NSF Postdoctoral Fellowship in Biology: Drivers of variability in metal and salt content across plant species

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This action funds an NSF Postdoctoral Research Fellowship in Biology for FY 2022, Broadening Participation of Groups Underrepresented in Biology. The Fellowship supports a research and training plan for the fellow that will increase the participation of groups underrepresented in biology. Underneath the homogenous green exterior of plants lies a hidden world of complex chemical diversity. Variation in the chemical diversity of plants has significant ecological and evolutionary consequences, especially in a world shaped by human activity. Moreover, urbanization has radically changed the chemical environment experienced by plants due to pollution, agriculture, and land use. This research seeks to measure the effect of urbanization on the concentration of heavy metals and salts taken up by plants across urban-rural gradients in North and South America. Variation in plant chemical composition impacts food webs, especially interactions with herbivores and pollinators. Therefore, this research will elucidate how urban environments impact the chemical composition of local plant species and how they respond to urban pollutants. Additionally, this work will enhance basic plant knowledge as humans rely on plants for food, shade, and other ecosystem functions. The fellow is dedicated to training the next generation of underrepresented scientists through workshops, classes, and active recruitment and by bridging the gaps Latin American/Hispanic communities encounter in scientific literacy within and across the United States and Chile.This project aims to better understand how heavy metals and salts are distributed in plants across urban and rural areas and provide mechanistic insights into plant strategies for tolerating these elements. The fellow will tackle these goals by (1) performing a spatial and temporal sampling of plants found across urban-rural gradients, as well as using herbarium specimens found across historical urban gradients in the United States and Chile, and (2) examining whether plants with annual and perennial life cycles differ in their heavy metal and salt accumulation, regulation, and tolerance strategies using a common garden approach. This study will be the first to examine the spatial and temporal variation of heavy metals and salts in plants across urban gradients. It will serve as a foundation for linking plant chemistry to other ecological levels, including humans.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.