RAPID: Microbial Diversity along an elevational gradient in El Yunque National Forest before and after Hurricane Maria

图拉博大学被授予一个奖项，以支持学生的学习和研究，这些学生已经受到几种自然灾害的严重影响，包括飓风玛丽亚(2017年9月)、2020年地震(2020年1月)和当前的新冠肺炎大流行。该奖项将支持三名本科生和一名硕士生的津贴、用品和旅费，他们学习飓风玛丽亚对厄尔云克国家森林海拔梯度上生物多样性的影响。学生们将利用各种基因组方法分析15个地块的土壤岩心样本，以研究微生物多样性如何随海拔梯度变化，以及飓风玛丽亚是否显著改变了海拔梯度上的生物多样性。学生将特别使用之前获得的美国国家科学基金会核磁共振奖(1726158)获得的ABI3500遗传分析平台。气候变化可以通过影响地表凋落物、树冠开口、太阳辐射和风，对微生物(真菌和细菌)的多样性产生重大影响。位于波多黎各的埃尔云克国家森林受到飓风玛丽亚的严重影响。埃尔云克国家森林为几种森林类型(图博努科森林、棕榈林、帕洛科罗拉多森林和精灵森林)提供了一个自然环境，跨越其自然海拔梯度，每种森林类型都有自己的内生生物多样性。该大学已经创建了15块海拔从300米到1000米的林地，每隔50米。在每个标高上建立一块50×20米的地块，并将其划分为10块10×10的地块。土壤岩心样本是在飓风玛丽亚前后从每个海拔高度的相邻地块采集的。这些样本将被用来解决两个基本问题：1)微生物多样性如何沿海拔梯度变化；2)飓风玛丽亚如何影响海拔梯度上的微生物多样性？学生们将从每个核心土壤样本中提取DNA样本，并使用各种特定的引物从样本中扩增gDNA，以量化特定微生物物种的存在和丰富程度。DNA序列分析将被用来进一步识别和区分物种，从而深入了解与海拔相关的多样性以及飓风玛丽亚造成的这种多样性的变化。学生将获得各种基因组学技术和实验室设备的使用培训，并将进一步加强目前与位于卢基洛的NSF-LTER、美国林务局、DNA学习中心(位于冷泉港实验室)和Bio-Link(NSF-ATE BIO)的合作。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。

An award is made to Universidad Del Turabo to support student learning and research which has been severely impacted by several natural disasters including Hurricane Maria (September, 2017), the 2020 earthquakes (January, 2020), and the current Covid-19 pandemic. The award will support stipends, supplies, and travel for three undergraduate students and one masters student studying the impact of Hurricane Maria on biodiversity across the elevation gradient of El Yunque National Forest. The students will utilize a variety of genomic approaches to analyze soil core samples taken across 15 plots to study how microbial diversity changes along elevation gradients and whether Hurricane Maria significantly altered the biodiversity across the elevation gradient. The students will particular use of an ABI 3500 Genetic Analysis platform acquired with a previous NSF MRI award (1726158).Climate change can have a significant impact on microbial (fungi and bacterial) diversity by impacting surface litter, canopy openings, solar radiation, and winds. The El Yunque National Forest, located in Puerto Rico, has been dramatically impacted by Hurricane Maria. The El Yunque National Forest provides a natural setting for several forest types (tubonuco, palm forest, palo Colorado, and elfin forest), across its natural elevation gradient, with each forest type having its own endogenous biodiversity. The University has created 15 forest plots from 300 to 1000 meters in elevation at 50 meter intervals. At each elevation a 50 X 20 meter plots was established and divided into ten 10 X 10 plots. Soil core samples were taken before and after Hurricane Maria from adjacent plots at each elevation. The samples will be used to address two fundamental questions: 1) how does microbial diversity change along the elevation gradient and 2) how was microbial diversity effected by Hurricane Maria along the elevation gradient? The students will extract DNA samples from each of the core soil samples and use a variety of specific primers to amplify gDNA from the samples to quantify the presence and abundance of specific microbial species. DNA sequence analysis will be used to further identify and discriminate species providing insights into both elevation associated diversity and changes in this diversity as a result of Hurricane Maria. Students will obtain training in the use of a variety genomics techniques and laboratory equipment and will further strengthen current collaborations with the NSF-LTER at Luquillo, US Forest Service, DNA Learning Center (at Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory), and Bio-Link (NSF-ATE BIO).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.