RAPID:NSF-BSF: Can Reef-Building Corals Bypass Aging?

RAPID：NSF-BSF：造礁珊瑚能否绕过衰老？

• 批准号: 2032119
• 负责人: Karine Kleinhaus
• 金额: $ 10.79万
• 依托单位: SUNY at Stony Brook
• 依托单位国家: 美国
• 项目类别: Standard Grant
• 财政年份: 2020
• 资助国家: 美国
• 起止时间: 2020-06-15 至 2022-05-31
• 项目状态: 已结题
• 来源: https://www.nsf.gov/awardsearch/showAward?AWD_ID=2032119&HistoricalAwards=false
• 关键词: RAPID; NSF; BSF; Reef; Building

This project’s integrated field and laboratory experiments in Israel and the US will leverage conditions created by a rare storm to establish whether corals show molecular-cellular-physiological effects of aging, and will disentangle the effects of age and size on senescence. Reef building corals are long-lived organisms, with some species living longer than most other organisms on the planet. Aging organisms typically experience a decline in function and an increased death rate, but coral colonies may be exceptions to this aging process because they show an increase in fertility and a decline in mortality with age. Questions remain, however, about whether corals undergo senescence on a functional or cellular level. This project will test whether a coral’s chronological age is linked to telomere length, an established biomarker of aging, and measure effects of age on metabolic rate, growth, and reproduction. The world’s coral reefs are in crisis, and it is predicted that by 2030 reefs will no longer be the rich and highly diverse ecosystem that tens of millions of people rely on for their livelihood. It is therefore imperative to understand age-related physiology in corals so that coral reef ecosystems may be sustainably managed for future generations. Furthermore, because reef restoration efforts often use asexual propagation of small fragments originating from older parent colonies, it is critical to know whether these fragments experience senescence after transplantation. The project will also support a master’s level graduate student who will develop and disseminate public educational materials about coral health and aging. Coral colonies, whose polyps bud asexually to produce thousands of clones, have been described as an archetype of negative senescence, although recent evidence suggests that this may not be the case. The rare extratropical cyclone that occurred in March 2020 in the northern Gulf of Aqaba created an extraordinary and time-sensitive opportunity to study aging and senescence because damaged coral colonies are undergoing unusually rapid tissue regeneration, with immediate juxtaposition of old and young polyps. This permits unusual study designs that can address challenges inherent in investigating aging in corals, and in colonial animals generally. Leveraging cutting-edge technology and a complementary, interdisciplinary partnership, the researchers will conduct field studies in the Gulf of Aqaba, precisely controlled mesocosm studies in an automated, 80-aquaria facility in Israel, and advanced molecular biology studies at a leading center for the study of aging in the US. These innovative experiments will: determine whether a coral polyp’s chronological age (1) is linked to telomere length, an established biomarker and central mechanism of cellular aging, and (2) affects the physiological functions of metabolic rate, growth, and reproduction. This project will significantly advance the understanding of key aspects of the biological functioning of reef building coral and of aging across phyla, and may inform the practice of using coral colony fragments in reef restoration efforts. An MS student in the SUNY Stony Brook Marine Conservation and Policy program will travel to Israel to participate in the project and prepare video presentations, blogs, and social media outreach activities for public educational outreach. This award was co-funded by GEO-Division of Ocean Sciences-Biological Oceanography and by BIO-Division of Integrative Organismal Systems-Physiological Mechanisms and Biomechanics.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.

该项目在以色列和美国进行的综合实地和实验室实验将利用罕见风暴造成的条件来确定珊瑚是否表现出衰老的分子细胞生理效应，并将解开年龄和大小对衰老的影响。造礁珊瑚是长寿的生物，有些物种比地球上大多数其他生物活得更长。衰老的生物体通常会经历功能下降和死亡率增加，但珊瑚群落可能是这种衰老过程的例外，因为它们显示出生育能力的增加和死亡率的下降。然而，珊瑚是否在功能或细胞水平上经历衰老仍然存在问题。该项目将测试珊瑚的实际年龄是否与端粒长度有关，端粒长度是衰老的既定生物标志物，并测量年龄对代谢率，生长和繁殖的影响。世界珊瑚礁正处于危机之中，据预测，到2030年，珊瑚礁将不再是数千万人赖以为生的丰富和高度多样化的生态系统。因此，必须了解珊瑚中与年龄有关的生理学，以便为子孙后代可持续地管理珊瑚礁生态系统。此外，由于珊瑚礁的恢复工作往往使用无性繁殖的小片段起源于较老的父母殖民地，它是至关重要的，知道这些片段是否经历移植后衰老。该项目还将支持一名硕士研究生，他将开发和传播有关珊瑚健康和衰老的公共教育材料。珊瑚虫无性繁殖，产生成千上万的克隆体，被描述为消极衰老的原型，尽管最近的证据表明情况可能并非如此。2020年3月发生在北方亚喀巴湾的罕见热带气旋为研究衰老和衰老创造了一个非凡而时间敏感的机会，因为受损的珊瑚群落正在经历异常快速的组织再生，新旧珊瑚虫立即并列。这允许不寻常的研究设计，可以解决调查珊瑚和殖民动物衰老所固有的挑战。利用尖端技术和互补的跨学科伙伴关系，研究人员将在亚喀巴湾进行实地研究，在以色列的自动化，80水族馆设施中进行精确控制的中生态研究，并在美国领先的衰老研究中心进行先进的分子生物学研究。这些创新实验将：确定珊瑚息肉的实际年龄（1）是否与端粒长度有关，端粒长度是细胞衰老的既定生物标志物和中心机制，（2）是否影响代谢率，生长和繁殖的生理功能。该项目将大大促进对造礁珊瑚生物功能的关键方面的理解，并可能为在珊瑚礁恢复工作中使用珊瑚群落碎片的做法提供信息。纽约州立大学斯托尼布鲁克海洋保护和政策项目的一名MS学生将前往以色列参加该项目，并为公共教育宣传准备视频演示、博客和社交媒体宣传活动。 该奖项由GEO海洋科学部-生物海洋学和BIO-Division综合有机系统-生理机制和生物力学共同资助。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。