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Super-generalist predation in a model microbe Dictyostelium discoideum

模型微生物盘基网柄菌的超通才捕食

基本信息

批准号：
2237266
负责人：
David Queller
金额：
$ 126.17万
依托单位：
Washington University
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：
2023-02-01 至 2027-01-31
项目状态：
未结题

来源：
https://www.nsf.gov/awardsearch/showAward?AWD_ID=2237266&HistoricalAwards=false
关键词：
Super generalist predation model microbe

项目摘要

This project will study how organisms evolve to be either generalist or specialist predators using an amoeba, Dictyostelium discoideum, that preys on bacteria. This amoeba can eat many different bacterial species, despite their wide variety of defenses. The project will seek to determine whether the amoebas see all edible bacteria as equivalent, or the degree to which they must handle different bacteria in different ways. For bacteria that they do handle in different ways, it will ask whether the amoeba’s changes in strategy are effective. This work will determine amoeba genes that important in handling prey and will test the idea that these genes evolve particularly rapidly because they must respond to changing bacterial strategies. Since bacteria can cause disease, provide services in our microbiomes, and have impacts on agriculture and nutrient cycling, a better understand their predators is needed. The study will involve the training of undergraduates from diverse backgrounds, along with graduate students and a post-doctoral scholar. The project team will reach out to share its knowledge with diverse groups via public talks and popular articles, a booth at the Ferguson Farmer’s market, a blog, and a computer project for university classes, and a Behavior and Evolution Day for high school students. The researchers will investigate the extent to which D. discoideum handles distinct prey differently using a panel of 15 diverse bacteria species. This array of prey species will be explored by four methods: studies of costs to amoebas of switching between prey species, responses to experimental evolution of amoebas on different prey, amoeba transcriptomic changes on different prey, and selection of amoeba gene knockout libraries on different prey. Each of these four studies will be analyzed by similar multivariate statistical and clustering methods, giving four independent takes on which prey species are handled similarly. The researchers will use the results of the transcriptomics and the knockout selections in two further ways. First, the knockout selection results – do gene knockouts increase or decrease amoeba fitness on each prey – will be used to test how broadly adaptive the transcriptional changes on different prey are. Second, those genes that most strongly show adaptive changes in this sense will define a set of “predation genes” which will be tested to see if predation drives evolutionary arms races.This project is co-funded by the Behavioral Systems program in the Division of Integrative Organismal Systems.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.

这个项目将研究生物体如何进化成为通才或专业捕食者，使用一种捕食细菌的变形虫，盘状网骨藻。这种变形虫可以吃许多不同的细菌种类，尽管它们有各种各样的防御措施。该项目将试图确定变形虫是否将所有可食用细菌视为等同物，或者它们必须以不同方式处理不同细菌的程度。对于它们以不同方式处理的细菌，它将询问变形虫的策略变化是否有效。这项工作将确定变形虫在处理猎物方面的重要基因，并将测试这些基因进化特别快的想法，因为它们必须对不断变化的细菌策略做出反应。由于细菌可以引起疾病，在我们的微生物组中提供服务，并对农业和营养循环产生影响，因此需要更好地了解它们的捕食者。这项研究将涉及培训来自不同背景的本科生，沿着研究生和一名博士后学者。项目团队将通过公开演讲和流行文章，弗格森农贸市场的摊位，博客和大学课堂的计算机项目，以及高中生的行为和进化日，与不同群体分享其知识。研究人员将调查D. discoideum处理不同的猎物不同的15个不同的细菌物种的面板。这一系列的猎物物种将探讨四种方法：成本研究变形虫的猎物物种之间的切换，实验进化的变形虫对不同的猎物，变形虫转录组的变化，并选择不同的猎物变形虫基因敲除库。这四项研究中的每一项都将通过类似的多元统计和聚类方法进行分析，给出四个独立的猎物物种被类似地处理。研究人员将以两种进一步的方式使用转录组学和敲除选择的结果。首先，基因敲除选择的结果-基因敲除是否增加或减少每个猎物上的阿米巴适应性-将用于测试不同猎物上的转录变化的适应性有多广泛。第二、在这个意义上，那些最强烈地表现出适应性变化的基因将定义一组“捕食基因”，这些基因将被测试，以确定捕食是否驱动进化的军备竞赛。该奖项反映了NSF的法定使命，并被认为值得通过使用基金会的智力价值和更广泛的评估来支持。影响审查标准。