NSF Postdoctoral Fellowship in Biology FY 2010

本行动资助美国国家科学基金会2010年度少数民族博士后研究奖学金。该奖学金支持奖学金获得者在主办实验室的研究和培训计划，该奖学金获得者还提出了扩大生物学参与的计划。奎因·麦克弗雷德里克的这项研究和培训计划的标题是“与群居和独居汗蜂相关的微生物群落：对蜜蜂健康的影响”。这项研究的主办机构是德克萨斯大学奥斯汀分校，赞助科学家是乌尔里希·穆勒博士。野生和人工管理的蜜蜂数量正在减少，威胁到依赖其基本授粉服务的自然和农业生态系统。虽然没有建立因果关系，传粉媒介的减少和病原体之间的联系已经被提出。该项目使用下一代测序来筛选在大翅属的社会性可变野生蜜蜂巢穴中发现的微生物群落。两种假设正在被验证：1)蜜蜂窝室封闭生态系统内的微生物群落表现出可预测的群落结构模式；2)群居蜜蜂巢中的微生物群落比独居蜜蜂巢中的微生物群落更多样化。该项目的一个主要目标是确定微生物如何通过识别假定的病原体和互惠主义者并检查它们的相互作用来影响蜜蜂的健康。培训目标包括分析和解释下一代测序技术产生的大量数据，以及制定一项研究计划，利用新工具回答社会进化和传粉媒介健康等尚未解决的问题。在蜜蜂群体崩溃失调和野生传粉媒介减少的时代，对微生物如何影响传粉媒介健康的更深入了解变得更加重要。更广泛的影响包括大量的公共宣传以及对学生，特别是残疾学生的教育宣传。

This action funds an NSF Minority Postdoctoral Research Fellowship for FY 2010. 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 Quinn McFrederick is "Microbial communities associated with social and solitary sweat bees: implications for bee health." The host institution for this research is University of Texas at Austin, and the sponsoring scientist is Dr. Ulrich Mueller. Wild and managed bee populations are in decline, threatening both natural and agricultural ecosystems that depend on their essential pollination services. Although no causal relationships have been established, links between pollinator declines and pathogens have been posited. This project uses next generation sequencing to screen microbial communities found in the nests of socially variable wild bees in the genus Megalopta. Two hypotheses are being tested: 1) microbial communities inside the enclosed ecosystem of a bee's brood chamber exhibit predictable patterns of community structure and 2) microbial communities in the nests of social bees are more diverse than communities in the nests of solitary bees. A major goal of the project is to determine how microbes affect bee health by identifying putative pathogens and mutualists and examining their interactions. Training objectives include analysis and interpretation of the large amounts of data produced by next generation sequencing technology, and development of a research program that utilizes new tools to answer as yet unanswered questions of social evolution and pollinator health. This greater understanding of how microbes affect the health of pollinators is all the more important in the era of honey bee colony collapse disorder and wild pollinator decline. Broader impacts include substantial public outreach as well as educational outreach to students, especially those with disabilities.