NSF Postdoctoral Fellowship in Biology FY 2020: Elucidating the relationship between host divergence and gut microbiome divergence in Parulid warblers

这项行动资助了2020财年的NSF生物学博士后研究奖学金，扩大了生物学中代表性不足的群体的参与。该研究金支持研究员的一项研究和培训计划，该计划将增加在生物学领域代表性不足的群体的参与。生物体是各种微观生物的宿主。虽然这些微生物中的一些可能对其宿主有害，但其他微生物可能是有益的，例如通过分解宿主可以消化的复合糖。在动物中，微生物高度集中在消化道（或肠道）中，在那里它们执行专门的功能。以前的研究表明，不同的动物物种拥有独特的肠道微生物，但肠道微生物在新物种进化中的作用并不为人所知。本研究将探讨鸟类物种形成与肠道微生物群落组成之间的关系。该研究员将设计和实施整合鸟类生物学、微生物学和遗传学概念的教育活动，以促进生物学中未被充分代表的初中、高中和大学生的融入。该项目将以林莺为研究系统，调查共生肠道微生物在生物多样性的起源和维持中的作用。为了解决这个问题，该研究员将在北美的几个地点对莺的肠道微生物组进行测序，包括两个自然发生的杂交区。种间杂交可能导致肠道微生物组的破坏，从而导致生殖隔离，这对于维持物种边界是必要的。通过利用重叠的范围分布和自然混合物，该项目将区分环境和宿主遗传学对肠道微生物组结构的影响，并测试肠道微生物组差异有助于宿主生殖隔离的假设。这项研究将促进对野生鸟类种群肠道微生物组多样性的理解，而这些数据尤其缺乏。该研究员将在高等成就项目中为来自贫困社区的中学生开发和领导一项关于鸟类生物学的教育活动。该研究员还将在主办机构建立一个DNA日分会，并组织一个年度推广计划，在拉美裔学生入学率高的地区高中实施。最后，该研究员将通过主办机构的EnvironMentors项目，指导一名本科生和一名当地高中生进行与该研究相关的独立研究项目。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。

This action funds an NSF Postdoctoral Research Fellowship in Biology for FY 2020, Broadening Participation of Groups Under-represented in Biology. The fellowship supports a research and training plan for the Fellow that will increase the participation of groups underrepresented in biology. Living organisms are hosts to a diversity of microscopic creatures. While some of these microbes can be harmful to their host, others can be beneficial, for example by breaking down complex sugars that their host can digest. In animals, microbes are highly concentrated in the digestive tract (or gut) where they perform specialized functions. Previous research has shown that different animal species harbor unique sets of gut microbes but the role gut microbes play in the evolution of new species is not well known. This research will investigate the relationship between bird species formation and the composition of microbial communities in their guts. The fellow will design and implement educational activities integrating concepts from bird biology, microbiology and genetics that will foster the inclusion of middle school, high school, and college students underrepresented in Biology.This project will use wood warblers as a study system to investigate the role of symbiotic gut microbes in the origin and maintenance of biodiversity. To address this, the fellow will sequence gut microbiomes of warblers at several sites in North America, including across two naturally-occurring hybrid zones. Interspecific hybridization may result in disruption of the gut microbiome contributing to reproductive isolation, which is necessary for the maintenance of species boundaries. By taking advantage of overlapping range distributions and natural admixture, this project will distinguish between the influence of the environment and host genetics in structuring the gut microbiome and test the hypothesis that gut microbiome divergence contributes to host reproductive isolation. This study will advance understanding of gut microbiome diversity in wild bird populations, where data are especially lacking. The fellow will develop and lead an educational activity on bird biology for middle school students from underprivileged communities in the Higher Achievement program. The fellow will also establish a DNA Day chapter at the host institution and organize an annual outreach program to be implemented in regional high schools with high rates of Hispanic student enrollment. Finally, the fellow will mentor an undergraduate and local high school student from an underrepresented background on an independent research project related to the study via the EnvironMentors program at the host institution.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.