NSF Postdoctoral Fellowship in Biology: Drivers of variability in metal and salt content across plant species

这一行动资助了NSF 2022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。在植物均匀的绿色外表下，隐藏着一个复杂的化学多样性的世界。植物化学多样性的变化具有重大的生态和进化后果，特别是在一个由人类活动塑造的世界里。此外，城市化从根本上改变了植物因污染、农业和土地利用而经历的化学环境。这项研究旨在衡量城市化对南北美洲城乡梯度上植物吸收的重金属和盐分浓度的影响。植物化学成分的变化影响食物网，特别是与草食动物和传粉者的相互作用。因此，这项研究将阐明城市环境如何影响当地植物物种的化学成分，以及它们如何对城市污染物做出反应。此外，这项工作将增强基本的植物知识，因为人类依赖植物来获得食物、遮荫和其他生态系统功能。该研究员致力于通过研讨会、课程和积极招募来培训下一代代表性不足的科学家，并通过弥合拉美/拉美裔社区在美国和智利境内和整个国家在科学素养方面遇到的差距。该项目旨在更好地了解重金属和盐分如何在城市和农村地区的植物中分布，并为植物耐受这些元素的策略提供机械性的见解。该研究员将通过(1)对在城乡梯度上发现的植物进行空间和时间采样，以及使用在美国和智利历史上城市梯度上发现的植物标本来实现这些目标，以及(2)使用共同的园艺方法来检查具有年度和多年生生命周期的植物在重金属和盐分积累、调节和耐受策略上是否有所不同。这项研究将首次研究植物中重金属和盐分在城市梯度上的时空变化。它将作为将植物化学与包括人类在内的其他生态层面联系起来的基础。这一奖项反映了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 2022, 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. Underneath the homogenous green exterior of plants lies a hidden world of complex chemical diversity. Variation in the chemical diversity of plants has significant ecological and evolutionary consequences, especially in a world shaped by human activity. Moreover, urbanization has radically changed the chemical environment experienced by plants due to pollution, agriculture, and land use. This research seeks to measure the effect of urbanization on the concentration of heavy metals and salts taken up by plants across urban-rural gradients in North and South America. Variation in plant chemical composition impacts food webs, especially interactions with herbivores and pollinators. Therefore, this research will elucidate how urban environments impact the chemical composition of local plant species and how they respond to urban pollutants. Additionally, this work will enhance basic plant knowledge as humans rely on plants for food, shade, and other ecosystem functions. The fellow is dedicated to training the next generation of underrepresented scientists through workshops, classes, and active recruitment and by bridging the gaps Latin American/Hispanic communities encounter in scientific literacy within and across the United States and Chile.This project aims to better understand how heavy metals and salts are distributed in plants across urban and rural areas and provide mechanistic insights into plant strategies for tolerating these elements. The fellow will tackle these goals by (1) performing a spatial and temporal sampling of plants found across urban-rural gradients, as well as using herbarium specimens found across historical urban gradients in the United States and Chile, and (2) examining whether plants with annual and perennial life cycles differ in their heavy metal and salt accumulation, regulation, and tolerance strategies using a common garden approach. This study will be the first to examine the spatial and temporal variation of heavy metals and salts in plants across urban gradients. It will serve as a foundation for linking plant chemistry to other ecological levels, including humans.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.