EAPSI: Influence of Human-Associated Microbes on Protected Marine Species

在全球气候变化和栖息地改变的时代，研究人类对动植物自然种群的直接影响具有重要意义。具体来说，人类废水中的微生物对受威胁的海洋物种有什么影响？该项目的活动将提供一个机会，明确地将海洋鱼类的重要功能免疫基因多样性与当地环境中受人类影响的微生物变异联系起来。遗传和环境样本将从新西兰的城市和农村沿海环境中收集，以评估锅腹海马（海马腹）种群水平的遗传多样性，微生物组成和人类环境影响。由于这种类型的研究是新的，并且可能对如何处理人类废水有更大的影响，因此必须开发一种新的实验方法。锅腹海马具有非常适合开展这项研究的适应性免疫系统，它们的原生环境是新西兰农村和城市海岸线，与任何其他海洋污染源隔绝，这使得EAPSI的机会独一无二，对完成拟议的研究来说是无价的。与坎特伯雷大学的Sharyn Goldstien教授和国家水与大气研究所的专家合作，将巩固美国和新西兰之间对海洋遗传学、近岸保护物种保护和适应性免疫感兴趣的研究人员和科学研究的专业网络。海洋种群内的免疫基因多样性有可能对受人类活动影响的近岸群落中微生物介导的分化和进化产生深刻的见解，特别是与中性基因组多样性相比。受保护的合颌纲物种，如海马，是测试城市和非城市沿海环境之间遗传种群差异的理想对象，因为它们广泛的近岸栖息地，对环境和人为影响的不同耐受性以及适应性免疫机制。从新西兰城市和非城市地区的海马模型物种中获取遗传物质，将有机会比较暴露于不同水平人类废水的沿海生态系统之间的中性和非中性免疫遗传变异以及微生物群落。在新西兰的整个分布范围内，腹腹瓢虫种群在中性核位点上表现出有限的遗传分化，而功能重要的免疫位点将表现出明显的空间结构，特别是在经历高废水输入的城市地点和低人为输入的农村地点之间。在城市地点收集的环境样本预计将显示人类活动的证据。该奖项是与新西兰皇家学会合作资助的。

In an era of global climate change and habitat alteration, it is important to study the direct impact humans have on natural populations of plants and animals. Specifically what impact do microbes from human wastewater have on threatened marine species? Activities from this project will provide an opportunity to explicitly link functionally important immune gene diversity of marine fish to human-influenced microbial variation in their local environments. Genetic and environmental samples will be collected from urban and rural coastal environments throughout New Zealand to assess population level genetic diversity of the pot-belly seahorse (Hippocampus abdominalis), microbial composition and human environmental impacts. Because this type of research is new and may have larger implications for how human wastewater is treated, a new experimental methodology must be developed. The pot-belly seahorse has an adaptive immune system perfectly suited for developing this study, and their native environment of rural and urban New Zealand coastlines are isolated from any other source of marine pollution making this EAPSI opportunity unique and invaluable to complete the proposed research. Collaboration with Professor Sharyn Goldstien from the University of Canterbury and specialists from the National Institute of Water and Atmospheric Research will solidify a professional network of researchers and scientific studies interested in marine genetics, nearshore protected species conservation and adaptive immunity between the United States and New Zealand.Immune gene diversity within marine populations has the potential to yield profound insights relative to microbe-mediated differentiation and evolution in nearshore communities affected by human activity especially when compared to neutral genomic diversity. Protected syngnathid species like seahorses are ideal subjects to test for genetic population differences between urban and non-urban coastal environments due to their extensive nearshore habitats, variable tolerance to environmental and anthropogenic influence and mechanisms of adaptive immunity. Obtaining genetic material from model seahorse species Hippocampus abdominalis from urban and non-urban New Zealand sites will allow the opportunity to compare neutral and non-neutral immune genetic variation as well as microbial communities between coastal ecosystems exposed to differing levels of human wastewater. H. abdominalis populations will exhibit limited genetic differentiation at neutral nuclear loci throughout their New Zealand range, while functionally important immune loci will show pronounced spatial structure especially between urban sites experiencing high inputs of wastewater and rural sites with low anthropogenic inputs. Environmental samples collected at urban sites are expected to show evidence of anthropogenic activity. This award is funded in collaboration with the Royal Society of New Zealand.