NSF Postdoctoral Fellowship in Biology FY 2021: Exploring host-parasite co-evolution under diverse selection pressures

该行动资助2021财年NSF生物学博士后研究奖学金，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。该奖学金支持将以创新方式对生活规则领域作出贡献的研究员的研究和培训。该项目将调查寄生虫和宿主传播方式的原因和后果。寄生虫是自然界不可分割的一部分，已经进化出多种利用宿主资源、逃避宿主免疫防御并传播给新宿主的方法。以前的研究主要是探索垂直（如亲代到后代）或水平（如同一代成人之间）寄生虫传播。然而，许多寄生虫有垂直和水平两种传播方式，这些不同的传播方式在宿主和寄生虫进化中的作用尚不清楚。发现各种寄生虫传播模式的原因和后果有助于我们了解寄生虫如何感染宿主，并有助于制定疾病控制策略。研究员将利用储存的谷物害虫——红粉甲虫及其自然产生的原生动物寄生虫来探索这些问题。此外，该研究员将：(1)通过跨多个教育阶段的指导，增加来自代表性不足群体的个人在STEM中的参与和保留；(2)在农业研究人员和利益相关者之间建立关系。该研究员将使用一种实验进化方法，在水平、垂直或混合寄生虫传播机制下，对甲虫和寄生虫进行多代共同进化。该项目将分析宿主和寄生虫的适应性轨迹作为传播模式的功能，并采用转录组学方法确定寄生虫传播模式对宿主免疫系统进化的进化后果。该研究人员将使用自适应动力学框架开发一个数学模型，以评估与宿主-寄生虫复杂相互作用相关的流行病学反馈如何影响宿主免疫表型和寄生虫毒力的进化。该研究员将与范德比尔特大学的STEM教育和推广合作组织合作，制定一个指导计划，重点是将对STEM感兴趣的有色人种高中女性与范德比尔特大学的有色人种本科生、研究生和博士后女性配对。此外，研究员还将与谷物加工厂经营者和当地病虫害综合治理办公室合作，讨论该项目产生的知识如何为病虫害管理战略提供信息。该奖项反映了美国国家科学基金会的法定使命，并通过使用基金会的知识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. The project will investigate the causes and consequences of the modes of parasite transmission, for both the parasite and the host. Parasites are an integral part of the natural world and have evolved multiple ways to use host resources, evade host immune defenses, and achieve transmission to new hosts. Previous research has primarily explored either vertical (e.g., parent to offspring) or horizontal (e.g., between adults of the same generation) parasite transmission. However, many parasites are transmitted both vertically and horizontally, and the role of these different transmission modes in host and parasite evolution are not well understood. Discovering the causes and consequences of diverse parasite transmission modes help us understand how parasites infect hosts, and could help inform disease control strategies. The Fellow will explore these questions using a stored grain pest, the Red Flour Beetle, and its naturally occurring protozoan parasite. In addition, the Fellow will: (1) increase the participation and retention of individuals from underrepresented groups in STEM through mentorship spanning multiple educational stages and (2) build relationships between researchers and stakeholders in agriculture. The Fellow will use an experimental evolution approach to coevolve beetle and parasite lines over multiple generations under horizontal, vertical, or mixed parasite transmission regimes. This project will assay host and parasite fitness trajectories as a function of transmission mode, and employ transcriptomic methods to identify the evolutionary consequences of parasite transmission mode for host immune system evolution. The fellow will develop a mathematical model using an adaptive dynamics framework to assess how epidemiological feedbacks associated with complex host-parasite interactions influence evolution of both the host immune phenotype and parasite virulence. The Fellow will work with Vanderbilt’s Collaborative for STEM Education and Outreach to develop a mentoring program focused on matching high school women of color interested in STEM with undergraduate, graduate, and postdoctoral women of color at Vanderbilt. In addition, the Fellow will collaborate with grain mill operators and the local integrated pest management office to discuss how the knowledge generated from this project can inform pest management strategies.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.