NSF Postdoctoral Fellowship in Biology FY 2021: Understanding gut microbiome variation in the context of an emerging wildlife pathogen

这一行动资助了NSF 2021财年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。该研究金支持一项针对该研究员的研究和培训计划，该计划将增加生物学中代表性不足的群体的参与。新冠肺炎大流行证明，新发传染病是对人和动物的重大威胁。对于野生动物来说，了解宿主如何在新疾病出现时做出反应，对物种保护具有重要意义。鉴于微生物组作为一个重要因素可以保护和加剧对感染的反应，该研究员将在一种新的野生动物疾病的背景下研究病原体诱导的微生物组动力学。该研究员致力于培训来自美国和南非的本科生和研究生水平上的代表性不足群体，以确定病原体的特征并主持微生物群互动，目标是为下一代科学家培养了解和对抗野生动物疾病的工具。这项建议研究了牛结核病(BTB)的病原体牛分枝杆菌与野生非洲水牛肠道微生物群之间的相互作用，以此作为理解病原体诱导的微生物群变化后果的模型。BTB有一种消瘦作用，随着疾病的发展，会导致受感染宿主的消瘦。因此，这位研究员将检验这一假设，即BTB在个体宿主和种群水平上都会影响肠道微生物群，而这些变化会影响宿主的新陈代谢，从而加剧BTB的消耗效应。该研究员将采用实地研究和实验相结合的方法，在受控的自然条件下，研究野生水牛在BTB感染之前和感染期间的肠道微生物群和宿主表现。将使用16S rRNA和鸟枪式元基因组测序来表征微生物组的组成和功能。此外，将分别使用气相色谱和微生物体外受精来测量短链脂肪酸和甲烷的产生。该提案将涉及三个目标：(I)确定和表征结核杆菌感染期间肠道微生物群的变化，(Ii)在结核杆菌感染的背景下量化宿主和肠道微生物群代谢，以及(Iii)调查结核杆菌是否在宿主种群规模上形成肠道微生物群。在Vanessa Ezenwa博士和Todd Callaway博士的指导下，该研究员将推进和扩大分子与疾病生态学和动物科学的研究培训；通过手稿写作和教学提高沟通技能；并通过培训不同的学生培养强大的指导技能。该奖项反映了NSF的法定使命，并通过使用基金会的智力优势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, Broadening Participation of Groups Underrepresented in Biology. The Fellowship supports a research and training plan for the Fellow that will increase the participation of groups underrepresented in biology. As evidenced by the COVID-19 pandemic, emerging infectious diseases are a major threat to humans and animals. For wildlife, understanding how hosts respond to new diseases as they emerge has significant implications for species conservation. Given the role of the microbiome as an important factor that can protect and exacerbate response to infection, the Fellow will investigate pathogen-induced microbiome dynamics in the context of an emerging wildlife disease. The Fellow is committed to training underrepresented groups at the undergraduate and graduate levels from the US and South Africa to characterize pathogens and host microbiome interactions with the goal of preparing the next generation of scientists with the tools to understand and confront wildlife diseases. This proposal investigates interactions between the pathogen Mycobacterium bovis, the causative agent of bovine tuberculosis (bTB), and the gut microbiota in wild African buffalo as a model for understanding the consequences of pathogen-induced microbiome changes. bTB has a wasting effect that results in the emaciation of infected hosts as the disease progress. Thus, the Fellow will test the hypothesis that bTB affects the gut microbiome at both the individual host and population levels, and these changes influence host metabolism in ways that exacerbate the wasting effects of bTB. The Fellow will use a combination of field studies and experiments to characterize gut microbiome and host performance of wild buffalo before and during bTB infection under controlled and natural conditions. Both 16s rRNA and shotgun metagenomics sequencing will be used to characterize microbiome composition and function. Additionally, gas chromatography and in vitro-fertilization of microbes will be used to measure short-chain fatty acid and methane production, respectively. The proposal will address three aims: (i) identify and characterize gut microbiome changes during bTB infection, (ii) quantify host and gut microbiome metabolism in the context of bTB infection, and (iii) investigate whether bTB shapes the gut microbiome at the host population scale. Under the guidance of Drs. Vanessa Ezenwa and Todd Callaway, the Fellow will advance and expand research training in molecular and disease ecology and animal science; enhance communication skills through manuscript writing and teaching; and develop strong mentorship skills by training diverse cohorts of students.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.