NSF Postdoctoral Fellowship in Biology: Understanding the role of dietary toxins in shaping microbial community dynamics in the gut

这项行动资助了2023财年的NSF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。该研究金支持研究员的一项研究和培训计划，该计划将增加在生物学领域代表性不足的群体的参与。生活在动物体内和体表的微生物群落为彼此及其宿主提供基本功能。 群落结构（存在的微生物的类型和丰度）和功能是由微生物本身之间以及微生物与其宿主之间的相互作用形成的。饮食，特别是像咖啡因这样的饮食毒素，也有助于不同的群落结构，但微生物相互作用和饮食毒素在塑造群落中共同作用的方式还没有得到很好的理解。这些研究将有助于描述肠道微生物组与其宿主之间动态相互作用的一般工作，并为我们对相互作用结果的理解增加了一个新的层面（饮食毒素的影响）。这一新知识可以应用于人类健康背景下，肠道微生物群落动态已知对健康有不同的影响，并在咖啡浆果螟的生物防治中有明显的应用，这导致咖啡种植区的收入损失约5亿美元。该项目还将通过对早期职业科学家的科学和专业培训，以及促进关于使用恢复性司法技术解决冲突的培训，扩大代表性不足群体对生物学的参与和融入，该项目将联合收割机结合观察和实验研究，以更好地了解微生物群落的动态和饮食毒素对咖啡害虫肠道微生物群落结构和功能的影响，Hampei的Hypothenemus。这种甲虫肠道的细菌群落已被很好地表征，并且已知在饮食毒素（咖啡因）代谢中起关键作用。该项目的三个协同目标将促进该领域对塑造与肠道微生物组相互作用的生态和进化背景的理解。目的1将描述H. Hampei（包括噬菌体），使用全基因组宏基因组学，辅以基于培养的技术。目标2和3将利用实验进化来解开微生物群落，饮食毒素和昆虫宿主在塑造肠道微生物组的结构和功能中的作用。该项目还旨在通过从个人层面开始并扩大到更广泛的科学界的目标，扩大代表性不足的群体对生物学的参与，包括对代表性不足的早期职业科学家进行科学和专业培训，并促进使用恢复性司法技术解决冲突的培训。该奖项反映了NSF的法定使命，并通过使用基金会的学术价值和更广泛的影响审查标准。

This action funds an NSF Postdoctoral Research Fellowship in Biology for FY 2023, 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. Communities of microbes that live in and on animals provide essential functions to one another and their hosts. Community structure (the types and abundances of microbes present) and function are shaped by interactions between the microbes themselves and also between microbes and their hosts. Diet, especially dietary toxins like caffeine, also contribute to differential community structures, but the ways microbial interactions and dietary toxins act together in shaping communities is not well understood. These studies will contribute to the general body of work describing the dynamic interactions between gut microbiomes and their hosts, and add a new layer (the effects of dietary toxins) to our understanding of the interaction outcomes. This new knowledge can be applied in human health contexts, where gut microbial community dynamics are known to have varied impacts on health, and has a clear application in biocontrol of the coffee berry borer, which contributes to the loss of ~$500 million in revenue in coffee growing regions. This project will also broaden participation and inclusion of underrepresented groups in biology through scientific and professional training of early career scientists and facilitating training on conflict resolution using restorative justice techniques.This project will combine observational and experimental studies to better understand the dynamics of the microbial community and dietary toxins on community structure and function in the gut microbiome of the coffee pest, Hypothenemus hampei. The bacterial community of this beetle’s gut has been well characterized, and is known to play a critical role in dietary toxin (caffeine) metabolism. The three synergistic aims of this project will advance the field’s understanding of the ecological and evolutionary contexts that shape interactions with the gut microbiome. Aim 1 will characterize the gut microbiome of H. hampei (including phage) using whole genome metagenomics complemented with culture based techniques. Aims 2 and 3 will use experimental evolution to disentangle the roles of microbial community, dietary toxins and insect host in shaping the structure and function of the gut microbiome. This project also aims to broaden participation of underrepresented groups in biology through goals that start at the individual level and expand to the broader scientific community, including scientific and professional training of early career scientists with underrepresented identities and facilitating training on conflict resolution using restorative justice techniques.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.