EAGER: Predicting the impact of microplastics on the microbiota and viral transmission by mosquitoes

塑料污染已成为最紧迫的环境问题之一。虽然较大的塑料污染在被动物摄入时会引起担忧，但人们对较小的微塑料的影响知之甚少，这些微塑料可以通过较大的塑料碎片降解形成。几微米大小的微塑料很常见，很难从环境中去除，很容易被动物特别是无脊椎动物摄入，但其生物效应尚不清楚。该项目将调查微塑料对蚊子微生物群的影响，并检查微生物群的任何改变是否会影响蚊子传播致病病毒的能力。该项目还将通过开发针对德克萨斯州拉伯克当地高中代表性不足的学生的发现工具包和课堂学习练习产生更广泛的影响，以帮助教育下一代微生物学家和昆虫学家，并向社会宣传微塑料污染的风险。其他广泛的影响和社会效益将包括对本科生和研究生进行科学培训，使其成为下一个科学领导者。该研究项目将利用跨学科方法以及PI和Co-PI各自在微生物学和昆虫学领域的专业知识，以及纳米材料的影响，以确定微塑料对微生物组的影响，免疫反应，健身，和蚊子中的病原体传播。在该项目中，伊蚊将被用作研究微生物群落、微塑料污染、昆虫免疫学和虫媒病毒感染之间相互作用的模型。该项目将使用新的宏基因组测序方法和先进的显微镜。通过提出创新的高风险方法来测试微塑料如何在微观尺度上改变微生物组多样性，该项目可能会从根本上改变我们对微塑料污染对昆虫微生物组和病原体传播生态影响的理解。该奖项反映了NSF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。

Plastic pollution has become one of the most pressing environmental issues. While larger plastic pollution cause concerns when ingested by animals, little is known about the effects of much smaller microplastics, which can be formed by the degradation of larger pieces of plastic. Microplastics of a few microns in size are common, are difficult to remove from the environment, and are easily ingested by animals particularly invertebrates, yet their biological effects are unclear. This project will investigate the effects of microplastics on the microbiota of mosquitoes and examine if any alterations of the microbiota will affect the ability of the mosquito to transmit disease causing viruses. This project will also have broader impacts by developing discovery kits and classroom learning exercises targeting underrepresented students in local high schools in Lubbock, TX to help educate the next generation of microbiologists and entomologists, and inform society about the risks of microplastic pollution. Additional broad impacts and societal benefits will include scientific training of undergraduate students and graduate students to be the next scientific leaders.This research project will use interdisciplinary approaches and the combined expertise of the PI and Co-PI in their respective areas of microbiology and entomology, and effects of nanomaterials, to determine the impact of microplastics on the microbiomes, immune response, fitness, and pathogen transmission in mosquitoes. In this project, Aedes mosquitoes will be used as a model to investigate interactions between microbial communities, microplastic pollution, insect immunology, and arbovirus infection. This project will use novel metagenomic sequencing approaches and advanced microscopy. With the proposed creative, high-risk approaches to test how microplastics may change microbiome diversity at the microscale, this project may result in fundamental changes of our understanding of microplastic pollution impacts on insect microbiomes and the ecology of pathogen transmission.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.