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: 2219547
• 负责人: Mya Breitbart
• 金额: $ 96.46万
• 依托单位: University of South 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=2219547&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），它们创造了广泛的水下草甸，构成了沿海海洋中高产和有价值的生态系统的基础。与被子植物主导植物多样性的陆地系统不同，海草是海洋环境中唯一开花的植物。基于病毒感染对陆生植物的深远影响，预计病毒会影响海草生态学。但是，先前的工作没有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thalassia testudinum（即Turtlegrass，Climax物种和关键生态系统工程师）以及Turtlegrass病毒X（TVX）（TVX）的田间和实验室研究提供了有关海草病毒相互作用的基本知识，这是实验研究中目前唯一报道的海草病毒。缺乏海草病毒研究系统使科学界无法学习哪些因素驱动海洋被子植物中的病毒感染。通过建立第一个海草病毒研究系统，这是一个新型病毒宿主病毒系统，几乎什么都不知道，该项目有助于对海草生态学有更全面的了解，并作为研究通过测序工作发现的越来越多的海草病毒。这个多方面的项目训练一名博士后研究员，两名研究生和六名本科生。通过开放访问渠道传播结果和数据可以为更广泛的社区提供信息，并为科学家提供自己的研究数据，以推动海草病毒学领域。该项目还吸引了参加计划的教育工作者和学生，这些计划努力增加代表性不足的STEM领域的参与。杰克逊维尔教师居住计划的老师通过开发深入海草生物学的课程而参与其中。来自Girls Incorporated的学生，女童子军和南佛罗里达大学的海洋学训练营是由摄影坦帕湾的海草生态系统作为公民科学家参加的，并向Seagrass Posperter网站贡献了观察。该项目还提高了人们对海草生态系统的认识，并挑战了公众对所有病毒的看法，即所有病毒通过在一年一度的圣彼得堡科学节上动手活动都是致病性的。通过在坦帕湾，佛罗里达州和微观群岛实验室进行的两层研究，正在研究涉及两层研究的Seagrass-Virus相互作用。现场调查的重点是阐明海龟草 - -TVX相互作用的性质（正，中性或负面），以及在TVX持续至少五年的自然人群中海龟草的基因型多样性与病毒分布之间的关系。在两年内对TVX负载进行了两年的监测，以评估病毒载荷与海龟草的基因型和性能（生长，健康，生殖工作）和非生物参数的关系。研究的海龟草地含有TVX阳性和负标本，从而提供了具有同质环境特征的完美天然实验室，可探索病毒感染的驱动因素。鉴于环境变化可能会改变宿主微杆相互作用，因此，完整的缩影实验正在评估在正常条件下，在正常条件下，在盐度变化的情况下，在受控环境中，在受控环境中，在物理（生存，光化学能力，细胞反应）和分子（转录）（转录）水平上对TVX感染的反应。缩影实验还提供了海草基因表达的第一谱，并响应病毒感染而对细胞代谢产物进行测量。在面对全球气候变化和人为压力的情况下，预期结果对了解海草生产和韧性具有直接影响。该奖项反映了NSF的法定任务，并使用基金会的知识分子优点和更广泛的影响来评估，被认为是宝贵的支持。