NSF Postdoctoral Fellowship in Biology: The Effects of Microbiome Ecological and Evolutionary Origin on Plant-Microbiome (Co)Evolution

NSF 生物学博士后奖学金：微生物组生态和进化起源对植物-微生物组（协同）进化的影响

• 批准号: 2209111
• 负责人: Tiffany Batarseh
• 金额: $ 13.8万
• 依托单位: Batarseh, Tiffany N
• 依托单位国家: 美国
• 项目类别: Fellowship Award
• 财政年份: 2022
• 资助国家: 美国
• 起止时间: 2022-09-01 至 2024-08-31
• 项目状态: 已结题
• 来源: https://www.nsf.gov/awardsearch/showAward?AWD_ID=2209111&HistoricalAwards=false
• 关键词: NSF; Postdoctoral; Fellowship; Biology; Effects

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. The fellow will research the evolution and ecology of microbiomes, which are complex microbial communities critical for proper ecosystem functioning and the health of the complex organisms they often associate with. In agriculture, plant-associated microbiomes have been demonstrated to influence plant health and response to environmental factors. This project will work towards establishing the modes of microbiome evolution and their consequences on plant fitness in order to establish agricultural practices that maintain both plant and microbiome health for greater crop management and food production. Currently, the global demand for food is expected to increase by 35-56% in the next 30 years, highlighting the need for the reevaluation of agricultural practices such that plant-microbiome fitness as well as agricultural productivity and sustainability are maximized. To this end, it is imperative that we understand the factors that influence microbiome evolution and their effects on plant-microbiome interactions, adaptation, and fitness.By leveraging experimental coevolution approaches, this project will determine whether a microbiome’s previous selection environment influences microbial community assembly, function, and adaptive potential when associated with a new plant host. Specifically, the fellow seeks to answer two questions: (1) does a microbial community’s previous associations with heterospecific or conspecific plant hosts influence community adaptation on subsequent hosts?; and (2) what are the consequences of microbiome adaptation to common agricultural chemicals on microbiome function and plant host fitness? To do so, a synthetic microbial community composed of bacteria isolated from the tomato phyllosphere will be evolved on conspecific, heterospecific, or alternating plant hosts with or without common agricultural chemicals before returning to its conspecific host. After coevolution, the genetic and functional changes of the microbial community and the fitness of the host plant will be evaluated to uncover how and when microbiome origin and interaction history will affect microbiome evolution and plant-host fitness. Additionally, the proposed research will allow for training opportunities for undergraduate students through their involvement in experimentation, data analysis, and research presentations.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.

该行动资助了2021财年的NSF生物学博士后研究奖学金，即调查基因组，环境和表型之间相互作用的生命规则的综合研究。该研究金支持研究员的研究和培训，以创新的方式为生活规则领域做出贡献。该研究员将研究微生物组的进化和生态学，微生物组是复杂的微生物群落，对于正常的生态系统功能和它们经常与之相关的复杂生物体的健康至关重要。在农业中，与植物相关的微生物组已被证明会影响植物健康和对环境因素的反应。该项目将致力于建立微生物组进化的模式及其对植物健康的影响，以建立维持植物和微生物组健康的农业实践，从而实现更好的作物管理和粮食生产。目前，全球粮食需求预计将在未来30年内增长35-56%，这凸显了重新评估农业实践的必要性，以最大限度地提高植物微生物组的适应性以及农业生产力和可持续性。为此，我们必须了解影响微生物组进化的因素及其对植物-微生物组相互作用、适应和适应的影响。通过利用实验性协同进化方法，本项目将确定微生物组先前的选择环境是否会影响微生物群落的组装、功能和适应潜力。具体而言，该研究员试图回答两个问题：（1）微生物群落与异种或同种植物宿主的先前关联是否影响群落对后续宿主的适应？以及（2）微生物组对常见农业化学品的适应对微生物组功能和植物宿主适合度的影响是什么？要做到这一点，从番茄叶际分离的细菌组成的合成微生物群落将在同种，异种，或交替植物宿主与或不常见的农业化学品，然后返回到其同种宿主。在共同进化之后，将评估微生物群落的遗传和功能变化以及宿主植物的适应性，以揭示微生物组起源和相互作用历史如何以及何时影响微生物组进化和植物-宿主适应性。此外，拟议的研究将允许通过他们参与实验，数据分析和研究演示的本科生的培训机会。这个奖项反映了NSF的法定使命，并已被认为是值得通过使用基金会的智力价值和更广泛的影响审查标准进行评估的支持。