NSF Postdoctoral Fellowship in Biology: Quantifying diversity and climate change response in the Chamaecrista fasciculata-rhizobial symbiosis

这一行动资助了NSF 2023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。植物要么需要适应不断变化的气候，要么面临灭绝的危险。研究表明，植物和微生物之间的共生(互惠)关系有可能缓解气候变化的影响。该项目将通过研究从空气中捕获氮的细菌与豌豆植物之间的共生关系来测试这一想法。细菌为植物提供氮素，并接受其他营养物质作为回报。了解气候变化如何影响这种关系具有广泛的意义，因为有许多重要的野生和农作物豌豆物种，如花生或豆类。该项目的成果将与这些重要植物物种的保护经理分享。作为佐治亚大学现有项目的一部分，这项工作将部分与来自历史上为黑人的学院和大学(HBCU)的本科生和来自附近学校的高中生一起完成，以扩大对来自代表性不足社区的学生进行研究和学术研究的机会。为了评估气候变化对植物-微生物相互作用的影响，该研究员将利用生态模型豆类植物Chamaecrista Cluculata、山梨豌豆及其相关的根瘤菌。这位研究员将首先从山豌豆的种群中收集根瘤菌，以表征根瘤菌群落是如何跨越环境梯度聚集的。然后，这位研究员将在人工条件下种植植物，以评估温度升高对植物-根瘤菌共生的影响。最后，研究员将对横跨纬度梯度的根瘤菌群落和植物基因进行采样，并进行相互移植实验，以测试当地的适应情况，并量化根瘤菌和植物对气候变化的反应的相互作用。该研究员将接受元基因组分析技术以及大型项目管理和学生指导方面的培训。这些项目将提供关于根瘤菌可以在多大程度上缓解气候变化影响的洞察，以及范围位置如何影响这些共生关系。这项研究将通过让HBCU和当地高中的学生参与进来，对扩大参与产生影响。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, 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. Plants will either need to adapt to changing climates or risk extinction. Research has shown that there is potential for the symbiotic (mutually beneficial) relationships between plants and microbes to mitigate the effects of climate change. The project will test this idea by studying the symbiotic relationship between bacteria that capture nitrogen from the air and pea plants. The bacteria supply the plants with nitrogen and receive other nutrients in return. Understanding how climate change impacts this relationship has broad implications, as there are many important wild and crop pea species, like peanuts or beans. The results of this project will be shared with conservation managers of these important plant species. This work will be done in part with undergraduate students from Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs) and high school students from nearby schools as a part of existing programming at the University of Georgia, to expand access to research and academia to students from underrepresented communities.To evaluate the consequences of climate change for plant-microbial interactions, the fellow will leverage the ecological model legume Chamaecrista fasciculata, the partridge pea, and its associated rhizobial bacteria. The fellow will first collect rhizobial bacteria from populations across the range of the partridge pea to characterize how rhizobial communities assemble across an environmental gradient. Then, the fellow will grow plants in manipulated conditions to evaluate the consequences of elevated temperatures for the plant-rhizobial symbiosis. Finally, the fellow will sample nodule rhizobial communities and plant genotypes across a latitudinal gradient and conduct a reciprocal transplant experiment to test for local adaptation and quantify the interaction of rhizobial and plant response to climate change. The fellow will receive training in metagenomic analysis techniques as well as in large-scale project management and student mentorship. These projects will provide insights into the degree to which rhizobia could mitigate the effects of climate change, and how range position affects these symbiotic relationships. The research will have an impact on broadening participation by involving students from HBCUs and local high schools.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.