recruiting students from minorities (Native Americans, Hispanics, and African Americans) that are underrepresented in science. The researchers will conduct an extensive global-level diversity survey of herbivores that harbor, or putatively harbor, members of the Neocallimastigomycota to fill significant gaps of knowledge regarding their scope of diversity in nature. A broad spatial, temporal and replicate sampling effort will be implemented to fully characterize Neocallimastigomycota diversity on a global scale. The project will provide an updated taxonomic framework for the Neocallimastigomycota, characterize multiple novel taxa, establish minimal and recommended standards for taxa description and naming, establish the utility of novel phylogenetic markers for culture-independent diversity assessments, expand Neocallimastigomycota culture collections, and promote initiatives for storage, sharing, and maintenance of strains. Further, the extensive dataset and associated metadata generated will be utilized by the researchers to address specific questions and hypotheses regarding the ecological and evolutionary drivers shaping Neocallimastigomycota diversity and community structure in herbivores. Specifically, the project will examine the impact of host phylogeny, domestication, host age, and biogeography on Neocallimastigomycota diversity, as well as the evolutionary considerations underpinning Neocallimstigomycota diversity in non-mammalian herbivores.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.