Dimensions U.S.-China: The role of symbiotic microbes in the invasion process of emerald ash borer and red turpentine beetle

维度中美：共生微生物在白蜡虫和红松节甲虫入侵过程中的作用

• 批准号: 2030036
• 负责人: Robert Blanchette
• 金额: $ 144.4万
• 依托单位: University of Minnesota-Twin Cities
• 依托单位国家: 美国
• 项目类别: Continuing Grant
• 财政年份: 2021
• 资助国家: 美国
• 起止时间: 2021-01-01 至 2025-12-31
• 项目状态: 未结题
• 来源: https://www.nsf.gov/awardsearch/showAward?AWD_ID=2030036&HistoricalAwards=false
• 关键词: Dimensions; U.S.; China; role; symbiotic

With increased global travel and commerce, invasive species are a growing problem. This project investigates two invasive insects that infest, feed upon, and kill living trees. The emerald ash borer has killed hundreds of millions of North American ash trees since its introduction to the U.S. from East Asia two decades ago. It is expected to cause more than $10 billion in damage to the nursery and forestry industries as well as drastically change the composition of natural forests. Conversely, the red-turpentine beetle, native to North America, has become a major pest of pine forests in China since its introduction from the U.S. in the 1970s. Unfortunately, very little is understood about how these invasive beetles adapt to their new environments to become such destructive invasive pathogens. Microbes associated with beetles, either found living inside their guts or carried on the surface of the beetle from tree to tree, likely play an important role. Fungi and bacteria associated with other beetle species can degrade wood, cause tree disease, or produce volatile chemicals that attract even more beetles to an infested tree. In contrast, other microbes may be insect pathogens that produce toxins that could help control beetle populations. This research will employ both culturing and genome sequencing of microbes associated with these invasive beetles in both the U.S. and China in order to understand their biodiversity and how they may function to aid their insect hosts in becoming invasive species. The research also has potential to identify microbes that could be deployed for biological control of these forest pathogens. The project will share results with the public through exhibits at urban farmer’s markets, community workshops, and a public website. It will also train undergraduate and graduate students from underrepresented groups in STEM and build international collaboration through educational exchange and workshops.Despite their importance in multi-trophic interactions, microbial symbionts of insects and the hidden roles they play in shaping biodiversity and maintaining the stability of forest ecosystems are often overlooked. This proposal will investigate the phylogenetic, functional, and genetic diversity of microbes associated with invasive wood-boring beetles to understand their role in facilitating invasion of their insect hosts. Aim 1 will use community analyses of phylogenetic diversity based on microbial culturing and metabarcode sequencing along with functional assays to uncover relationships between phylogenetic and functional diversity. The project will investigate specific metabolic functions of microbial communities that either contribute to the invasion process through degradation of lignocellulose in wood, detoxification of plant defense compounds, and production of metabolites that enhance beetle survival (e.g. vitamins and hormones) or that inhibit the invasion process (e.g. insect parasitism or synthesis of insect toxins). Aim 2 will use computational approaches to compare networks of taxa and/or gene functions in microbial communities from native and invasive ranges of each beetle to ask whether the evolution of novel symbiotic interactions between microbes leads to metabolic innovations that assist invasion. Aim 3 will use genome sequencing of fungal species associated with the invasive range to ask how microbial evolutionary genetic processes (e.g. horizontal gene transfer and genomic rearrangements) may alter the phenotypes of their insect hosts and drive the evolution of invasive symbioses. The project will elucidate how microbial symbionts of beetles help extend the functional phenotypes of their insect hosts.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.

随着全球旅行和商业的增加，入侵物种是一个日益严重的问题。该项目调查了两种入侵性昆虫，它们寄生、取食并杀死活着的树木。自从20年前从东亚引入美国以来，这种祖母绿的白蜡树螟已经杀死了数亿棵北美白蜡树。预计它将对苗圃和林业造成超过100亿美元的损失，并急剧改变天然林的组成。相反，原产于北美的红甲虫自20世纪70年代从美国引进以来，已成为中国松林的主要害虫。不幸的是，人们对这些入侵甲虫如何适应新环境，成为这种破坏性的入侵病原体知之甚少。与甲虫有关的微生物，无论是生活在它们的肠道内，还是在甲虫的表面从一棵树带到另一棵树，都可能发挥重要作用。与其他甲虫物种相关的真菌和细菌可以降解木材，导致树木疾病，或产生挥发性化学物质，吸引更多的甲虫到受感染的树木。相比之下，其他微生物可能是昆虫病原体，产生毒素，有助于控制甲虫种群。这项研究将在美国和中国对与这些入侵甲虫相关的微生物进行培养和基因组测序，以了解它们的生物多样性以及它们如何帮助昆虫宿主成为入侵物种。该研究还具有鉴定可用于生物控制这些森林病原体的微生物的潜力。该项目将通过在城市农贸市场、社区讲习班和公共网站举办展览，与公众分享成果。它还将培训来自STEM领域代表性不足的群体的本科生和研究生，并通过教育交流和研讨会建立国际合作。尽管昆虫的微生物共生体在多营养相互作用中具有重要意义，但它们在塑造生物多样性和维持森林生态系统稳定性方面所发挥的隐藏作用往往被忽视。本研究将探讨与入侵性蛀木甲虫相关的微生物的系统发育、功能和遗传多样性，以了解它们在促进昆虫宿主入侵中的作用。目标1将使用基于微生物培养和元条形码测序的系统发育多样性社区分析以及功能测定，沿着发现系统发育多样性和功能多样性之间的关系。该项目将研究微生物群落的特定代谢功能，这些功能通过降解木材中的木质纤维素、植物防御化合物的解毒以及产生增强甲虫生存的代谢物（例如维生素和激素）或抑制入侵过程（例如昆虫寄生或昆虫毒素的合成）来促进入侵过程。目标2将使用计算方法来比较每种甲虫的原生和入侵范围的微生物群落中的分类群和/或基因功能网络，以询问微生物之间新的共生相互作用的进化是否会导致有助于入侵的代谢创新。目标3将使用与入侵范围相关的真菌物种的基因组测序来询问微生物进化遗传过程（例如水平基因转移和基因组重排）如何改变其昆虫宿主的表型并驱动入侵共生体的进化。该项目将阐明甲虫的微生物共生体如何帮助扩展其昆虫宿主的功能表型。该奖项反映了NSF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。