NSF Postdoctoral Fellowship in Biology FY 2021: Effects of community interactions in scaling of microbial processes

该行动资助了NSF 2021财年生物学博士后研究奖学金，即研究基因组、环境和表型之间相互作用的生命规则的综合研究。该研究金支持研究员的研究和培训，以创新的方式为生活规则领域做出贡献。具体来说，这项研究将提供对落叶中微生物（枯叶和草中的细菌和真菌）如何应对干旱的新认识，并影响植物材料中碳向大气的再循环。这项研究对于了解草原在未来气候条件下的反应至关重要，因为全球环境变化和生态系统之间的反馈影响了许多环境服务，这些服务对低收入社区的影响不成比例。具体而言，草原生态系统和南加州干旱之间的反馈对空气质量产生了负面影响，并增加了火灾风险。此外，作为培训计划的一部分，该研究员将通过为社区学院转学生举办讲习班，为来自学术界代表性不足群体的人提供教学和辅导。该研究员将使用实验和理论方法，以确定微生物生理学如何在种群和群落规模影响草原生态系统功能的机制基础。具体而言，该研究员将使用可培养的落叶微生物的实验室实验和基于特征的微生物动力学模型，该模型预测微生物生理学和环境条件的分解，以测试两个假设：1.观察到的群落平均性状的落叶微生物（生长，胞外酶活性和胁迫耐受性）是不等于平均的个人。2.在中度干旱情景下，积极的非累加效应更为普遍。该研究员将获得数据生成和数据模型集成方面的培训，这些培训将用于对微生物群落如何应对环境变化和影响生态系统过程产生可推广的理解。此外，为了为来自非传统和以前被排除在学术界背景的学生提供指导和研究机会，该研究员将为社区学院转学生组织为期10周的系列研讨会。这个系列研讨会是针对社区学院转学生，因为在黑人，拉丁裔和其他代表性不足的社区在高等教育招生的增加主要是由社区学院招生驱动。该项目将通过小组指导帮助学生增加归属感和学术信心，并提供参与本科生研究的机会。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 2021, Integrative Research Investigating the Rules of Life Governing Interactions Between Genomes, Environment and Phenotypes. The fellowship supports research and training of the fellow that will contribute to the area of Rules of Life in innovative ways. Specifically, this research will provide new understanding of how microorganisms in leaf litter (bacteria and fungi in dead leaves and grasses) respond to drought and influence the recycling of carbon from plant materials to the atmosphere. This research is critical for understanding how grasslands may respond under future climate conditions, as feedbacks between global environmental change and ecosystems influence a number of environmental services that disproportionately affect low-income communities. Specifically, feedbacks between grassland ecosystems and drought in Southern California negatively impact air quality and increase fire risk. Additionally, as a part of the training plan, the fellow will contribute to the teaching and mentoring of people from underrepresented groups in academia through organized workshops for community college transfer students. The fellow will use experimental and theoretical approaches in order to determine the mechanistic basis of how microbial physiology at the population- and community-scale influences ecosystem function in grasslands. Specifically, the fellow will use laboratory experiments of culturable leaf litter microbes and a trait-based model of microbial dynamics that predicts decomposition from microbial physiology and environmental conditions to test two hypotheses: 1. Observed community-average traits of leaf litter microbes (growth, extracellular enzyme activity, and stress tolerance) are not equal to the average of individuals. 2. Positive non-additive effects are more prevalent under moderate drought scenarios. This fellow will gain training in data generation and data-model integration that will be used to generate generalizable understanding of how microbial communities respond to environmental change and influence ecosystem processes. Additionally, to provide mentoring and research opportunities for students from non-traditional and previously excluded backgrounds in academia, the fellow will organize a 10-week workshop series for community college transfer students. This workshop series is aimed at community college transfer students because increases in the enrollment of Black, Latinx, and other underrepresented communities in higher education are primarily driven by community college enrollment. This program will help to increase student sense of belonging and academic confidence through group mentoring and provide opportunities to become involved in undergraduate research.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.