RII Track-2 FEC: Genomics Underlying Toxin Tolerance (GUTT): Identifying Molecular Innovations that Predict Phenotypes of Toxin Tolerance in Wild Vertebrate Herbivores

非技术性描述植物和以它们为食的动物在不断的生存斗争中导致进化的变化。植物进化产生新的有毒化学物质，而食草动物及其相关的微生物群落发生变化，使它们对植物毒素更具耐受性。了解植物毒素和草食动物耐受性对于管理本地草食动物和植物的保护生物学家，依赖植物喂养牲畜和化学品保护作物免受害虫侵害的牧场和农业社区以及依赖植物衍生化学品管理人类健康的医学界都很重要。更好地了解这些重要的植物-食草动物系统将需要许多具有不同专业的科学家的专业知识，这些科学家必须跨越国界进行合作。该项目将利用、建立和整合爱达荷州、内华达州和怀俄明州的研究和教育优势，以确定脊椎动物食草动物中毒素耐受性（GUTT）的基因组。GUTT团队将整合一系列专业知识，以确定毒素耐受性的变化如何影响野生哺乳动物和鸟类食草动物的种群。该团队将与高中教师合作，并在生物学，化学和数学入门课程中使用基于课程的本科研究经验，以培训，激励，招聘和保留能够将动物和微生物毒素耐受性的遗传理解应用于保护，农业和人类健康的多元化劳动力。该项目还将把GUTT参与者与当地机构和行业合作伙伴联系起来，为教师和学生提供多样化的职业和资金机会。研究和教育活动将增加爱达荷州、内华达州和怀俄明州的教师、学生、和社区合作伙伴，以更有效地管理有毒植物和动物和微生物与这些植物的相互作用。技术说明该项目确定基因组基础毒素耐受性（GUTT）通过建立毒素耐受性的分子和生理机制之间的联系，预测脊椎动物食草动物的人口后果。研究人员使用代谢组学，转录组学，宏基因组学和分子建模来识别食草动物和肠道微生物基因组之间的分子相互作用以及食草动物摄入的有毒化学物质。该团队将使用体内和体外实验来量化毒素耐受性的生理机制和毒素暴露的生理后果。参与者还将致力于操纵毒素耐受性的分子和生理机制，以开发，验证和迭代改进预测毒素暴露如何影响食草动物人口统计学的模型。该研究将导致：1）一个前所未有的，详细的看法一致的草食动物和微生物的反应，并修改，毒素在草食动物肠道，影响人口比例的原生脊椎动物草食动物; 2）发现和存档的化学，遗传和微生物多样性的独特的相互作用产生的肠道哺乳动物和鸟类草食动物消耗不同的植物化学品; 3）劳动力发展计划，为处于社会边缘地位的群体创造和维持一种包容性文化，使他们能够在各个职业阶段进行创新，并在综合研究和教育实践中引领新的前沿。高中外展计划和与主要本科院校的互动将用于激励下一代科学家。这些学生的保留将通过基于课程的本科生研究经验确保整个本科课程，学生使用遗传和化学数据来发现毒素耐受性的新机制和后果。总体而言，爱达荷州、内华达州和怀俄明州的EPSCoR RII Track-2 GUTT团队将通过预测和管理野生、农业和人类系统如何在分子、生理和人口统计学上对植物中的化学物质做出反应，促进新型合作并为社会做出贡献。该奖项反映了NSF的法定使命，并通过使用基金会的智力价值和更广泛的影响审查标准进行评估，被认为值得支持。

Non-Technical DescriptionPlants and the animals that eat them are in a constant battle for survival that results in evolutionary change. Plants evolve to produce new toxic chemicals while herbivores, and their associated microbial communities, change such that they become more tolerant to plant toxins. The understanding of plant toxins and herbivore tolerance is important for conservation biologists that manage native herbivores and plants, for the ranching and agricultural community that rely on plants to feed livestock and chemicals to defend crops from pests, and the medical community that relies on plant-derived chemicals to manage human health. A better understanding of these important plant-herbivore systems will require the expertise of many scientists with different specializations that must cooperate across state boundaries. This project will leverage, build, and integrate research and education strengths across Idaho, Nevada, and Wyoming to identify the Genomes Underlying Toxin Tolerance (GUTT) in vertebrate herbivores. The GUTT team will integrate a range of expertise to identify how variation in toxin tolerance influences populations of wild mammalian and avian herbivores. The team will work with high school teachers and use Course-based Undergraduate Research Experiences in introductory biology, chemistry, and math courses to train, inspire, recruit, and retain a diverse workforce capable of applying genetic understanding of toxin tolerance in animals and microbes to conservation, agriculture and human health. The project will also connect GUTT participants with local agency and industry partners to diversify career and funding opportunities for faculty and students. The research and educational activities will increase the capacity for Idaho, Nevada, and Wyoming faculty, students, and community partners to more effectively manage toxic plants and the animals and microbes that interact with these plants.Technical DescriptionThis project identifies the Genomes Underlying Toxin Tolerance (GUTT) by establishing the links between molecular and physiological mechanisms of toxin tolerance that predict demographic consequences in vertebrate herbivores. The researchers use metabolomics, transcriptomics, metagenomics, and molecular modeling to identify molecular interactions between herbivore and gut microbial genomes and toxic chemicals ingested by herbivores. The team will use in vivo and in vitro experiments to quantify physiological mechanisms of toxin tolerance and physiological consequences of toxin exposure. Participants will also work on manipulating molecular and physiological mechanisms of toxin tolerance to develop, validate, and iteratively refine models that predict how toxin exposure influences herbivore demography. The research will result in: 1) An unprecedented, detailed view of concerted herbivore and microbial response to, and modification of, toxins in the herbivore gut that influence demographic rates of native vertebrate herbivores; 2) Discovery and archiving of chemical, genetic, and microbial diversity from unique interactions created in the guts of mammalian and avian herbivores consuming diverse plant chemicals; and 3) Workforce development programs that create and sustain a culture of inclusion for marginalized groups across all career stages who can innovate and lead new frontiers in integrated research and educational practices. High school outreach programs and interactions with predominantly undergraduate institutions will be used to inspire the next generation of scientists. Rentention of these students will be ensured through Course-based Undergraduate Research Experiences throughout the undergraduate curriculum where students use genetic and chemical data to discover novel mechanisms and consequences of toxin tolerance. Overall, the Idaho, Nevada, and Wyoming EPSCoR RII Track-2 GUTT team will foster novel collaborations and contribute to society by predicting and managing how wild, agricultural, and human systems respond molecularly, physiologically, and demographically to chemicals in plants.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.