Minority Postdoctoral Research Fellowships in Biology for FY 2009

这一行动为2009财年国家科学基金会少数民族博士后研究奖学金提供资金，并根据2009年《美国复苏和再投资法案》(公法111-5)提供资金。该奖学金支持在东道主实验室为该研究员制定的研究和培训计划，该研究员还提出了扩大生物学参与度的计划。Zomary Flores的这项研究和培训计划的标题是“蛋氨酸亚砜还原酶在费氏弧菌和真螺旋藻轻型器官定植的氧化应激反应中的作用”。这项研究的主办机构是由埃里克·斯塔布博士赞助的佐治亚大学。人类、动物和植物在一生中都与微生物互动。这些相互作用中的一些可能对宿主的健康有利或有害。宿主来源的活性氧物种(ROS)在维持有益和致病微生物感染方面发挥着重要作用，因为它们可以引起微生物的蛋白质、膜和DNA损伤。生物发光细菌费氏弧菌与短尾乌贼(Euprymna Scolope)形成自然共生。这种相互作用是更复杂和定义较少的有益动物-微生物相互作用的重要模型。本研究主要研究鱼腥草的一种蛋白质修复系统，称为蛋氨酸亚砜还原酶(MSR)。具体地说，这些结果阐明了MSR在细菌的ROS抗性、生物发光和宿主相互作用中的作用。此外，该修复系统所针对的蛋白质正在被确定。这项研究的培训目标包括发展和扩大实验室技术技能。宿主-微生物的相互作用在宿主健康中发挥着重要作用，因此进一步了解维持这些有益感染的机制对于理解植物、动物和人类的健康至关重要。这项研究有助于了解与宿主相关的微生物对宿主防御的抵抗力，并为形成持续病原性感染的微生物的行为提供洞察。更广泛的影响还包括指导来自代表性不足群体的本科生。

This action funds an NSF Minority Postdoctoral Research Fellowship for FY 2009 and is funded under the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (Public Law 111-5). The fellowship supports a research and training plan in a host laboratory for the Fellow who also presents a plan to broaden participation in biology. The title of the research and training plan for this fellowship to Zomary Flores is "Role of methionine sulfoxide reductases in the oxidative stress response of Vibrio fischeri and Euprymna scolopes light organ colonization." The host institution for this research is the University of Georgia under the sponsorship of Dr. Eric Stabb.Humans, animals, and plants interact with microbes throughout their life. Some of these interactions may be beneficial or harmful to the host's health. Host-derived reactive oxygen species (ROS) play important roles in the maintenance of beneficial and pathogenic microbial infections as they can cause protein, membrane, and DNA damage in the microbe. The bioluminescent bacterium Vibrio fischeri forms a natural symbiosis with the bobtail squid (Euprymna scolopes). This interaction is an important model for more complex and less well-defined beneficial animal-microbe interactions. This research focuses on a protein repair system from V. fischeri, called methionine sulfoxide reductase (Msr). Specifically, the results clarify the roles of Msr in the bacterium's ROS resistance, bioluminescence, and host interaction. In addition, proteins targeted by this repair system in V. fischeri are being identified.Training objectives of this research include developing and expanding laboratory technical skills. Host-microbe interactions play important roles in host health, so further understanding of the mechanisms that are involved in maintenance of these beneficial infections is critical for understanding plant, animal, and human health. This research contributes to understanding host-associated microbe resistance to host-defenses and provides insight into the behavior of microbes that form persistent pathogenic infections. Broader impacts also include mentoring undergraduate students from underrepresented groups.