Doctoral Dissertation Research: Early Life Adversity and Gut Microbiota Composition

博士论文研究：早期生活逆境和肠道微生物群组成

• 批准号: 2235903
• 负责人: Eva Wikberg
• 金额: $ 2.7万
• 依托单位: University of Texas at San Antonio
• 依托单位国家: 美国
• 项目类别: Standard Grant
• 财政年份: 2023
• 资助国家: 美国
• 起止时间: 2023-04-01 至 2025-03-31
• 项目状态: 未结题
• 来源: https://www.nsf.gov/awardsearch/showAward?AWD_ID=2235903&HistoricalAwards=false
• 关键词: Doctoral; Dissertation; Research; Early; Life

This doctoral dissertation research project examines the effects of alpha male takeovers and infanticidal attacks on infant social adversity and gut microbiota in wild primates. Infants may experience significant stress even if they survive an attack. Stressors can cause the developing gut microbiota to destabilize, which may negatively affect host digestion and immunity. The team investigates whether gut microbiota changes are long-lasting or if they can be overcome with stable environments later in life. The project advances research experiences for first-generation researchers and women in STEM and provides training opportunities in genetic laboratory methods for undergraduate and graduate students at a Hispanic-serving public university. Research results are communicated to site managers and the local community at the field location, contributing to primate management plans and local conservation efforts of critically endangered wild primates. This project examines how gut microbiota development associates with ecological and social stressors experienced early in life. Leveraging 15 years of data from a wild population of the critically endangered primate Colobus vellerosus, the researchers investigate: 1) whether adverse conditions (i.e., low food availability, loss of maternal kin, alpha male takeovers, and elevated infanticide risk) predict infant gut microbiota composition; and 2) whether these adverse conditions, either currently experienced and/or experienced as an infant, predict the gut microbiota during juvenescence, subadulthood, or adulthood. Monthly ecological data and weekly demographic data are used to determine food abundance, competition for food, alpha male takeovers, infanticide risk, and presence of maternal kin. The composition of the gut microbiota is determined from 16S rRNA gene sequencing using C. vellerosus fecal samples from infants and from individuals at later age life stages with known infancy conditions. The project addresses immediate relationships between early life adversity and gut microbiota in infancy and whether these potential changes associated with adverse conditions in infancy persist into later life stages.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.

这篇博士论文研究项目考察了阿尔法男性接管和杀婴攻击对野生灵长类动物的婴儿社会逆境和肠道微生物群的影响。婴儿可能会经历巨大的压力，即使他们在一次攻击中幸存下来。应激源会导致发育中的肠道微生物区系不稳定，这可能会对宿主的消化和免疫力产生负面影响。该团队调查肠道微生物区系的变化是否持久，或者它们是否可以在以后的生活中被稳定的环境所克服。该项目为STEM的第一代研究人员和妇女提供了研究经验，并为一所为拉美裔服务的公立大学的本科生和研究生提供了基因实验室方法方面的培训机会。研究结果被传达给现场管理人员和现场的当地社区，为灵长类管理计划和当地对极度濒危的野生灵长类动物的保护工作做出贡献。这个项目调查了肠道微生物区系的发育如何与生命早期经历的生态和社会应激源相关联。利用来自极度濒危灵长类动物Colobus vellerosus野生种群15年的数据，研究人员调查：1)不利条件(即食物可获得性低、失去母系亲属、男性优先接管和杀婴风险增加)是否预测婴儿肠道微生物区系组成；2)这些目前经历和/或作为婴儿经历的不利条件是否预测青春期、亚成年期或成年期的肠道微生物区系。每月的生态数据和每周的人口数据被用来确定食物的丰富度、食物的竞争、头号男性的接管、杀婴风险和母系亲属的存在。肠道微生物区系的组成是根据16S rRNA基因测序确定的，该基因测序使用绒毛梭菌粪便样本来自婴儿和已知婴儿状况的晚年生命阶段的个人。该项目解决了早期生活逆境与婴儿期肠道微生物区系之间的直接关系，以及这些与婴儿期不利条件相关的潜在变化是否会持续到以后的生命阶段。该奖项反映了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。