EAGER: Can ancient DNA illuminate the fate of Caribbean reefs?

这位研究人员最近证明，来自珊瑚以及与珊瑚相关的微生物的古代DNA(ADNA)可以从长达6000年的珊瑚碎片中进行测序。这些碎片很容易从保存在地质收藏中的珊瑚礁岩芯中获得。在这种渴望中，研究人员正在扩大这些结果，并比较来自两个地理区域和过去几千年的珊瑚和它们的微生物。通过展示aDNA作为揭示珊瑚种群历史的有用工具的潜力，该项目可能会在珊瑚aDNA研究方面开辟一个新的科学领域。宣传范围包括新闻稿、社交媒体帖子、公开讲座，可能还会拍摄一部纪录片。该项目正在支持一名来自不被充分代表的背景的女研究生和一名本科生。研究人员聚焦于加勒比海最重要的造礁珊瑚物种--手掌珊瑚，试图检测最有可能显示生态进化过渡的两个地点和两个时间段之间珊瑚种群及其相关微生物群落基因组成的差异。具体地说，他们使用的岩心来自佛罗里达州和美属维尔京群岛这两个遗传差异巨大的地区的岩心，以及3300-2900年前的“珊瑚礁缺口”，当时人们认为棕榈藻种群已经崩溃。他们还建立了杂交捕获协议，以丰富珊瑚aDNA的样本，并试图对加勒比海第二大珊瑚礁建造者--蜂蜜奥比克氏菌--的aDNA进行测序。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。

The investigator has recently demonstrated that ancient DNA (aDNA) from coral as well as coral-associated microbes can be sequenced from coral fragments up to six thousand years old. These fragments can be readily obtained from reef cores kept in geological collections. In this EAGER, the investigator is expanding these results and comparing corals and their microbes from two geographic regions and over the past few thousand years. By demonstrating the potential of aDNA as a useful tool to unravel the history of coral populations, the project may open up a new scientific field around coral aDNA studies. Outreach includes press releases, social media posts, public lectures, and potentially a documentary film. The project is supporting a female graduate student and an undergraduate student from an underrepresented background.Focusing on the most important Caribbean reef-building coral species, Acropora palmata, the investigator is attempting to detect differences in the genetic composition of coral populations and their associated microbial communities between two locations and two time periods that are the most likely to show an eco-evolutionary transition. Specifically, they are using cores from two locations that harbor genetically disparate A. palmata populations, Florida and US Virgin Islands, and time periods bounding a “reef gap” 3,300-2,900 years ago, when A. palmata populations are thought to have collapsed. They are also establishing the hybridization capture protocol to enrich samples with coral aDNA and attempting to sequence aDNA from the second most-important Caribbean reef builder, Orbicella faveolata.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.