CAREER: Searching for the Fungal Domestication Syndrome

驯化是过去13,000年来最具影响力的技术创新之一。本项目将研究真菌的驯化。由于种群生物学、生态学和人类对所需性状的人工选择的潜在差异，研究人员假设驯化对真菌的影响不同于植物和动物驯化。研究人员最近开发了曲霉菌作为真菌驯化的模型。该物种是一种丝状霉菌，数千年来一直用于传统发酵亚洲食品和饮料的生产。在使用这些真菌作为食品加工和生产的一部分时，人类已经改变了这些真菌物种的特征和DNA蓝图。本书将探讨这些变化。这项研究有可能提高食品发酵的安全性，并揭示发酵食品的健康益处。重要的是，该项目将通过公民科学项目让公众参与科学发现。我们鼓励市民提供自制或商业发酵食品的样本。本科生，通过直接的研究经验或通过动手课程，将隔离和识别食品样品中的微生物。学生将获得微生物学，分子生物学，基因组学和生物信息学的实践经验。该项目的成果将与艺术领域的教师和本科生合作改编成电影。在驯化动植物的同时，真菌（例如酵母和霉菌）也因其在食品保存、调味、香气和质地方面的用途而被驯化。然而，通过对驯化的植物和动物的研究形成的概括是否可以扩展到驯化的真菌，这在很大程度上尚未探索。为了解决驯化的模式和效果在真菌之间以及在植物，动物和真菌之间是否相似，研究人员将分析数百个A分离株的基因组和表型变异模式。其祖先A. flavus，并将这些结果与两种现有的真菌驯化模型（酿酒酵母和罗克福青霉）进行比较。它将确定人工选择的目标基因组区域，并确定驯化对A的表型效应。好的该项目将测量生长率，对社区食品微生物的抑制作用，挥发性化合物概况和A的基因表达概况。和A.不同条件下的黄曲霉菌株。这项研究的成果将阐明驯化过程及其对真菌的影响，并将增加我们对适应性背后的基因组和进化过程的知识。该奖项反映了NSF的法定使命，并被认为值得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来支持。

Domestication was one of the most influential technological innovations of the last 13,000 years. This project will study the domestication of fungi. Because of underlying differences in population biology, ecology, and artificial selection by humans for desired traits, the researchers hypothesize that the effect of domestication on fungi is distinct from plant and animal domestication. The researchers have recently developed Aspergillus oryzae as a model of fungal domestication. This species is a filamentous mold used for millennia in the production of traditional fermented Asian foods and beverages. In using these fungi as part of food processing and production, humans have changed the traits and DNA blueprint of these fungal species. This project will explore those changes. This research has the potential to improve the safety of food fermentation and to shed light on the health benefits of fermented foods. Importantly, this project will involve the public in scientific discovery through a citizen-science project. Members of the public will be encouraged to contribute samples of homemade or commercial fermented foods. Undergraduates, through direct research experiences or through hands-on coursework, will isolate and identify microorganisms from food samples. Students will gain practical experience in microbiology, molecular biology, genomics and bioinformatics. The results of this project will be adapted into a film in partnership with faculty and undergraduate students in the arts.In parallel with the domestication of plants and animals, fungi (e.g. yeasts and molds) were also domesticated for their utility in food preservation, flavoring, aroma, and texture. However, it remains largely unexplored whether the generalizations formed through the study of domesticated plants and animals can be extended to domesticated fungi. To address whether the patterns and effects of domestication are similar between fungi and across plants, animals, and fungi, the researchers will analyze patterns of genomic and phenotypic variation across hundreds of isolates of A. oryzae and its progenitor A. flavus, and compare these results to two existing models of fungal domestication (Saccharomyces cerevisiae and Penicillium roqueforti). It will identify the genomic regions that were targeted by artificial selection and determine the phenotypic effect of domestication on A. oyzae. The project will measure growth rate, inhibitory effects on community food microbes, volatile compound profiles, and gene expression profiles of A. oryzae and A. flavus strains under diverse conditions. The outcomes of this research will shed light on the process of domestication and its effect on fungi and will increase our knowledge of the genomic and evolutionary processes underlying adaptation.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.