"DISSERTATION RESEARCH": Developmental Microbial Ecology in the Crop of the Hoatzin (a South American leaf-eating bird)

消化发酵发生在肠道中被微生物定殖的位置，例如牛的瘤胃（前肠发酵器）或马的结肠（后肠发酵器）和大多数其他哺乳动物，包括人类。在这些器官中，土著微生物发酵碳水化合物，并在动物的营养和免疫中发挥作用。前肠发酵一直被认为是哺乳动物所独有的，但它也发生在南非的一种食叶鸟类，在作物中进化出微生物发酵。这项拟议中的研究旨在研究鹰嘴豆农作物是如何定殖的，以及随着小鸡发育成成年鸡，细菌群落如何变化。在这一新的系统中，我们将利用DNA克隆和指纹图谱等分子技术检验经典的群落演替生态学理论，并以霍茨金作物作为发酵消化的模型，为微生物在消化器官中的功能意义提供新的认识，为与其他系统的比较提供参考，并通过预期的新细菌群的发现来扩大已知微生物的世界。更广泛的影响包括通过培训本科生、传播科学知识和开发合作机会，改善波多黎各大学的微生物生态学研究和教育。

Digestive fermentation occurs at locations in the gut colonized by microbes, such as the cow's rumen (foregut fermenter) or the colon of horses (hindgut fermenter) and most other mammals, including humans. In these organs, indigenous microbes ferment carbohydrates and play a role in the animal's nutrition and immunity. Foregut fermentation has been considered to be exclusive to mammals, but it also occurs in the hoatzin (Opisthocomus hoazin), a South American leaf-eating bird that evolved microbial fermentation in the crop. The proposed research aims to examine how the hoatzin crop is colonized and how the bacterial community changes as the chicks develop into adults. In this novel system, we will test classic ecological theories of community succession, using molecular techniques such as DNA cloning and fingerprinting.Using the hoatzin's crop as a model of fermentative digestion, this research will contribute new knowledge on the functional significance of microbes in digestive organs, provide a reference for comparisons with other systems, and expand the world of known microbes with the expected discovery of new bacterial groups. Broader impacts include improving research and education in microbial ecology at the University of Puerto Rico, by training undergraduate students, disseminating scientific knowledge, and developing collaborative opportunities.