NSF PRFB FY 2023: Impact of Environment-Seagrass-Microbe Interactions on Seagrass Stress Response and Ecosystem Functions

这一行动为NSF 2023财年生物学博士后研究奖学金提供了资金，综合研究调查了支配基因组、环境和表型之间相互作用的生命规则。该奖学金支持研究员的研究和培训，这些研究员将以创新的方式为生活规则领域做出贡献。有益的细菌可以减少压力条件对植物的影响。海草是在紧张的环境中生长的海洋植物。一个常见的压力源是高浓度的硫化物。硫化物是一种有毒化学物质，大量存在于海洋沉积物中，可能导致海草死亡。这种名为假丝酵母的细菌可以通过氧化硫化物来对海草沉积物进行解毒，这是一个从环境中去除硫化物的过程。这项研究将确定钙的存在和丰富程度如何。硫代重氮菌在不同程度的环境胁迫下对海草健康的影响。海草草甸是一种经济和文化上有价值的资源，海草和细菌之间的良性相互作用为评估海草对逆境的脆弱性和提高恢复海草的逆境耐受性提供了潜在的工具。这项研究将整合环境-海草-微生物的相互作用，以更好地了解不同环境条件下植物-微生物相互作用的共性和大小。这位研究员将分析(A)植物性状与环境条件对钙的相对影响。硫代重氮菌丰度的相互移植实验，(B)硫化物胁迫和钙之间的相互作用。(C)通过培养实验，海草-微生物相互作用如何将环境异质性转化为植物性能和营养循环的高阶变化。这项研究的结果将促进有关植物微生物群的进化生态学、沿海生态系统氮循环的驱动因素以及环境-植物-微生物相互作用对生态系统功能和过程的影响的基础知识。该研究员将接受微生物生态学和生物地球化学技术、包容性教学战略和科学交流方面的培训。该项目将通过高中科学课程的开发和实施以及对本科生的指导，促进对学生的培训，包括来自科学代表性不足的群体的学生。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 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. Beneficial bacteria can reduce the impact of stressful conditions on plants. Seagrasses are marine plants that grow in stressful environments. One common stressor is high sulfide concentrations. Sulfide is a toxic chemical that is abundant in marine sediments and can cause seagrass die-offs. The bacteria, Candidatus Thiodiazotropha, can detoxify seagrass sediments by oxidizing sulfide, which is a process that removes sulfide from the environment. This research will determine how the presence and abundance of Ca. Thiodiazotropha impacts seagrass health under various levels of environmental stress. Seagrass meadows are an economically and culturally valuable resource, and positive interactions between seagrasses and bacteria provide a potential tool for evaluating seagrass vulnerability to stressors and increasing stress tolerance of restored seagrasses. This research will integrate environment-seagrass-microbe interactions to better understand the generality and magnitude of plant-microbe interactions under varying environmental conditions. The fellow will analyze (a) the relative impacts of plant traits vs. environmental conditions on Ca. Thiodiazotropha abundance using a reciprocal transplant experiment, (b) how interactions between sulfide stress and Ca. Thiodiazotropha affect seagrass performance using a mesocosm experiment, and (c) how seagrass-microbe interactions translate environmental heterogeneity to higher-order variation in plant performance and nutrient cycling using an incubation experiment. Results from this research will advance fundamental knowledge related to the evolutionary ecology of plant microbiomes, drivers of nitrogen cycling in coastal ecosystems, and the impact of environment-plant-microbe interactions on ecosystem functions and processes. The fellow will receive training in microbial ecology and biogeochemistry techniques, inclusive pedagogical strategies, and science communication. This project will promote the training of students, including students from groups underrepresented in the sciences, through the development and implementation of high school science curriculum and mentorship of undergraduate 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.