NSF Postdoctoral Fellowship in Biology: Priority Effects Within and Between Guilds of Fungal Symbionts

这一行动资助了NSF 2023财年生物学博士后研究奖学金，扩大了生物学中代表性不足的群体的参与。该研究金支持一项针对该研究员的研究和培训计划，该计划将增加生物学中代表性不足的群体的参与。这项研究将解开植物-真菌关系的复杂性以及地下真菌的组装方式。具体地说，当多种真菌侵染同一植物寄主时，优先效应，或特定真菌物种到达的顺序，可能会改变其他真菌的定植能力，从而对寄主植物产生不同的结果。本实验将操纵不同真菌种类和真菌行会之间的到达顺序，以评估真菌群落的结果及其对植物生长、繁殖和营养含量的影响。研究结果有助于根据恢复目标预测适当的共生体添加到群落中。这位研究员将领导对传统评级制度的审查工作，这些制度往往会在STEM中对不同的个人造成障碍。该研究员将领导一个专注于替代评估策略的教师学习社区，然后在他们自己的课程中实施这些策略；将撰写一份同行评议的教育手稿，以在广泛的范围内加强教与学。真菌共生体在自然界中普遍存在，在决定寄主植物适合性方面发挥着重要作用。众所周知，优先效应可以塑造群落聚集，特别是考虑两物种系统，但随着群落在多共生相互作用中变得更加复杂，人们对有序到达的重要性知之甚少。这位研究员将评估北美丰富的本地牧草物种--裂褶草中真菌的到达顺序，以确定真菌群落组装如何影响植物寄主。这位研究员将描述草原恢复过程中的互惠丛枝菌根真菌(AMF)和根内生真菌。为了在行会内进行评估，这项研究将在生长室实验中操纵AMF或根内生真菌对裂褶菌的独特物种的引入顺序。由于植物有多个共生体，这位研究员将通过改变AMF和根内生真菌的到达顺序来观察跨行业的优先效应，以评估真菌群落的结果及其对宿主植物生长的各自影响。该项目将允许这位研究员磨练驱动微生物群落的机制的技能。扩大参与的努力通过改进传统的评分系统和在科学学科中保留代表性较低的少数群体，为课堂环境做出了贡献。这一奖项反映了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, Broadening Participation of Groups Underrepresented in Biology. The Fellowship supports a research and training plan for the Fellow that will increase the participation of groups underrepresented in biology. This study will untangle the complexities of plant-fungal relationships and the way below-ground fungi assemble. Specifically, as multiple fungi colonize the same plant host, priority effects, or the order in which specific fungal species arrive, may alter the ability of other fungi to colonize, which will have varying outcomes for the host plant. This experiment will manipulate arrival order of different fungal species and across fungal guilds to evaluate both fungal community outcomes and their influence on plant growth, reproduction, and nutrient content. The research outcomes can help to predict the appropriate symbiont to add to a community based on restoration goals. The Fellow will lead efforts to examine traditional grading systems that often induce barriers for diverse individuals in STEM. The Fellow will lead a faculty learning community focused on alternative assessment strategies and then implement these strategies in their own courses; a peer-reviewed education manuscript will be written to enhance teaching and learning at broad scales. Fungal symbionts are ubiquitous in nature and play considerable roles in determining host plant fitness. It is known that priority effects can shape community assembly, especially considering two-species systems, yet less is known about the importance of order arrival as communities become more complex in multi-symbiont interactions. The Fellow will evaluate the order of arrival of fungi within an abundant native grass species, Schizachyrium scoparium, across North America to determine how mycobiome community assembly affects plant hosts. The Fellow will characterize mutualistic arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi (AMF) and root endophytic fungi from a prairie restoration. To evaluate within guild assembly, the study will manipulate the order of introduction of unique species of AMF or root endophytes on Schizachyrium in a growth chamber experiment. As plants host multiple symbionts, the Fellow will then look at priority effects across guilds by altering order arrival of AMF, root endophytes and vice versa to evaluate fungal community outcomes and their respective influence on host plant growth. The project will allow the Fellow to hone skills on the mechanisms that drive microbial communities. The broadening participation efforts contribute to classroom settings by improving conventional grading systems and retaining underrepresented minorities in scientific disciplines.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.