NSF PRFB FY23: Roles of gut microbiomes in herbivorous host toxin tolerance

这一行动为NSF 2023财年生物学博士后研究奖学金提供了资金，综合研究调查了支配基因组、环境和表型之间相互作用的生命规则。该奖学金支持研究员的研究和培训，这些研究员将以创新的方式为生活规则领域做出贡献。微生物群落是对宿主和环境都很重要的微生物群落。这项研究将调查宿主微生物在消化产生毒素的植物中的作用。雪鞋野兔和大鼠尾松鸡是两种以有毒植物为食的食草动物。它们的消化系统相似，因此它们的肠道微生物群的环境也相似。这两个东道主都是保护努力的目标，因为它们的生存受到污染和气候变化的威胁。因此，了解食草动物如何克服毒素暴露有助于保护和维护生态系统。此外，作为培训计划的一部分，该研究员将通过教学、科学交流、指导和外展扩大不同社区对科学的参与。这项研究将证明微生物群作为一种生活规则对宿主发挥重要作用。该研究员将使用数据驱动和经验多组学方法确定推动宿主毒素耐受性的微生物基因组功能和机制。这项研究将调查两个关于肠道微生物在雪鞋兔和大鼠松鸡毒素耐受性(即植物次生代谢物降解)中作用的假设：1)由于季节和饮食毒性的变化，雪鞋兔的肠道微生物群随时间而变化；2)相似的肠道微生物类群将推动不同宿主对毒素的耐受性，这些宿主专门从事不同的饮食。该项目将纳入对阿拉斯加州费尔班克斯附近Bonanza Creek长期生态研究(BNZ LTER)计划地点的雪鞋兔粪便和盲肠颗粒收集的元基因组和代谢组学分析。此外，本研究将从元基因组学方法对微生物分类群进行分类，然后利用转录和代谢组学方法比较鼠尾松鸡和雪鞋兔肠道分离株对毒素耐受性的微生物途径。该研究员的培训目标包括加强生物信息学和经验技能，扩大宿主相关微生物生态学和生理学的专业知识，并纳入对历史上被排除在外的学生的包容性指导和教学。该项目由生物科学局的生物基础设施司和已建立的激励竞争性研究计划(EPSCoR)共同资助。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。

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. Microbiomes are communities of microorganisms that are important for hosts and for the environment. This research will investigate the role of host microbiomes in digesting plants that produce toxins. Snowshoe hares and greater sage-grouse are two herbivores that eat toxic plants. They have similar digestive systems and therefore a similar environment for their gut microbiomes. Both hosts are the target of conservation efforts since their survival is threatened by pollution and climate change. Thus, understanding how herbivores overcome toxin exposure can help protect and preserve ecosystems. Furthermore, as part of the training plan, the fellow will broaden participation of diverse communities in science through teaching, science communication, mentoring, and outreach.This research will demonstrate that microbiomes perform important functions for the host as a Rule of Life. The fellow will determine the microbial genomic functions and mechanisms driving host toxin tolerance using data-driven and empirical multi-omics approaches. The research will investigate two hypotheses regarding the gut microbial role in toxin tolerance (i.e., plant secondary metabolite degradation) for snowshoe hares and greater sage-grouse: 1) the gut microbiome of snowshoe hares varies over time due to seasonal, dietary changes in toxicity, and 2) similar gut microbial taxa will drive toxin tolerance in distinct hosts that specialize on different diets. The project will incorporate metagenomic and metabolomic analyses on snowshoe hare fecal and cecal pellet collections from the Bonanza Creek Long Term Ecological Research (BNZ LTER) program sites near Fairbanks, Alaska. Furthermore, this research will classify the microbial taxa from metagenomic approaches, then will compare the microbial pathways responsible for toxin tolerance in sage-grouse and snowshoe hare cultured gut isolates with transcriptomic and metabolomic methods. Training objectives for the fellow include strengthening bioinformatic and empirical skills, expanding expertise of host-associated microbial ecology and physiology, and incorporating inclusive mentoring and teaching for historically excluded students. This project is jointly funded by Division of Biological Infrastructure in the Directorate of Biological Sciences and the Established Program to Stimulate Competitive Research (EPSCoR).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.