NSF PRFB FY 2023: Impact of Environment-Seagrass-Microbe Interactions on Seagrass Stress Response and Ecosystem Functions

这项行动资助了2023财年的NSF生物学博士后研究奖学金，综合研究调查了基因组，环境和表型之间的生命管理相互作用的规则。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。有益细菌可以减少压力条件对植物的影响。海草是生长在压力环境中的海洋植物。一种常见的应激源是高硫化物浓度。硫化物是一种有毒化学物质，在海洋沉积物中含量丰富，可导致海草死亡。这种名为Thiodiazotropha的细菌可以通过氧化硫化物来解毒海草沉积物，这是一个从环境中去除硫化物的过程。这项研究将确定钙的存在和丰度。Thiodiazotropha影响海草健康在不同程度的环境压力。海草草甸是一种经济和文化上有价值的资源，海草和细菌之间的积极相互作用提供了一个潜在的工具，评估海草脆弱性的压力和恢复海草的压力耐受性增加。这项研究将整合环境-海草-微生物相互作用，以更好地了解不同环境条件下植物-微生物相互作用的一般性和重要性。研究员将分析（a）植物性状与环境条件对Ca的相对影响。硫重氮菌丰度的相互移植实验，（B）如何硫化物胁迫和Ca。Thiodiazotropha影响海草性能使用围隔实验，和（c）海草微生物的相互作用如何翻译环境异质性植物性能和养分循环的培养实验中的高阶变化。这项研究的结果将推进与植物微生物组的进化生态学，沿海生态系统氮循环的驱动因素以及环境-植物-微生物相互作用对生态系统功能和过程的影响相关的基础知识。该研究员将接受微生物生态学和生物地球化学技术、包容性教学策略和科学传播方面的培训。该项目将通过制定和实施高中科学课程和指导本科生来促进学生的培训，包括来自科学领域代表性不足的群体的学生。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。

This action funds an NSF Postdoctoral Research Fellowship in Biology for FY 2023, 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. Beneficial bacteria can reduce the impact of stressful conditions on plants. Seagrasses are marine plants that grow in stressful environments. One common stressor is high sulfide concentrations. Sulfide is a toxic chemical that is abundant in marine sediments and can cause seagrass die-offs. The bacteria, Candidatus Thiodiazotropha, can detoxify seagrass sediments by oxidizing sulfide, which is a process that removes sulfide from the environment. This research will determine how the presence and abundance of Ca. Thiodiazotropha impacts seagrass health under various levels of environmental stress. Seagrass meadows are an economically and culturally valuable resource, and positive interactions between seagrasses and bacteria provide a potential tool for evaluating seagrass vulnerability to stressors and increasing stress tolerance of restored seagrasses. This research will integrate environment-seagrass-microbe interactions to better understand the generality and magnitude of plant-microbe interactions under varying environmental conditions. The fellow will analyze (a) the relative impacts of plant traits vs. environmental conditions on Ca. Thiodiazotropha abundance using a reciprocal transplant experiment, (b) how interactions between sulfide stress and Ca. Thiodiazotropha affect seagrass performance using a mesocosm experiment, and (c) how seagrass-microbe interactions translate environmental heterogeneity to higher-order variation in plant performance and nutrient cycling using an incubation experiment. Results from this research will advance fundamental knowledge related to the evolutionary ecology of plant microbiomes, drivers of nitrogen cycling in coastal ecosystems, and the impact of environment-plant-microbe interactions on ecosystem functions and processes. The fellow will receive training in microbial ecology and biogeochemistry techniques, inclusive pedagogical strategies, and science communication. This project will promote the training of students, including students from groups underrepresented in the sciences, through the development and implementation of high school science curriculum and mentorship of undergraduate students.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.