NSF Postdoctoral Fellowship in Biology FY 2021: : Investigating how neopolyploidy affects the core microbiome and how the extended phenotype can facilitate ecological establishment

这一行动为NSF 2021财年生物学博士后研究奖学金提供了资金，综合研究调查了支配基因组、环境和表型之间相互作用的生命规则。该奖学金支持研究员的研究和培训，这些研究员将以创新的方式为生活规则领域做出贡献。多倍体，或全基因组复制，经常作为一种产生新物种的机制。然而，由于与二倍体亲本争夺有限的空间和资源，第一代多倍体或新多倍体在出现后不久将面临局部灭绝的高风险。尽管人们期望新的多倍体在出现后不久就会在当地灭绝，但我们看到自然界中已建立的多倍体的数量不成比例地高。这项研究将通过调查哪些因素可以推动新多倍体种群的建立来解决这一明显的知识差距。该项目将具体描述环境资源供应和微生物相互作用如何影响新多倍体在其二倍体亲本存在下持续存在并建立的能力。本研究的目的是通过检验两个假设来理解新多倍体建立的生态驱动因素：1)新多倍体建立依赖于外部环境，2)新多倍体建立受到扩展表型的促进：新多倍体基因型及其微生物群落。检验这些假设的方法是首先表征新多倍体如何影响微生物群落和塑造宿主表型。其次，为了预测二倍体及其新多倍体后代之间的竞争结果，以及在延长的表型下竞争结果是否不同，多代竞争实验将与现代共存理论相结合。这项研究的预期结果是了解1)新四倍体如何影响微生物组的组成和多样性，2)微生物组如何影响新四倍体与其二倍体祖先的竞争能力，以及3)这些模式是否随世系的基因或环境资源梯度的不同而变化。该研究员将使用二倍体和合成新四倍体浮萍，这是一个独特的非常适合这项研究的系统，因为它们具有快速的世代时间，并且足够紧凑，可以在不同的环境条件下进行高复制。此外，这项研究将包括对来自代表性不足群体的高中生和本科生进行独立研究项目的指导，以及促进与当地城际教室开展关于生态原理的外展活动。“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。

This action funds an NSF Postdoctoral Research Fellowship in Biology for FY 2021, 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. Polyploidy, or whole-genome duplication, has frequently acted as a mechanism of generating new species. However, first-generation polyploids, or neopolyploids, are expected to suffer from a high risk of local extinction shortly after they arise due to competition with their diploid parents for limited space and resources. Despite the expectation that neopolyploids should go locally extinct shortly after they arise, we see a disproportionately high number of established polyploids in nature. This research will address this apparent gap in knowledge by investigating what factors can drive the establishment of neopolyploid populations. The project will specifically characterize how environmental resource supply and microbial interactions affect the ability of neopolyploids to persist in the presence of their diploid parents and become established.The goal of this research is to understand the ecological drivers of neopolyploid establishment by testing two hypotheses: that neopolyploid establishment is 1) dependent on the external environment, and 2) is facilitated by the extended phenotype: neopolyploid genotypes and their microbiomes. The approach to testing these hypotheses is to first characterize how neopolyploidy affects the microbiome community and shapes host phenotypes. Second, to predict the outcome of competition between diploids and their neopolyploid descendants and whether it differs given the extended phenotype, multigenerational competition experiments will be combined with modern coexistence theory. The expected outcomes of this research are to understand 1) how neotetraploidy affects the microbiome composition and diversity and 2) how the microbiome affects the competitive ability of neotetraploids against their diploid ancestors, and 3) whether these patterns vary with the genotype of a lineage or across environmental resource gradients. The fellow will use diploid and synthetic neotetraploid duckweeds, which is a uniquely well-suited system for this research since they have rapid generation times and are compact enough to allow high replication across various environmental conditions. Additionally, this research will incorporate the mentorship of high school and undergraduate students from under-represented groups to carry out independent research projects, as well as facilitating outreach activities with local intercity classrooms on ecological principles."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.