EAGER: Predicting the impact of microplastics on the microbiota and viral transmission by mosquitoes

塑料污染已成为最紧迫的环境问题之一。虽然较大的塑料污染在被动物摄入时会引起担忧，但人们对小得多的微塑料的影响知之甚少，这种微塑料可能是由较大的塑料碎片降解形成的。几微米大小的微塑料很常见，很难从环境中移除，很容易被动物，特别是无脊椎动物摄取，但它们的生物学效应尚不清楚。该项目将调查微塑料对蚊子微生物区系的影响，并检查微生物区系的任何变化是否会影响蚊子传播致病病毒的能力。该项目还将产生更广泛的影响，开发针对德克萨斯州卢伯克市当地高中未被充分代表的学生的发现工具包和课堂学习练习，以帮助教育下一代微生物学家和昆虫学家，并向社会宣传微塑料污染的风险。其他广泛的影响和社会效益将包括对本科生和研究生进行科学培训，使他们成为下一代的科学领导者。这项研究项目将使用跨学科的方法，以及PI和Co-PI在各自微生物学和昆虫学领域的综合专业知识，以及纳米材料的影响，来确定微塑料对蚊子中微生物群、免疫反应、健康和病原体传播的影响。在这个项目中，伊蚊将作为一个模型来研究微生物群落、微塑料污染、昆虫免疫学和虫媒病毒感染之间的相互作用。该项目将使用新的元基因组测序方法和先进的显微技术。随着提出的创造性、高风险的方法来测试微塑料如何在微尺度上改变微生物群多样性，这个项目可能会导致我们对微塑料污染对昆虫微生物群和病原体传播生态的影响的理解发生根本变化。这一奖项反映了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。

Plastic pollution has become one of the most pressing environmental issues. While larger plastic pollution cause concerns when ingested by animals, little is known about the effects of much smaller microplastics, which can be formed by the degradation of larger pieces of plastic. Microplastics of a few microns in size are common, are difficult to remove from the environment, and are easily ingested by animals particularly invertebrates, yet their biological effects are unclear. This project will investigate the effects of microplastics on the microbiota of mosquitoes and examine if any alterations of the microbiota will affect the ability of the mosquito to transmit disease causing viruses. This project will also have broader impacts by developing discovery kits and classroom learning exercises targeting underrepresented students in local high schools in Lubbock, TX to help educate the next generation of microbiologists and entomologists, and inform society about the risks of microplastic pollution. Additional broad impacts and societal benefits will include scientific training of undergraduate students and graduate students to be the next scientific leaders.This research project will use interdisciplinary approaches and the combined expertise of the PI and Co-PI in their respective areas of microbiology and entomology, and effects of nanomaterials, to determine the impact of microplastics on the microbiomes, immune response, fitness, and pathogen transmission in mosquitoes. In this project, Aedes mosquitoes will be used as a model to investigate interactions between microbial communities, microplastic pollution, insect immunology, and arbovirus infection. This project will use novel metagenomic sequencing approaches and advanced microscopy. With the proposed creative, high-risk approaches to test how microplastics may change microbiome diversity at the microscale, this project may result in fundamental changes of our understanding of microplastic pollution impacts on insect microbiomes and the ecology of pathogen transmission.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.