NSF Postdoctoral Fellowship in Biology FY 2021: Determining the functional and physiological tradeoffs of thermal plasticity on ectotherm hosts combatting a novel pathogen

该行动资助了2021财年的NSF生物学博士后研究奖学金，即调查基因组，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。美国是世界上蝾螈多样性最高的国家，但这些两栖动物有感染一种入侵性真菌病原体（称为Batrachochytrium salamericvorans，简称Bsal）的风险，这种病原体是欧洲蝾螈局部灭绝的原因。本研究调查了环境温度如何影响不同蝾螈物种操纵体温和新陈代谢的能力，以影响免疫功能和对抗Bsal。除了提供有关蝾螈新出现疾病的管理信息外，该项目还支持制定以蝾螈为重点的教育和宣传材料。该研究员将制定和传播早期教育课程计划，举办绘画学习活动，并制作关于蝾螈多样性和生态的宣传海报和小册子，所有这些都将免费提供给公众使用。该研究员将获得在STEM领域中代表性不足的学生的导师培训，以及在疾病生态学研究中应用的实验室和分析技术的培训。Bsal感染蝾螈的主要呼吸器官（皮肤），在高温下上调免疫过程与同时增加对氧气的需求之间呈现出明显的权衡。本项目将通过热梯度和非热梯度条件下的Desmognathus salamanders实验感染试验，以及功能基因组学、行为学和生理学的综合评估，揭示热环境是否加剧了疾病易感性和功能反应的种间差异;和3）提供热可塑性在限制疾病风险中的适应价值的预测。除了功能基因组学和感染试验方面的培训外，该研究员还将获得生态位建模方面的培训，以利用Plethodontid蝾螈物种的热偏好信息，在整个景观中预测Bsal易感性风险。该项目产生的数据可用于回答外温动物的生态和进化问题，例如生殖和当地环境如何影响热偏好和耐受性，或者物种内的变化如何影响应对气候变化带来的热约束的能力。该项目支持研究员的培训，为广大公众开发和随后评估教育材料。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知识价值和更广泛的影响审查标准进行评估。

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 United States is home to the highest diversity of salamanders in the world, but these amphibians are at risk of contracting an invasive fungal pathogen (called Batrachochytrium salamandrivorans, or Bsal for short) that is responsible for local extinctions of salamanders in Europe. This research investigates how environmental temperature affect different salamander species’ ability to manipulate body temperature and metabolism to influence immune function and combat Bsal. In addition to providing information about management of an emerging disease in salamanders, this project supports the development of salamander-focused education and outreach materials. The fellow will create and disseminate early education lesson plans, host draw-to-learn events, and create informational posters and brochures on the diversity and ecology of salamanders, which will all be made free and available for public use. The fellow will gain training in mentorship of students underrepresented in STEM fields and in laboratory and analytical techniques for application in disease ecology research.Bsal infects salamanders’ major respiratory organ (skin), presenting a clear trade-off between upregulating immune processes at high temperatures while simultaneously increasing demands for oxygen. Through experimental infection trials of Desmognathus salamanders with and without thermal gradients and integrated assessment of functional genomics, behavior, and physiology, this project will 1) reveal if interspecific differences in disease susceptibility and functional responses are exacerbated by thermal environments; 2) quantify the trade-offs and influence of thermal environment on physiological responses during infection; and 3) provide predictions of the adaptive value of thermal plasticity in limiting disease risk. In addition to training in functional genomics and infection trials, the fellow will gain training in niche modeling to project Bsal susceptibility risk across the landscape using information about Plethodontid salamander species’ thermal preferences. The data generated by this project can later be applied to answer ecological and evolutionary questions in ectotherms such as how phylogeny and local environment influence thermal preferences and tolerance, or how within-species variation may influence the capacity to respond to thermal constraints imposed by climate change. The project supports the fellow’s training in development and subsequent evaluation of educational materials for broad segments of the public.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.