Collaborative Research: VIDA Seagrass: Viral Infection Dynamics Among Seagrass

合作研究：VIDA Seagrass：海草中的病毒感染动态

• 批准号: 2219548
• 负责人: Cliff Ross
• 金额: $ 13.21万
• 依托单位: University of North Florida
• 依托单位国家: 美国
• 项目类别: Standard Grant
• 财政年份: 2022
• 资助国家: 美国
• 起止时间: 2022-08-01 至 2025-07-31
• 项目状态: 未结题
• 来源: https://www.nsf.gov/awardsearch/showAward?AWD_ID=2219548&HistoricalAwards=false
• 关键词: Collaborative; Research; VIDA; Seagrass; Viral

Seagrasses are marine flowering plants (or angiosperms) that create expansive underwater meadows that form the basis of highly productive and valuable ecosystems in coastal oceans. Unlike terrestrial systems where angiosperms dominate plant diversity, seagrasses are the only flowering plants in marine environments. Based on the profound impacts of viral infections on terrestrial plants, viruses are expected to influence seagrass ecology. However, no prior work has investigated viral infection dynamics in seagrasses or the impact of viruses on seagrass health. This project provides fundamental knowledge about seagrass-virus interactions through field and laboratory studies of Thalassia testudinum (i.e., turtlegrass, a climax species and key ecosystem engineer), and turtlegrass virus X (TVX), the only seagrass virus currently reported from experimental research. The lack of a seagrass-virus study system has kept the scientific community from learning which factors drive viral infection in marine angiosperms. By establishing the first seagrass-virus study system, a novel virus-host pathosystem for which virtually nothing is known, this project contributes to a more comprehensive understanding of seagrass ecology and serves as a model for investigating the growing number of seagrass viruses discovered through sequencing efforts. This multifaceted project trains one postdoctoral researcher, two graduate students, and six undergraduate students. Dissemination of results and data through open access channels informs the broader community and provides scientists with data for their own research to propel the field of seagrass virology. This project also engages educators and students participating in programs that strive to increase participation from underrepresented groups in STEM fields. Teachers from the Jacksonville Teacher Residency Program are getting involved through development of lessons that dive into seagrass biology. Students from Girls Incorporated, Girl Scouts, and the University of South Florida’s Oceanography Camp for Girls are participating as citizen scientists by photographing Tampa Bay’s seagrass ecosystems and contributing their observations to the Seagrass Spotter website. This project also increases awareness of seagrass ecosystems and challenges the public perception that all viruses are pathogenic through hands-on activities at the annual St. Petersburg Science Festival.Seagrass-virus interactions are being investigated through a two-tiered approach involving field studies in Tampa Bay, Florida and microcosm experiments. Field surveys focus on elucidating the nature of turtlegrass-TVX interactions (positive, neutral or negative) and the relationship between turtlegrass genotypic diversity and virus distribution in a natural population where TVX has persisted for at least five years. TVX load is monitored bimonthly over two years to assess how viral load relates to turtlegrass genotype and performance (growth, health, reproductive effort), and abiotic parameters. The investigated turtlegrass meadow contains TVX-positive and negative specimens, thus providing a perfect natural laboratory with homogenous environmental characteristics that allow exploration of the drivers of viral infection. Given that environmental changes may alter host-microbe interactions, complementary microcosm experiments are evaluating turtlegrass responses to TVX infection at the physiological (survival, photochemical capacity, cellular responses) and molecular (transcriptomic) levels in a controlled environment under normal conditions and in the context of salinity changes, an important seagrass stressor. Microcosm experiments also provide the first profiles of seagrass gene expression and measurement of cellular metabolites in response to viral infection. Expected results have direct implications for understanding seagrass production and resilience in the face of global climate change and anthropogenic stress.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.

海草是海洋开花植物（或被子植物），它们形成广阔的水下草甸，构成沿海海洋高产和有价值的生态系统的基础。与被子植物在植物多样性中占主导地位的陆地系统不同，海草是海洋环境中唯一的开花植物。基于病毒感染对陆地植物的深远影响，病毒预计会影响海草生态。然而，之前没有研究研究海草中的病毒感染动态或病毒对海草健康的影响。该项目通过对睾丸海藻（即龟草，一种顶极物种和关键生态系统工程师）和龟草病毒 X (TVX) 的现场和实验室研究，提供有关海草病毒相互作用的基础知识，龟草病毒 X 是目前实验研究报告的唯一一种海草病毒。由于缺乏海草病毒研究系统，科学界无法了解哪些因素导致海洋被子植物病毒感染。通过建立第一个海草病毒研究系统（一种几乎一无所知的新型病毒宿主病理系统），该项目有助于更全面地了解海草生态学，并作为研究通过测序工作发现的越来越多的海草病毒的模型。这个多方面的项目培养了一名博士后研究员、两名研究生和六名本科生。通过开放获取渠道传播结果和数据可以让更广泛的社区了解情况，并为科学家提供自己的研究数据，从而推动海草病毒学领域的发展。 该项目还吸引教育工作者和学生参与旨在增加 STEM 领域代表性不足群体参与的项目。杰克逊维尔教师驻场计划的教师正在参与开发深入研究海草生物学的课程。来自女童子军、女童子军和南佛罗里达大学女子海洋学营的学生作为公民科学家参与其中，拍摄坦帕湾的海草生态系统，并将他们的观察结果贡献给海草观测者网站。该项目还提高了人们对海草生态系统的认识，并通过一年一度的圣彼得堡科学节上的实践活动挑战了公众对所有病毒都具有致病性的看法。海草与病毒之间的相互作用正在通过两层方法进行研究，包括佛罗里达州坦帕湾的实地研究和微观实验。实地调查的重点是阐明龟草与 TVX 相互作用的性质（正向、中性或负向），以及龟草基因型多样性与自然种群中病毒分布之间的关系，其中 TVX 已持续存在至少五年。两年内每两个月监测一次 TVX 负荷，以评估病毒负荷与龟草基因型和性能（生长、健康、繁殖努力）以及非生物参数的关系。所研究的龟草草甸包含 TVX 阳性和阴性样本，从而提供了一个具有均匀环境特征的完美自然实验室，可以探索病毒感染的驱动因素。鉴于环境变化可能会改变宿主与微生物的相互作用，补充微观世界实验正在正常条件下的受控环境和盐度变化（重要的海草应激源）的背景下，在生理（生存、光化学能力、细胞反应）和分子（转录组）水平上评估龟草对 TVX 感染的反应。微观世界实验还首次提供了海草基因表达的概况以及对病毒感染反应的细胞代谢物的测量。预期结果对于了解海草产量和面对全球气候变化和人为压力的恢复力有直接影响。该奖项反映了 NSF 的法定使命，并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，被认为值得支持。