Temperature-adaptive behavior mediated by inter-kingdom lipid exchange

在这个项目中，研究人员将研究温度季节性变化期间动物行为和微生物代谢之间的协同作用。包括人类在内的动物依赖于它们无法合成的基本化学成分的饮食摄入。多不饱和脂肪酸（PUFA）是一类必需的膳食脂质，在低温和中枢神经系统中对细胞膜结构很重要。变温动物（不独立调节体温的“冷血”动物）的低温适应以及更广泛的动物神经功能取决于寻找富含PUFA的食物来源的能力。 该项目的研究将使用果蝇及其食用真菌作为模型系统，以了解动物饲养策略和微生物脂质生物合成如何共同进化以满足生理需求。通过其研究目标，该项目将1）确定一对生物体生理学的分子机制，其相互作用在农业和生物技术中很重要2）阐明基于饮食的动物-微生物相互作用的一般原则3）增加对动物生理学和行为中关键脂质类的功能理解。通过教育目的，该项目将促进代表性不足的群体的学生参与生物科学。该项目的目标是探索微生物-动物脂质交换的机制和后果，使用行为，遗传和生物化学方法相结合，在果蝇和多种酵母物种中。多不饱和脂肪酸（PUFA）生物合成基因在许多真菌谱系中已经丢失，因此苍蝇必须寻找特定的酵母物种才能获得这些脂质。反过来，酵母是固定的，依靠吸引昆虫来殖民新的环境。在初步工作中，已发现自然果蝇种群与不同酵母物种之间的关联取决于温度和酵母PUFA代谢。还已经确定，基于酵母的实验室饮食中的PUFA生物合成决定了果蝇在寒冷中的活动和其他季节性相关行为。该项目将首先揭示脂肪酸决定苍蝇对低温反应行为的信号通路。然后，它将研究苍蝇如何使用与酵母发酵共同进化的基于嗅觉的通信来做出觅食决策以优化其脂质组。最后，该项目将开发新的实验系统，以解剖果蝇特定组织和细胞类型中PUFA所决定的行为表型和生理功能。同时，该项目将通过整合动物生理学和生物物理学概念的培训计划来支持研究。该项目由行为系统集群和综合生态生理学计划在综合有机体系统部门共同资助。该奖项反映了NSF的法定使命，并已被认为是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的支持。

In this project, the researcher will investigate synergistic interactions between animal behavior and microbial metabolism during seasonal changes in temperature. Animals, including humans, rely on the dietary intake of essential chemical building blocks that they cannot synthesize. Polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFAs) are a class of essential dietary lipids that are important for cell membrane structure at low temperatures and in the central nervous system. Cold temperature adaptation in poikilotherms (‘cold blooded’ animals that do not independently regulate their body temperature), and neurological function in animals more broadly, depends on an ability to forage for PUFA-enriched food sources. The project’s research will use fruit flies and their dietary fungi as a model system to understand how animal feeding strategies and microbial lipid biosynthesis have co-evolved to meet physiological needs. Through its research aims, the project will 1) identify molecular mechanisms underlying the physiology of a pair of organisms whose interactions are important in agriculture and biotechnology 2) elucidate general principles of animal-microbial interactions based on diet and 3) increase functional understanding of a key lipid class in animal physiology and behavior. Through its education aim, the project will promote participation in the biological sciences by students in underrepresented groups.To goal of this project is to explore the mechanisms and consequences of microbial-animal lipid exchange using a combination of behavioral, genetic, and biochemical approaches in both Drosophila melanogaster and multiple yeast species. Polyunsaturated fatty acid (PUFA) biosynthetic genes have been lost in many fungal lineages, so flies must forage for specific yeast species to access these lipids. Yeast, in turn, are immobile and rely on attracting insects to colonize new environments. In preliminary work, the association between a natural fruit fly population and different yeast species has been found to be dependent on temperature and yeast PUFA metabolism. It has also been established that PUFA biosynthesis in a yeast-based laboratory diet dictates the activity of flies in the cold and other seasonally relevant behaviors. The project will first uncover the signaling pathways by which fatty acids dictate fly behavior in response to cold temperatures. It will then investigate how flies make foraging decisions to optimize their lipidome using olfaction-based communication that has co-evolved alongside yeast fermentation. Finally, the project will develop new experimental systems to dissect behavioral phenotypes and physiological functions dictated by PUFAs in specific tissue and cell types in the fly. In parallel, the project will support research through training programs that integrate concepts across animal physiology and biophysics. This project is jointly funded by the Behavioral System Cluster and the Integrative Ecological Physiology Program in the Division of Integrative Organismal Systems.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.