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饲料分解成可溶的产品。这种转变是由高度多样化的细菌、古生菌、原生动物和真菌组成的微生物群落的协同作用实现的。在这种错综复杂的组合中，厌氧肠道真菌(新孢子菌门)的成员仍然是最神秘的。与它们在食草动物肠道中的物理邻居或在真菌生命树中的系统发育邻居相比，新斑点霉菌的多样性、生态偏好和进化史知之甚少。该项目旨在通过实施一项涵盖广泛的野生和驯化草食动物的雄心勃勃的抽样计划，发现和描述新马尾菌门的新成员。该项目还将利用基于培养的战略和独立于培养的战略相结合的方式，开发新的方法来表征新的马尾菌群的多样性。除了发现新的微生物外，该提案还将阐明控制食草性肠道中新球孢子菌的发生、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来促进劳动力培训，特别强调招收在科学界代表性不足的少数族裔(美洲原住民、西班牙裔和非裔美国人)的学生。研究人员将对拥有或推测拥有新马尾菌门成员的草食动物进行广泛的全球水平的多样性调查，以填补关于它们在自然界中多样性范围的重大知识空白。将开展广泛的空间、时间和重复抽样工作，以在全球范围内充分描述新黑粉菌多样性。该项目将为新马尾菌门提供最新的分类学框架，描述多个新的分类群，建立分类群描述和命名的最低标准和推荐标准，建立新的系统发育标记用于独立于培养的多样性评估，扩大新马尾菌门的培养收藏，并促进菌株的储存、共享和维护倡议。此外，研究人员将利用所生成的大量数据集和相关元数据来解决有关生态和进化驱动因素的特定问题和假设，这些驱动因素塑造了草食动物中新寄生孢子菌的多样性和群落结构。具体地说，该项目将研究寄主系统发育、驯化、寄主年龄和生物地理对新寄主寄主多样性的影响，以及非哺乳动物草食动物新寄生寄主多样性的进化考虑。该奖项反映了NSF的法定使命，并通过使用基金会的智力优势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.