NSF PRFB FY23: Heritable viruses as hidden drivers of host phenotypes: Densoviruses and aphid wing plasticity

这项行动资助了2023财年的NSF生物学博士后研究奖学金，综合研究调查了基因组，环境和表型之间的生命管理相互作用的规则。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。昆虫是最丰富多样的动物群体，像所有生物一样，它们是围绕病毒感染进化的。了解病毒对昆虫生命周期的影响对于维持整个荒地，农业和城市环境的健康生态系统至关重要。该项目使用蚜虫作为模式生物，蚜虫是一种以植物为食的小型昆虫。蚜虫在生态系统中的许多类型的宿主植物上都有发现，并含有许多不同的病毒。这些病毒可以影响昆虫和宿主植物的健康和活动，其方式尚不清楚。出于这个原因，这项研究旨在了解遗传性蚜虫病毒是如何通过世代传递的，同时影响翅膀等物理特征的发育。这项研究还提高了我们减少昆虫对农业的负面影响的能力，同时也促进了对社会的积极影响。此外，该项目将让学生和农业社区参与病毒和昆虫之间的相互作用如何促进健康的食物网和粮食安全。该奖学金通过探索病毒在昆虫进化中未充分研究的作用，进一步解决了病毒与宿主相互作用对社会的影响。具体而言，该项目使用单链DNA病毒（浓核病毒亚科）和整合到蚜虫基因组中的病毒（内源性病毒元件）作为易处理的模型系统来研究可遗传的病毒-宿主相互作用。RNA测序领域收集的蚜虫将被用来衡量病毒的遗传性，病毒的多样性，以及在何种程度上病毒感染与蚜虫翅膀生产。CRISPR靶向诱变将用于更好地了解整合到宿主基因组中的病毒的作用。这项研究全面了解了影响可遗传病毒-宿主动态的因素以及与翅膀发育的潜在联系，同时可能发现以前未被识别的在自然种群中传播的昆虫特异性病毒。该项目还将促进本科生参与科学研究，并在当地农场推广网络开展外联活动，以提高对蚜虫生物学和昆虫农业影响的理解。该奖项反映了NSF的法定使命，并通过使用基金会的智力价值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 2023, 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. Insects are the most abundant and diverse animal group, and like all living organisms, they evolved around viral infections. Understanding the impact viruses have on the lifecycles of insects is critical to maintaining healthy ecosystems throughout wildlands, agriculture, and urban environments. This project uses aphids, which are small insects that feed on plants, as a model organism. Aphids are found throughout ecosystems on many types of host plants and contain many different viruses. These viruses can impact the health and activity of both the insect and the host plants in ways that are still unknown. For this reason, this research aims to learn how inherited aphid viruses are passed on through generations while influencing the development of physical characteristics such as wings. This research also improves our ability to lessen the negative impacts of insects on agriculture while also promoting positive impacts on society. In addition, this project will engage students and agricultural communities on how interactions between viruses and insects contribute to healthy food webs and food security. This fellowship further addresses the impacts that virus-host interactions have on society by exploring the understudied role that viruses have in insect evolution. Specifically, this project uses single-stranded DNA viruses (Densovirinae) and viruses integrated into the aphid genomes (endogenous viral elements) as a tractable model system to study heritable virus-host interactions. RNA sequencing of field-collected aphids will be used to measure virus heritability, viral diversity, and the extent to which viral infection correlated with aphid wing production. CRISPR-targeted mutagenesis will be used to better understand the role of viruses integrated into host genomes. This research develops a comprehensive picture of the factors shaping heritable virus-host dynamics and the potential links to wing development while potentially uncovering previously unrecognized insect-specific viruses circulating in natural populations. This project will also promote undergraduate engagement in scientific research and generate outreach activities at local farm extension networks to improve the understanding of aphid biology and insect agricultural impact.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.